He rolled his shoulders and pulled a hand from one pocket to pull on the neck of his sweater. Another self-conscious bit of laughter escaped him before he said, “I’m not sure how to start.”
Propping myself against the counter, I remained as far away as possible while still in range to have a hushed conversation. “Maybe we start with what exactly you want to renegotiate.” I exhaled and rushed out, “I think I can commit to being nicer to you.”
Will raised an eyebrow. “Nicer?” He drew out the two syllables into about fourteen.
I nodded faintly as I regarded him, unfolding my arms to rest my elbows behind me. “Yeah, dum-dum—nicer. You know, less snappy.”
“Ah, I see. Well, I guess being called ‘dum-dum’ isn’t toosnappy. It’s certainly better than worrying you’re about to google how to dispose of a body.” He grinned. “Although, I’m kind of fond of your don’t-fuck-with-me attitude.”
I pinched my lips together to stop a smile from forming. “You are, huh?”
“You know I am, Maureen.” His tone sobered. “That night at the bar, when you took down that frat bro, it drew me—”
“Alright.” I interrupted. “Like I said, I can be nicer. But it’s all contingent on keeping that part of our original deal intact. We don’t talk about that night. As long as you stay quiet about our history, I’m good.”
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought up… Anyway, thank you. This is exactly what I was hoping for.”
“Really?”
“Course.” He reached up to brush a curl off his forehead. “I don’t want to worry about being with James and Marley and needing to avoid you, or having to stay away from events. My friendship with James is important to me, and I want to be in his life without pissing off his future sister-in-law.”
Standing in the same spot we’d been in last Christmas, I acknowledged to myself that I didn’t feel the rage I’d felt then. I’d probably always be angry with Will on some level, and I’d live with the sting of that humiliating day in the hotel lobby until I died, but there was no escaping that getting to know Will through Marley’s and James’s eyes had softened me toward him.
“We’re okay,” I said, voice quivering only slightly, and I extended my arm to shake on it.
He took my palm in his, and I felt the evidence of his missing fingers. I wondered vaguely if we’d ever get to a place where he’d tell me what happened. But as he held my hand, I stopped noticing the scars and became fixated instead on looking down at his thumb as it pressed against mine.
The noise from the party sounded miles away. For stretched-out seconds, I allowed myself to acknowledge it, my response to his touch. The heat in my core. The flutters in my stomach. I’d forgotten how good it could feel to be affected by someone. Even this complicated man I had such a torturous history with.
As the pad of his thumb grazed along my skin, burning with each pass, I felt that empty well within me, the one only he had ever filled. And I must have let his touch linger too long, becausea second later, I heard Will’s rough swallow. I looked up and saw the exact moment he registered the evidence in my eyes.
The evidence of something he hadn’t expected to see.
Desire.
“Oh my god,” he blurted.
Shit!I snatched my hand back quickly and gazed down, but not before I registered his astonishment.
“Maureen?” Will clasped his fingers together behind his head, wearing a stunned expression of both elation and disbelief. “Wow… Okay. I never thought—”
I struggled to hear him, still processing how I’d responded to his touch.He had to know that didn’t mean anything, right?“Huh?”
“Not to take a mile when I’m grateful for the inches…but…” He released a deep, steadying breath, leaning away as though preparing to take a punch. “If there’s a chance—”
His stammering tore me from my thoughts. I raised my face, eyes narrowing swiftly.
“You don’t have to say yes,” he continued hurriedly, Adam’s apple working as he gulped. “I know you’ve already given me more than I deserve. And I hadn’t planned to say this, but I’m just going to put it out there. If you’re ever willing, I’d love to get to know you again. Spend some time together.”
My jaw dropped.What?This was way beyond taking a mile.
I’d just told him I could maybe stand to be a little nicer to him. And now he was asking for…what exactly?
Spend some time together.The fuck?
So what if I’d had a teensy weensy, itty bitty, so-slight-you-could-barely-notice-it reaction to his touch?
My head swam. Why did I always feel like this around him? Never able to get the upper hand. Just as I was about to give him an epic set-down, Leo came into the kitchen, my sister Miranda following.
