“You’re not quitting the casino.”
The command in his tone raises my hackles, but there’s no sense in denying it.
“I’ll stay,” I say. “Until you fuck up again.”
“I won’t.” He steps back. “Where are your light bulbs?”
I point toward the hall. “Closet. Why?”
“I’ll be right back.”
As I pour our coffees and start the bacon, the front door opens and shuts. I angle toward the kitchen window and watch Trace stride next door to Virginia’s house, carrying a light bulb.
I smile, thinking about how much hell she’s going to give him. If he wants to win her over, he’ll have to do a lot more than change her lights. But it’s a good start.
If he wants to win me over, well… He can start by proving he’s worth the risk. He needs to convince me to think of him in terms of regardless and in spite of and anyway. Because right now, he’s a huge fucking if.
He returns as I start cracking eggs in the bacon grease.
“How did it go?” I ask.
“She’s a stubborn woman.”
“That bad, huh?” I laugh.
“I have bruises on my legs from that damn cane.” He grabs the spatula from my hand and sets his open laptop on the counter. “The video is loaded. Just push play.”
As he finishes the eggs, I climb onto the counter and move the device to my lap. The video begins when he and Marlo enter his bedroom. There’s no audio, but I sense the awkwardness between them. He doesn’t look at her, his mouth moving and finger pointing absently at the couch where I found them. On screen, Marlo touches her throat, tracking his pacing steps with infatuation in her eyes.
“Jesus.” My mouth dries. “She really wanted you.”
The spatula in his hand pauses. “The attraction wasn’t mutual.”
Maybe not, but it’s still painful to see him move behind her on the video, to watch her lift her skirt and touch herself for him. He doesn’t look down, his attention flicking between his watch and the door. His slacks are lowered, but his underwear stays on. With her face buried in the cushion and her hand working between her legs, she doesn’t seem to notice he didn’t take his cock out.
Thirty seconds into the recording, I walk in. He doesn’t grip her hips until that exact moment.
He wanted to hurt me, and the impact is written all over my face on the screen.
I’ve seen enough. My hands tremble as I close the laptop and set it aside.
He slides the skillet off the burner and steps between my legs. Torment contorts his expression, and his arms fold around me. With a hand gripping my nape, the other bites into my spine, holding me so tight I feel the remorse coiling his muscles.
“I love you.” His mouth presses against my shoulder. “I love you so much it terrifies me.”
“I’m scared, too.” I let myself hug him back, thawing in the exquisite warmth of his embrace. “One day at a time, okay?”
He exhales heavily. “Okay.”
We eat side by side on the couch in the front room, sipping our coffee and lost in our thoughts.
He finishes first and leans back, watching me. “You don’t have a TV in here or your bedroom. But there’s a nice one in the basement.”
“It was Cole’s.”
“But it works?”
“Yep.” I collect our plates and walk to the kitchen.
He trails behind me. “I don’t understand why it’s in the basement.”
I set the dishes in the sink and brace my hands on the counter. “I moved all of his things down there.”
“Except the Harley.”
“If I could roll it down the stairs, I would have.” I smile, and it feels like a grimace. “Seeing his stuff every day wasn’t helping my grieving process. I had a rough few months after he died. Kind of lost myself there for a while.”
Rather than offering condolences or useless words, he gives me exactly what I need. Framing my face in his huge hands, he rests his lips against my forehead. I slip my arms around his waist, and we stay like that until the doorbell rings.
He greets his driver at the door and collects his overnight bag. Then, with his hand in mine, he leads me to the bathroom. “Shower and a nap. Sound good?”
Sounds perfect. I only slept a couple of hours last night, and I doubt he slept at all in his sports car.
In the bathroom, he wedges into the tiny walkway between the sink and tub. Does he intend for us to shower together? My belly flutters