desire I had for this woman was reciprocated, her hands grabbing at my ass, sliding up under my shirt, and suggesting she’d thought about me just as much as I’d thought about her.
Until she stopped, freezing in my arms and then wrenching herself away and turning her back on me.
“Shit,” I muttered, not understanding what had shifted, but knowing it wasn’t going to be good.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, still not facing me.
“That wasn’t for you to be sorry about,” I told her. “From where I’m standing, that was one hundred percent mutual.”
She shook her head, finally turning back around, and as soon as I saw her face I wished I hadn’t. Her lips were swollen and red from our kiss, her skin heated and pink, but her eyes—were so full of regret that I wished I could unsee her expression.
“I never meant to do that,” she said, wiping at her mouth as if she could wipe the kiss away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I let myself get carried away.”
She took two steps backward, and I felt the connection between us sever. There would be no going back, no way to salvage this night or this relationship. I should have known better. I didn’t know why, but I knew that one kiss had ruined everything.
“It’s no problem,” I said, dropping her gaze before something in me snapped in two. “My fault. I overstepped.”
“You didn’t,” she rushed the words out. “Michael, you didn’t. You didn’t read it wrong or do anything I didn’t want. This was my fault. It’s just,” she laughed here, a light quick sound that made me feel so very small. “It’s just that this isn’t my real life,” she said. “And I have no business leading you on or fooling myself about the possibility of staying here once the house is finished. I mean, we both know that. I don’t belong here.”
“Right.” Darkness clouded my mind. She was too good for this place, for me. I’d known that, so why did it hurt so much? I turned and headed for the stairs. “I’m gonna head up.” I couldn’t face her now, couldn’t bear to look at her. Of course this wasn’t her real life. Who the fuck was I, anyway? A deadbeat townie with unrealized dreams and a heart full of regrets. I wasn’t the guy a woman like Addie needed. And I’d known it all along. I was so angry I’d allowed myself to believe, even for a second, that it might be different.
“Okay, I, uh . . .” Addie stuttered from where she still stood, in the spot where we’d kissed like there would be no tomorrow. “I’m really sorry, Michael.”
“Yeah, you said that.” I threw the words over my shoulder, bitterness sweeping in to replace the desire I’d felt. Because if I couldn’t get a little bit angry about it, I was pretty sure my heart would break.
“Good night,” she said, but I was already on my way to another before-bed shower, already thinking about the punishing pumping my dick was going to need this night if I had any chance at all of sleeping again.
24
How to be a Moron
Addison
I watched Michael retreat up the stairs, knowing I’d shattered everything good between us. How could I have been so stupid? So weak? I should never have allowed the closeness to grow between us, should never have begun touching him, taking comfort in his constant nearness, in his warm smile.
I’d ruined everything, and the stiff posture of Michael’s shoulders as he moved away from me told me exactly how angry he was. There would be no salvaging this.
Even though I wanted to fix everything, I knew it would be stupid to let myself become more involved with a man in Singletree. I couldn’t stay here. This was not my life. I had a job to return to, friends who would surely be missing me—though very few of them had called, actually, and I’d only gotten a couple of texts checking in over the two months I’d now been gone.
But I’d made my life years ago—I was a city girl, not the girl who stays in the small town. I needed bigger opportunities, bigger possibilities than a small town like Singletree could offer. Lottie had reminded me of this enough times while I was away.
Still, every time I thought about Michael’s smiling face, that divot in his stubbled chin—my heart warmed in a way it never really had when I thought about Luke. But when I