by SJ McCoy
“The jacket? We didn’t get him a jacket. Just jeans and a pullover.”
“He said he went back to get one just like yours. Because you’re so cool.”
Ivan shook his head. “I didn’t know about that. He’s a nice guy. I just wish he could find a way to be comfortable in his own skin.”
“Yeah. I think he figured out last night that that’s what he needs to do.”
“Did he really tell you you’re not his type?”
She laughed. “He did. Apparently, he has a thing for a girl who works at the library.”
“Sounds like she might be someone he’d have more in common with.”
“Yeah.”
“So why did he ask you out and not her?”
“I think because it’d matter to him if she said no. With me, I think he expected me to say no—and it didn’t really matter if I did.”
“He must be crazy.”
She turned to look at him. “Why?”
“Because any guy in his right mind would want you to say yes.”
She smiled. “You don’t need to sweet-talk me. You got me.”
He shot a glance at her. “I do?”
“Yeah.” She reached over and took hold of his hand. “I’m yours to do as you want with.”
He tightened his fingers around hers. “For how long?”
Wow. She hadn’t expected he’d be too worried about that. “For as long as you like.” She might as well be honest about it. He’d told her he wasn’t interested in anything serious, but she’d be happy to see him until he got bored. She’d be sad when he did, but she knew how it went. She wanted him to know that she didn’t have any expectations. She was willing to go with the flow.
He let go of her hand. Whether that was to keep both of his on the wheel or because he was thinking much shorter term than she was, she didn’t know.
When they got to the plaza at Four Mile, he parked in the lot behind the clock tower. He cut the engine and turned to her with a serious look on his face. “Did you mean what you said before?”
“About what?”
“About you being mine—for as long as I like?”
She smiled. “Yep—and I meant the to do as you want with part too.”
He let his gaze travel over her, making her shiver in anticipation of what she knew that look meant. She might wish that he was interested in something more, but that was all he was offering, and she wasn’t about to complain.
He lifted his gaze and looked into her eyes. “I don’t just want to sleep with you if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Oh! You don’t?”
“No. I want us to date—for real.”
She smiled. He was more of a gentleman than she’d initially given him credit for. He wasn’t denying that he wanted to sleep with her—that wasn’t in question, and he’d already said that he wanted to be her friend. That was all he meant. She couldn’t allow herself to get carried away and read anything more than that into it. “Good. I’d like that.”
“Okay.” He looked as though he was about to say something else, but he changed his mind. “What stores do you want to poke around in?”
She laughed. “I didn’t think you’d be much of a shopper, but I want to get you something.”
“What kind of something?”
She opened the door and got out. Once he’d locked the car and they set off toward the shops, she smiled at him. “Something for your house. Whatever you’d like. A picture or a lamp or something that makes it look like you live there. At the moment, it looks like it’s been staged ready to be sold or rented out.”
He laughed. “You noticed?”
“It's hard not to. I’m hoping that if I get you a little something, it’ll start the ball rolling, and you’ll get some motivation to decorate a bit and make it your own.” Her heart sank. “Unless you don’t plan to stay long enough to make it your home?”
He took hold of her hand as they walked. “I do. I plan to be here for the long-term.”
She smiled up at him. It made her happy to hear that—though she’d be happier if he said he wanted to be with her for the long-term. No! She didn’t need to start thinking like that. She might have figured her shit out and come to understand that she could just be herself and hope that she’d meet the right guy someday. That didn’t mean that he was the right guy—or even that he’d want to be.
~ ~ ~
“Ivan!”
They both turned at the sound of his name being called. Ivan wished he’d ignored it instead of reacting automatically. Whoever was shouting to him would no doubt be curious what he was doing out here with Abbie—and holding hands with her.
It was Colt. He lifted a hand and came hurrying toward them. “Are you guys late, too?”
“Late? What for?”
“Lunch. Everyone’s meeting at the café, isn’t that where you’re going?”
Ivan shook his head. “No. We’re shopping.”
“Oh. Do you want to come? Logan, Angel, and Maria are all working today. So, Roxy, Luke, and Zack are coming to have lunch with them and Austin’s bringing a couple of the girls over. I thought you were coming. You should.” He smiled at Abbie. “You’ll come, right?”
She looked at Ivan. He wasn’t sure if she wanted to go or not, but she seemed to be deferring to him. Maybe she wanted to go but didn’t want to drag him to join a crowd if he didn’t want to.
“Come on in, guys. You’re late. Everyone’s here already.” Roxy was standing on the terrace outside the café shouting to them.
Abbie made a face. “I guess that decides it.”
To Ivan’s disappointment, she let go of his hand as they followed Colt inside. Maybe she didn’t want the others knowing they were together.
There was quite a crowd sitting around two tables. Everyone said hi, but he got the feeling there was some kind of undercurrent that he didn’t get. Roxy, especially, was giving Abbie some weird looks that he didn’t understand.
