Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(40)

“Does Riley see her?”

“Sometimes. The last time Brooklyn came around, she took Riley out to lunch and then they got manicures. She promised her she’d come to a bunch of her school functions, maybe be here for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Then, nothing. Just didn’t show up for any of it.”

No wonder Riley had seemed surprised when I came to her art show and family barbecue. “Poor thing. I know what it’s like to have a complicated relationship with your parents. It’s not easy.”

“It breaks my heart for her.” He took a sip of wine. “What are your parents like?”

“Divorced. My dad was having an affair with a woman in London when my mom was pregnant with me. My half-brother and I are only four weeks apart.”

He winced. “Yikes.”

“Not ideal. My father married his mistress and they’re still together. My mother doesn’t think it’s possible to get marriage right until at least the third try.”

“Maybe that’s why you’ve never been married?”

“I’m sure that’s a part of it. It’s hard to look at marriage as having much value when you didn’t exactly have a positive example to learn from. Plus, my mother likes to push marriage on me as if it’s a financial investment, not a lifetime commitment that really ought to have something to do with love. You should have seen the fit she threw when she found out my best friend Everly was marrying a wealthy man. Apparently that should have been me and she couldn’t fathom how I could have let that opportunity pass me by.”

“Did you even know the guy?”

“Only through Everly. And they’re perfect together. But to hear my mother tell it, I gave him up so Everly could have him.”

“Do you think you ever will get married?”

“No.” I answered easily.

“Just, no?”

I shook my head. “I’m not interested in marriage.”

He nodded slowly as if he were taking that in. “Not even with the guy from the other night?”

“What guy?”

“I kind of saw you leave with a guy. Looked like a date.”

The corner of my mouth turned up. Was that jealousy in his voice? Dex acting jealous over me was delicious. “No, that was my brother, Jensen. I actually haven’t dated anyone in a while.”

“Oh.” He glanced away but not before I saw relief in his eyes.

Very interesting.

“Sorry, I just assumed.”

“That’s all right. What about you?” I was fine with answering his question about marriage but I didn’t want to dig any deeper into my reasons why. “It obviously didn’t make sense for you to marry Riley’s mother. But have you considered it?”

“Not really. Brooklyn wasn’t the first crappy relationship I had, so my track record isn’t great. And now it doesn’t just affect me. I have Riley to think about. So I haven’t been with anyone in a while, either. A long while.”

Another woman might have been dismayed to learn Dex St. James didn’t want to get married.

It only made me want him more.

But somehow my standard moves to catch a man’s attention seemed silly with him. I could take slow bites of my food to draw his gaze to my mouth, touch my lips or my neck. I could shrug slightly so the strap of my tank top slipped off my shoulder or reach across the table and initiate contact by stroking his knuckles.

With any other man, I would have tried. Tested the waters to see if there was enough chemistry—see where things went.

But with Dex, it felt like he’d see that as an attempt at manipulation.

And if I was being honest, if anything was going to happen between us, I wanted him to initiate.

Which was so unlike me. I loved being in charge of my sex life. If I wanted a man, I let him know. And without fail, men appreciated my directness and honesty.

Dex was a different creature entirely.

Instead of turning up the heat, I let the conversation flow to easier topics as we finished our meal. When he offered to help clean up, I simply did the dishes alongside him. I didn’t flirt or brush up against him—not on purpose, at least.

He thanked me again for the meal and we said goodnight. Despite the fact that I could see the hesitation in his eyes, the tension thrumming through his body, I didn’t push. Didn’t even invite. He knew where I stood and if he wanted anything to change between us, he’d have to make the first move.

But when I went to sleep that night, it was Dex who invaded my dreams.





17





DEX





The heavy metal music blasting from my Bluetooth speaker filled my garage. I was in the zone. The day was overcast but I’d been lifting for almost an hour and sweat beaded on my forehead and dripped down my back.

I grabbed the hem of my shirt and lifted it to swipe the sweat off my brow. This chest workout was wrecking me in the best way. I’d needed it. Lifting weights had always been my go-to for stress relief.

Now I was using it to work off more than stress.

I wondered if Nora had any idea how close I’d come the other night to tossing her over my shoulder, hauling her upstairs, and fucking her senseless.

So close.

Having dinner with her had tested my resolve. I kept looking for reasons not to like her and finding none. Against my better judgment, I liked her a lot.