Now I know why we never talked much. Her hair is a lot bigger than her heart.
Still, I know Caitlyn. She’s a pharmaceutical sales rep. She’s a shark. If I turn her down flat, she may take it as a challenge, and I’ll never see the end of her.
Instead, I lie. “He can be a really fussy baby. Teething and all. He isn’t sleeping through the night. Maybe in a few months when he settles”—or never—“but right now—”
“I don’t mind a quickie. Or two. Or more.” She sidles closer and lifts a hand to me, sliding her fingertips over my sweat-slick chest. “I’ve thought about you a lot.”
I ease back. “Have you?”
If she has actual feelings for me, then I’ve read her all wrong. And I certainly never meant to use or hurt her. But when we spent time together in the past, she talked a lot about wanting to marry a surgeon. In fact, I heard recently that she was dating one.
“Absolutely.”
“What about Dr. Brain Surgeon?” His name escapes me. “Aren’t you dating him?”
“He’s nice. And he’s well respected in the medical community. He has a great sense of humor.” Her stare travels down my naked chest and dips between my legs. “But no one has a cock like you. And no one knows how to use theirs better. Want to remind me?”
So she is dating the brain surgeon. She just wants me to be her something on the side.
She can go fuck herself.
I’m already crafting the most permanent way to tell her to get lost as she leans closer. Instead of whispering something in my ear, she unexpectedly plants her lips onto my pec and licks up the rivulets of sweat rolling down my skin.
In the middle of the parking lot. In broad daylight. Without giving a shit who can see us. When she has a boyfriend.
What. The. Fuck?
Suddenly, I hear the sound of something shattering behind me.
I whirl to find Masey standing there, still wearing her T-shirt, jewelry, and my shorts. Her mouth gapes open. At her feet, her phone lays broken, the screen smashed into a thousand pieces. Her expression tells me she’s crushed.
Dread gouges out my belly. I know exactly what she’s thinking.
With a sound that’s more cry than gasp, she turns and runs toward my condo as if her life depends on it.
“Fuck.” I pluck what’s left of her phone off the sidewalk and grab the handle of Ranger’s stroller.
“What time should I come over tonight?” Caitlyn asks.
I’m over being subtle. “Never. Don’t come. I’ll be with my girlfriend.”
Then I take off after Masey. I’ve got to catch her before she reaches my door and slams it between us.
It’s a close call, but I catch up to her as she darts inside.
“Excuse me. I’m sorry,” she says to someone on her right, then takes off down the hall.
Who the hell is she talking to?
When I make it inside my condo, my brother and my mother are sitting on the sofa, staring wide-eyed into the awkward silence. The office door at the end of the hall slams.
“What happened, bro?” Noah asks.
No time for that now.
I drag Ranger’s stroller over the threshold and shut the front door. “Can you watch him?”
“Sure. Is Masey all right?” With a jerk of his head, he motions down the hall.
“I don’t think so.” And I understand why.
Thom cheated on her. She thinks I’m no better.
I jog down the hall and stop in front of the closed office door. “Honey, can we talk?”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Then let me explain.”
“Don’t bother.”
If I want any chance at a future with her, I don’t have a choice. “I want to.”
“Don’t. I’ll just leave.”
Where does she think she’s going to go? “Honey…”
“Don’t honey me,” she lashes out.
And she sounds furious. On the one hand, that worries me. Is she too pissed off to talk? On the other hand, it’s also a good sign. She wouldn’t waste her anger if she didn’t give a shit.
“Talking through a door is silly, Masey. I’m coming in.” And she can’t stop me because the door doesn’t have a lock.
I barge inside and stop short when I find her standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed over her chest, glaring my way with the fire of hell in her eyes, silently daring me to take even a single step closer.
Yeah, she’s definitely pissed. But she’s even more hurt. Tears roll down her face, making two silvery paths through her otherwise perfect face makeup.