Angel smiled at them. “Sorry I didn’t invite you. This started out as Luke coming over to meet me for lunch, and then it kind of snowballed from there.”
“Snowball is the right word for it, today, too,” said Maria. “Can you believe how much it snowed?”
Roxy grinned. “I love it!”
“I could have done without it today,” said Austin. “I had to show a house halfway to Stanton, the roads were iffy out there.” He looked at Ivan. “So, are you two a thing now? Did I not get the memo again?”
Ivan hesitated, but only for a moment. He didn’t want to speak for Abbie, but he didn’t want to make things too awkward either. “We are for today,” he said with a smile. He hoped that might stop the others from asking any more questions that he didn’t know how to answer. Of course, it had the opposite effect.
Logan turned to Abbie. “You didn’t waste any time.” Roxy shot him a warning look, but it didn’t do anything to shut him up. “What happened last night?”
Abbie scowled at him. “Nothing—not that it’s any of your business.”
“Were you okay?” asked Roxy. “I thought Kenzie was out of order, but I figured you didn’t need an audience.”
Ivan wondered just what exactly had happened.
“Kenzie was just being Kenzie. She helped me out, really.” To Ivan’s surprise, she turned and smiled up at him. “She helped me realize that I was making a mistake.”
Logan laughed. “Any one of us could have told you that. You and Neil?” He laughed again.
Zack shot a worried look at Ivan, but he smiled. He imagined this must all sound confusing to someone who didn’t know what was going on. Luckily, he did.
Abbie scowled at Logan. “If anyone’s going to criticize me for being out with Neil last night and then being here with Ivan today, I don’t think it should be you, Perkins.”
Ivan tensed, hoping this wasn’t going to get ugly.
He needn’t have worried. Logan grinned. “You won’t catch me casting any stones in your direction, gir
l. I was just shocked when I saw you with him last night.” He smiled at Ivan. “I’m much happier to see you with this guy today.”
He sensed Abbie relax by his side. “Okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to bite your head off. I think it’s probably me who thinks I must be a shitty human being.”
“If you do, you’re the only one,” said Maria. “We’ve all had bad dates—and I don’t think any one of us would have turned down a good one the next day.”
“I know I wouldn’t,” Roxy agreed.
Logan slung his arm around her shoulders. “No more dates for you, babe. You’re nearly a married woman.”
Ivan smiled at the way she nodded happily. “I’m not the only one either.”
The girls started chatting about weddings, and Ivan realized that there would be three of them at some point in the near future. He cast a sideways glance at Abbie. No. He couldn’t start thinking like that. Even if he wanted to, it’d be pointless. She didn’t see him that way.
~ ~ ~
It was late afternoon by the time they got back to town. Other than the initial awkwardness at lunch, Abbie had had a great time. Ivan was good company. It felt like they’d known each other forever. He was easy-going, and she knew he understood where she was coming from. He was like Kenzie in that way. Part of her wanted to know what his story was—what he’d lived through that made him so non-judgmental. Another part of her knew better than to ask.
“Do you want me to drop you off at home?”
She looked at him as he turned onto Main Street. “Is that what you want?”
He smiled. “I think you know it isn’t, but I don’t know if you need to get back to your mom. Or if you’ve had enough of me.”
She leaned across and rested her hand on his thigh, hoping that might give him an idea of what she wanted. “I’ll call Mom and make sure she’s doing okay, but I don’t need to go home yet.”
“Okay. Do you want to come to my place? You can help me hang that picture, and if you like, we can order something for dinner.”
“That sounds good to me.” She pulled her phone out of her purse. “I’ll just check in with Mom.”
“Hey, Abbs.”
“Hi, Mom. How are you doing?”
“I’m great, thanks. I made a casserole for dinner. I didn’t think you’d be coming back to eat, but I wanted to make something just in case.”
“I can come and have dinner with you if you like?”
“No! You do your thing. Have dinner with Ivan. I wasn’t hinting that I wanted you home, I was just letting you know that there’s something here for you.”
Abbie smiled. Her mom tried in so many different little ways to let her know that she thought about her—that she loved her. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
“It’s the least I can do. Look at everything you’ve done for me this last year. I don’t think I’d ever have gotten back on my feet if you hadn’t come home and helped me through it.”
“Hey. I needed you as much as you needed me.”
“In some ways, maybe. But I didn’t mean to get all mushy on you. Are you still with Ivan?”
“Yes. If you’re okay, I’m going to have dinner at his place.”
Her mom was quiet for a long moment.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course, it is! I’m just trying to figure out the best way to say that I don’t expect you back tonight.”
Abbie pursed her lips. “I’ll be home.” As much as she’d love to spend the night with Ivan, she didn’t want her mom thinking that she was going back to her old ways.
“I’m not going to argue with you, Abbs. I’m just saying.”
“I know.”
“Just text me and let me know either way. I’ll worry if I don’t hear.”
“Okay. I will. What are you going to do?”
“Never mind me. Go on. Go and have fun with Ivan. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mom. See you later.”
