look.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. I was jealous. And maybe I’m all kinds of drama and you’ve made it clear you aren’t into that. So go back to your drama-free life. I can’t do this. I can’t handle women walking up to you every other day and falling all over themselves to get into your pants.”
“I like that you got jealous.” He ran the back of his hand down her cheek to her neck, and she flinched. Immediately he was concerned. “What happened? You okay?”
She flipped her hair over her shoulder, trying to hide her neck. She hadn’t had a chance to look in the mirror, but she was fairly certain she had a bruise from where Dennis grabbed her. “Didn’t sleep well. Stiff neck.”
“You sure?” He leaned in to take a better look at her face. “You don’t look so okay. You were crying.” It wasn’t a question.
She wasn’t sure how to answer.
“Shit. Now I really feel like a total dick. I am so sorry. None of those women mean anything. No woman has meant as much to me as you have, and you have to believe me when I tell you how sorry I am.”
It was now or never.
“I’ve decided to move back home. To Charlotte.”
“You’re what?”
“Coming to Tarpon Springs was a mistake. I was just too stupid to realize that at the time. Now, with Dennis out of my life, there’s no reason for me to stay. Hell, even the Om Spot is closing down.”
“Wait. What? How do you know that?”
“Oh…I…uh…I heard about it the other day,” she lied. “That was the thing I looked forward to the most. I can’t work in a bar for the rest of my life. I have to move on and I can’t do it here. And really, Slade, I can’t handle your past. It’s too much for me. There are women cut out for it, but I’m not one of them.”
“Are you serious? I thought we were building something here. This is bullshit, Jessica.”
“I like you. A lot. And there is no way to put into words how much I will always appreciate and will always remember how much you helped me after…” She couldn’t even finish the sentence; it was too humiliating, especially after last night.
His face softened, and he smiled. He brought his big hand to her face and pulled it toward him. His lips connected to hers and he kissed her tenderly in a way that said, Let’s get married and have little Martin babies. If she’d been at all unsure before, the kiss confirmed how madly in love she was with this man. The kiss was beautiful, soft and full of promise. It was the best kiss of her life.
Before pulling away, he gently placed a small kiss on her nose. “I like you too, Jess. A lot.”
“But I still have to leave,” she said, taking a step back. “It’s been great. I mean, you’ve been great. We’ve had fun, and the sex was out of this world. But I can’t do this anymore. It may not be Francesca this time, but it will be someone else and that would break me. I have to leave, Slade. I have to start to rebuild my life, and I just can’t do it here.” Her lip quivered. “I know this is going to sound like a cliché, but I want…no, I need us to remain friends.” She used the back of her hand to wipe away some of the tears.
“Fuck friendship. You’re more to me than that, and I know you feel the same way. When are you leaving?” His jaw was clenched tight, and he was taking long deep breaths, as if trying to hold back from saying more.
“Not sure. I’d like to give Patsy and Jett two weeks’ notice, and I need to pack up. But sooner rather than later. My lease is almost up anyway.”
“So I have a few weeks to convince you not to leave.” His eyes narrowed, and he seemed to relax a little.
“Slade, my mind’s made up. Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Tomorrow night, dinner.”
“I’m not going on a date with you, Slade.”
“You said you wanted to be friends, right?” He reached for her, then led her over to the couch, where he pulled her down onto his lap.
“Always. Although friends don’t sit on each other’s laps,” she said.
“Says who?”
“Says the friendship rulebook.”
He stood up with her in his arms—the man was strong!—and gently placed her