Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,82

he might be?"

"I love him to death, but patience isn't one of his virtues. If he hasn't found you yet, he's probably admitted defeat. Check our room or take a look in some of the bars here."

I laughed. Maybe that was why Rob seemed so surprised when I said love grew from patience. "Okay." I stood up. "Thanks for being so understanding."

"Of course I understand. Like I said, I don't blame you for thinking what you did."

He carried a lot on his shoulders. Why wouldn't he let anyone else help with his burden? He said he was at peace with his past, so why did it seem like he hadn't let it go? At the same time, he didn't appear upset about the conclusions I had jumped to. He just accepted it, adding to the weight on his shoulders, like he could take anything at all. He seemed so invulnerable, the complete opposite of what he was like last night. I can't believe I didn't think he had his life together. He was nothing like Derek. "Penny's a lucky girl."

"I'm the lucky one." The way he said it made it sound like there was no room for doubt. He lifted his book back up, and picked up where he had left off.

Chapter 28

Rob

I didn't want to be in Costa Rica anymore. I wanted to go home. Not to Newark, or my horrible parents, or the guest room at Penny and James' apartment that was actually just my room. I needed to get my own place in New York. The city had always truly been my home, and that was where I needed to be. And I needed to get my shit together. I was sick of fucking easy college chicks. I was sick of having my life up in the air. I needed roots. And I could do that without a girl.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and kicked it closed with my foot. I was almost relieved that I hadn't found Daphne. Yeah, she was upset and needed someone to comfort her, but that someone wasn't me. Despite what she might think, I didn't do anything wrong. I defended my brother. She was in the wrong. She should be apologizing to me, not the other way around. And if I had found her crying, I would have tried to comfort her like an idiot. She probably would have just thrown more insults at me.

After switching my wet swim trunks for sweatpants, I lay down in the bed. This weekend was supposed to be fun. Instead, it left me questioning how I was living my life. And no matter how much I told myself I hated her, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about Daphne. Just picturing her face and her perfect tits made my blood boil. But it also made me hard as a rock. What was going on with me? Was this a failed conquest thing? Maybe if I could just fuck her, I could forget all about her and this awful vacation.

I downed the rest of my beer and tossed the bottle in the recycling bin. One thing was for sure, I needed to stop moping around in my room. There were tons of single women here. I was just horny, that was it. I didn't need Daphne. I'd find another dime and call it quits on paradise. Or maybe I should just use the magazine I bought James.

The magazine was sitting untouched on the nightstand. But I didn't need it. I thought about my hands on Daphne's ass and her moaning in my mouth. She had gripped my hair in her hand, trying to deepen our kiss. I could easily imagine her falling to her knees and putting her soft lips around my cock.

A knock on the door made me groan. It was not easy to hide a boner in sweatpants. I readjusted myself and walked over to the door. After I got rid of whoever it was, I'd take a nice long shower. I opened up the door and Daphne was standing there staring at me with her big green eyes. Well, if staring at my abs counted as staring at me. Strands of hair had fallen from her ponytail and curled in the humidity. She had mud all over her sneakers and shins and her shirt was sticking to her chest from sweat. Her face was flushed, either from being perpetually embarrassed from all the stupid shit that came out of her mouth