By the time she hung up, Ivan was pulling through the gates into his driveway. He drove straight into the garage and smiled at her when he stopped. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah. She’s fine.”
“And you told her that you’ll be home tonight?”
Abbie nodded. She wished she hadn’t, but it was the right thing to do. “Do you mind?”
“Mind?!”
“You know what I mean. We both know what’s going to happen here. Were you expecting me to stay?”
“Abbie, Abbie, Abbie.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “You need to understand—I don’t have any expectations here. I’m just happy to take what I can get.”
“Okay.” She kind of wished that he’d said yes; that he’d been hoping she would spend the night with him. She wanted to. But she had to remember where he was coming from. He wasn’t looking to build to anything, just to have some fun and some sex.
He tucked his fingers under her chin and lifted it, so she had to look him in the eye. “I know you want to be there for your mom. I get it.”
Aww. Every time she thought he didn’t care, he showed her just how caring and understanding he was.
He carried the picture that she’d bought for him into the house and set it down on the island in the kitchen. “Where do you think it should go?”
“I thought it’d look good in the living room, above the sofa.”
He carried it through and held it against the wall. “You’re right. It does. I don’t suppose I could hire you to be my interior designer, could I?”
She laughed. “Err. No. I don’t know what I’m doing. I just know that a splash of color has to help. You just need to start buying things when you see them. It’s not about design as such, just about making your mark on the place.”
“I know. I’ve never done that before.”
“Well, this is an awesome place to start. I love this house.”
“Yeah. I know I’m lucky. It comes with the job, though. It’s not mine.”
“I know.” Part of her wanted to be mad at him. Was he warning her off again—thinking that she was some gold-digger who might set her sights on him just because he lived in a nice house?
She went to stand in front of the windows and looked out at the lake. “This view is so beautiful.”
He came and stood behind her and slid his arms around her waist. “It's not as beautiful as you are.”
She wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to feed her any lines. But she’d already made that clear. And … she closed her eyes as he nuzzled his lips into her neck. It felt good; the way her body responded to his warm breath on her skin and the way her chest filled with warmth when he told her she was beautiful. She wanted to believe he was saying it just because he meant it.
She leaned back against him. “You’re pretty hot yourself, mister.”
He put his hands on her hips and pulled her back against him. He was hard, his cock pressed into her ass, and she moved it against him.
Instead of pushing her skirt up, like she’d expected him to, he turned her around to face him. She slid her arms up around his neck, he looked down into her eyes.
“I want you, Abbie.”
“I want you, too. Do you want to take it upstairs?”
His eyebrows knit together, and he shook his head, making her wonder what was wrong with that suggestion. “I didn’t mean—”
“Oh!” She felt stupid. “You didn’t mean yet?”
He tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. “I meant …” He almost looked as though he was in pain. “I didn’t mean …” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
She ran her fingers down his cheek, not knowing what his problem was, but having a pretty good idea of how she might fix it. “Kiss me. Then tell me what you want.”
He started to say something, but she sank her fingers in his hair and pulled his head down to her. “We can talk about it later.” She nipped at his bottom lip.
That seemed to end all his hesitation. He claimed her mouth i
n a kiss that left her leaning against him for support. His tongue slid inside her mouth, mating with hers. He stole her senses. It felt as though he was kissing the world away, the past, the future—they ceased to exist. There was only the two of them, locked in each other’s arms, kissing as if it were the only thing keeping them alive.
Chapter Eleven
Ivan set his plate down on the coffee table. They’d ordered pizza from Giuseppe’s; that was the second night in a row for him, but that was what she’d wanted.
Abbie was still munching a slice. He swallowed as he watched her lick her finger. He didn’t know if she was doing that for his benefit. He had a feeling she might be. She’d made it plain that she’d wanted him to take her to bed when they first got here. But fool that he was, he’d sidestepped it. The way she’d kissed him had almost persuaded him, but he wanted to hang out with her—not just sleep with her. There’d be time for that—he hoped. She wasn’t going to stay the night, but it was still early.
Last time she’d been here, he’d given in to his desire for her, but he’d regretted it since. Maybe regret was too strong a word. What had happened in the kitchen wasn’t something he’d ever consider regrettable. But things were different now. Tonight was the beginning of something. Maybe not the beginning of something serious, even if he wished that it might be.
She smiled at him. “What are you thinking?”
He shrugged. “I’m thinking that I had a good time today.”
“Me, too.”
“And I’m hoping that we’ll have lots more days like this.”
She set her plate on the coffee table beside his and moved closer to him on the sofa. “You are? I’d like that.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and looked down into her eyes. A picture of Logan and Roxy this afternoon flashed into his mind. Logan had looked so happy and confident when he’d told Roxy that there’d be no more dates for her—that she was his and they’d be married soon. He wondered how that must feel. To his surprise, he wanted to find out.
“I know I’m not what you’re looking for. But I think we can have a lot of fun together.”
Her eyes lit up, and she smiled. “I think so, too.”