make her aware of what I wanted. She gulped as if having a bit of an internal conflict.
“I’d love to see you again sometime. How about it?”
Her eyes met mine, and the sense of conflict grew stronger and stronger. I began to wonder if my standing there might get her to change her mind about giving me the boot.
“Sure. That might be nice.” It was the most non-committal answer ever.
“Perfect. See you ‘round, Dr. Bridges.”
“See you.” She glanced aside, as if someone might be watching. Then she stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on my cheek.
I got the impression she’d chosen the cheek instead of the lips because she might not have been able to trust herself if she were to give me a real kiss goodnight. Either way, our night was over. I gave her one last smile before stepping out of the condo. She watched me as she shut the door, her face vanishing in the sliver of light before the door closed with a solid click.
I had a smile on my face as I stepped into the elevator. I did feel a little used, but it was only fair. After all, I couldn’t even remember the number of women I’d spent one night with only to never see them again. Granted, I never used them – any woman I spent the night with was special in her own way. But more than a few of them over the years had hoped that our fling might become something more.
The universe had a way of restoring balance – no sense in getting upset about that. Moreover, getting peeved wasn’t my way. I liked these little trysts to be fun and light and carefree. How would I be able to live the kind of life I did if I grew bitter every time things didn’t work out as I’d hoped?
I pulled my car out of the garage and drove into the snowy night. A warm bed sounded nice, maybe a glass of whiskey beforehand.
Though there was a certain eye doctor who I would’ve liked to share both with.
Lola was on my mind the next morning. I couldn’t believe it. I’d woken up and hit the alarm on my phone and there she was, smiling and lovely, my body aching for her. And one part of my body especially ached for her.
God, what I wouldn’t have given to wake up next to her, to watch the morning sun play on her beautiful features, to put my hand between her legs and watch her mouth open with pleasure and surprise, to…
I sat up and shook my head, shocked by my reaction to her. What the hell kind of effect had Lola Bridges had on me? I had to get out of bed or take care of business.
I had too much work to do to mess around. I threw off the sheets and put my feet on the floor, stretching my muscles before stepping into the kitchen and getting some hot water going for the French press. As the electric kettle brought the water to a boil, I found myself staring out the front windows of the guesthouse at the snow-covered stretch of Finn and Kenna’s backyard.
Colorado was beautiful – no doubt about it. It might not have been Ireland, but it had its own particular brand of charm. I was pleased to be spending the next few months here.
Once the hot water was ready, I dumped some coffee into the French press and let it mix with the water. As it did, I found something else surprising entering my thoughts – my ex, Fay.
The moment her face, all sharp features and scheming eyes, appeared in my thoughts, my mood soured. I scowled, angry at her, angry at myself for thinking of her.
“Money-grubbing bitch,” I grumbled as I poured myself a cup from the French press.
Light and breezy was how I liked my relationships with women. But Fay…she was different. Just the thought of her was enough to make me mad as hell, to set my blood to boiling.
What the hell had I been thinking with that woman? How on Earth did I not know immediately what kind of person she was, what she was capable of? It had been a damn humbling experience, to be sure.
I needed something to take my mind off her. I flirted with thinking of Lola, but the more I thought about her, the likelier grew the odds that I’d be back in bed replaying our