to him.
Wes dropped his hands from my shoulders and took a spiral curl of my hair, running it around one finger before dropping it. I felt like he’d just kissed me.
“Sure you do,” he said, his voice quiet. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 5
Wes
I wasn’t lying. I really did have a house that I had all to myself, and my house had a spare bedroom. She really did have no furniture in her new apartment. Everything I’d said was true.
Still, I felt a pinch of dishonesty as we got into my SUV and I maneuvered through the snowy streets toward Five Points. Penny thought I was being Mr. Nice Guy, but I didn’t feel like Mr. Nice Guy. Ever since Penny had come out the doorway at the airport—the first time I’d seen her since that disastrous meeting nearly a year ago—I’d known I wanted to spend time with her.
It was probably because of the year of celibacy. Complete celibacy. Painful celibacy. Celibacy so total I might as well have gone to that monastery with Penny’s father.
The celibacy hadn’t been strictly necessary, contractually speaking. But being with another woman while I was engaged—even if that engagement was fake—didn’t sit right with me.
Was I going to sleep with Penny? No. But I could at least think about sleeping with her, which was more action than I’d had in a year. So I thought about it. And I kept thinking about it.
And part of me felt…possessive. There was no other way to describe it. I liked the idea of her staying in my house, even if it was down the hall from me. I felt possessive because she was my fiancée, even though the whole thing was a sham that was only on paper. Which just meant that I needed to dial down the testosterone and seriously get a grip.
I glanced at her as I drove. She was looking pensively at the city going by outside the passenger window, a small frown between her eyes. Sure, Penny was uptight, but I had to give her credit. She’d uprooted her whole life to come to a strange city. It was a bit much for anyone to handle.
I cleared my throat, not wanting to follow that train of thought too far. “So, tell me,” I said. “Did you have a boyfriend back in San Diego?”
She blinked out of whatever she’d been thinking about and looked at me. “What? No. I told you, it felt weird since I’m engaged.”
“You said you turned down the old man who runs the newspaper stand.”
“He was a very young grandfather.” Now she looked annoyed, though at least there was a spark in her eyes. “And he wasn’t the only one I turned down. Just because I got railroaded into this engagement doesn’t mean I don’t take it seriously.”
“Okay, fine,” I said. “What about before we got engaged, though? Were you seeing anyone?” I hadn’t actually thought of that until now—that our fake engagement could have derailed a relationship she’d already had. I’d just assumed that because I was single, she must be, too.
Penny was frowning at me. “No, I wasn’t seeing anyone. My last boyfriend was a while ago.”
“Uh-huh.” Primal me, who hadn’t been laid in forever, didn’t like the idea of her boyfriend. “What was his name?”
“Graham.”
“He already sounds boring.”
She let out an angry huff. “He was not boring. He was nice. And mortgage brokers do important work.”
I didn’t say anything. I could outdo a boring mortgage broker, right? How hard could it be? I was the most eligible bachelor in Denver.
And why the hell was I even thinking this? I wasn’t trying to outdo anyone. You’re allowed to think about sleeping with her, idiot, not actually try to do it. Thinking only.
“What was your last girlfriend’s name?” Penny asked as I pulled into the driveway. “Hayley? Britney? Kensington? Madison?”
“Very funny. Britney was a lot of fun, actually, though I wouldn’t call her my girlfriend.”
Her lips pressed together in disapproval. “Of course. I’ll bet you’ve never dated a woman who can do long division.”
“I didn’t realize long division was a requirement.”
“Maybe it should be.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I pulled into the driveway. “Look, Penny. I haven’t been with anyone in a year, okay? Just like you. It seemed weirdly like cheating, and I don’t cheat.”
Her hands gripped her purse in her lap and she looked straight ahead, though I had turned the car off. She seemed to be thinking something over. “Okay,” she said at