The Billionaire Matchmaker Test (Billionaire Online Dating Service #5) - Elle James Page 0,47
steps and stopped, bringing her to an abrupt halt. “I can’t,” he said.
“What do you mean, you can’t?” she asked, her frustration making her voice tight.
He shook his head. “I can’t do this.”
She frowned. “Can’t because you have a medical condition, or won’t because you changed your mind?”
“I can’t because I respect you too much. This isn’t what I wanted to happen tonight.”
Leslie shoved a hand through her hair and stood alone on that floor, her heart crumbling into a thousand little pieces. “What you mean is, you don’t want to.”
“Not like this.” He reached for her hands.
Leslie hid them behind her back and sighed heavily. “Just go.”
“Leslie—”
“Please,” she begged, her eyes filling with tears. “I’m tired to the bone, and I just want to sleep.”
He started toward her and stopped, his hands falling to his sides. “I care about you, Leslie. More than you’ll ever know. And for that reason, I’ll do as you ask and go.” Tag performed an abrupt about-face and left her house, closing the door softly behind him.
He left just in time for the tears to spill from Leslie’s eyes and drench her cheeks.
They’d been so close to making love. Or at least, Leslie felt like they had. Then he’d changed his mind. Like a light switched off. That quickly, and that completely, leaving her in the dark for a reason why.
Had he remembered she was his best friend’s wife? Had he had an attack of guilt, being in Randy’s home, with Randy’s wife? Or had he come to his senses and realized he didn’t want to make love to her because she was a friend, not a potential lover?
Oh, but that kiss had been anything but a friend’s kiss. It had been more passionate than anything Leslie had ever experienced, including the kisses she’d shared with Randy throughout their marriage. Those had been full of love and respect, not searing passion that ignited her soul.
Leslie let the tears fall as she stripped out of her shoes, the red gown and her bra and panties. She ducked into the shower for a quick rinse and to wash the makeup from her face and the hairspray out of her hair. When she was finished, she stepped out of the shower, patted her skin dry and dressed in her unicorn pajamas. A quick trip to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and she was ready for bed.
Slipping between the sheets, she closed her eyes and imagined where the night would have gone had Tag not gone cold.
She lay for a long time, going over everything she’d said and done up to the point he’d suddenly backed away. They’d practically made love on the dance floor, fully clothed. What had stopped him when they were finally alone?
Leslie turned onto her side and punched her pillow. This was the reason she hadn’t wanted to date again. Not only did she feel guilty for having a relationship with another guy, she wasn’t even sure how to talk with men she’d never met before their first date. And thinking about her friend as a potential lover…
Why did dating have to be so hard?
She wasn’t ready. That’s all there was to it. And yet, she had a date scheduled for the next day. Thankfully, they’d be hiking. She wouldn’t have to sit across a dinner table making small talk.
She leaned over to grab her laptop and opened it. A few quick clicks and she was online in the BODS system. No new messages from Herman or Joe.
Other than watching her friends get married, it had been a disappointing day on the Leslie Lamb dating front.
She started to log off the BODS system when a message popped up from Joe Fox.
Her heart leaped and raced as she opened the email.
* * *
Tag had gone straight to his condo in downtown Austin and stripped naked, leaving a trail of tuxedo parts on the floor. A cool shower did little to douse the flames of desire eating a hole in his soul. He could have spent the night with Leslie. She’d made it clear that was what she wanted. But his conscience had cut the night short. After she’d ducked out the night before, he was afraid that if they made love, she’d have a tidal wave of regret the next morning. He didn’t want their first time together to be remembered as a mistake. He wanted her to give herself to him without regret.
With so much pent-up emotion boiling below the surface,