The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,295

“I know you’d let me stay as long as I want, but you and I both know that wouldn’t work long term. And your future girlfriends wouldn’t appreciate me living there. Is that what happened with Donna? I noticed you two were together until right before my wedding.”

Should he tell her the truth? Was it time to lay his heart on the line?

“Besides,” she continued. “I’ve decided turning thirty alone is a good thing. I think I should give up men for the year and work on my project. If I’m in Seattle it will be easier to use you as my model.”

“Alone?” he forced out. God, karma sucked. He knew he deserved this ironic twist, but it didn’t mean he was any less horrified.

“Well, I won’t be totally alone. I’ll have you.”

But not in the way he wanted.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“About you moving to Seattle?”

“Well . . . yeah. All of it.”

What should he say? “I think moving to Seattle is a fan-freaking-tastic idea. You know I’ll help you any way I can. And you don’t have to hurry to find a place. You just said you don’t have enough money for the security deposit for a new place in Kansas City. The cost of living is higher in Seattle.”

“That’s the part that concerns me. I’ll be starting from scratch with my clients. But I can supplement my income with a part-time job to save for a deposit.” She sighed with disappointment. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all.”

“No, it’s a great idea. But you should just focus on moving to Seattle and settling in with me. Then you can work on your project and build your client list without the stress of making ends meet. There’s no need for you to hurry to move out.”

“You have a one-bedroom apartment, Noah,” she said skeptically. “That will never work long term.”

“I’ve been thinking about moving,” he lied. “The real estate market is improving, so it makes sense for me to invest in a bigger place. You could have the second bedroom and stay with me until you’re more established.”

“What about Tortoise?”

“I’ve been thinking about a house.” Another lie, but he felt no guilt. He’d do whatever it took to get her to agree. “Then Tortoise would have a yard. We could take him for walks in the neighborhood. Besides, I miss the rambunctious guy.”

She was quiet for several long seconds. “Are you sure?”

“Very.” He was more sure about them than he’d ever been about anything in his life. He’d wait for her. A year felt like an eternity, but if she wanted a year, he’d give it to her. Libby St. Clair was worth waiting for.

She was silent again. “This seems so spontaneous, but it feels right.”

“To me too.” She had no idea.

She was quiet again and Noah soon heard the steady rhythm of her breathing.

He lay awake for another hour, repeatedly checking his phone for another message from Tiffany. He didn’t know much about Abrahams’s plans in Vegas other than he was attending a trade convention that began Tuesday at Caesar’s Palace and he and Tiffany would arrive tomorrow afternoon. But he did know that Abrahams hadn’t yet signed a contract with the other engineering firm, which meant Noah still had time. But when he pressed Tiffany for details about his competition, she remained vague and made comments about how excited she was to see him in Las Vegas.

This was bound to get complicated.

The next morning Noah woke before Libby, a rare occurrence he attributed to all the uncertainties in his life. For a man used to coasting through life, he suddenly had quite a few things to worry about.

The top item on his list lay on her side, facing him. The covers had slipped down and her skimpy pajama top had shifted while she slept, exposing a generous amount of her breasts.

A jolt shot straight to his groin and he suppressed a low groan. God, he wanted her, and the urge to slip into bed with her was so strong he had to clench his teeth. With women, Noah was used to acting on urges, so this new restraint chafed. His surging hormones insisted on seducing and screwing her, but his heart wanted more. When his head finally chimed in, it told him his heart was right. Libby had an underlying distrust of men, even if she would never admit it. She expected men to screw her and leave her. He had to prove