Unexpected Gift(44)

“I really don’t.” She tucks a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear and puts the grease-popping bacon on a plate covered with a paper towel. Molly makes sure not to turn around and look at me. Instead, she continues to place more bacon in the scorching pan.

“Yes, you do.” The mug in my grasp slams down on the counter and coffee spills on my hand, but I ignore it. The pain isn’t near as painful as the thought of another man touching her.

“Caden, stop. Nothing is going on here. This shirt... and whomever it belongs to... it isn’t any of your business. Let it go.”

I wrap my fingers around her wrist and tug, making her spin right into my arms. Her hands land on my chest. Her fingers curl over my pecs gently, so as to not press into my skin. “Caden.” Her voice trembles. She doesn’t try to pull away, but she doesn’t try to come closer either.

I lay my hand against the pulse of her throat, rubbing my thumb against her jaw. She gulps, her eyes lowering and taking in the amount of clothes I lack. “Look at me, Molly.”

“No.”

“Why not?” I twist her hair around my fingers.

“Because it isn’t a good idea.”

“Is it because that is another man’s shirt?”

She removes herself from my embrace and takes a step back. “No, it isn’t the shirt of another man. I don’t understand why you suddenly care.”

“You have got to be kidding me right now, Molly.” I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. “You are driving me nuts. You know why I care. You know why I don’t want that to be another man’s shirt. This"—I gesture between us— “this has been building for years. Hell, before we even knew it.”

“No.”

“Yes!” I slam my fist against the counter, making the canisters shake. “You are maddening!” I yell, but my cock still responds to her—it doesn’t care about the circumstances.

“I’m maddening? You are the one kidding yourself, Caden. This could never work. Never. Look at us. We are fighting. We are always fighting. Doesn’t that tell you something.”

“Lately, the only thing we have been fighting is whatever's building between us. Every time I take a step forward, you take two steps back.”

“Because this doesn’t make sense, Caden! We don’t make sense. You only think you want me because we are in the same damn house and you probably don’t have time to go out and get some stranger to love you instead.”

“Oh, so we are going to go there now?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m stating the obvious. I’m one of the few women you haven’t had, so I’m a challenge. You only want me because of that.”

My hands grip the counter, supporting my weight as I lean back. As I stretch, her eyes linger on my abs. “You are out of your damn mind if you think that, Molly. I’m a grown man. I know what I want. I know what fighting this with you means. You are more than some girl I want to win over, as you seem to view it. I fought it because I wasn’t ready to feel it, but I’m ready now.”

She launches the fork she used for the bacon in the sink, and it knocks one of the pans over, making a loud noise as it clatters in the sink. “You drive me crazy!”

“Oh, good. So, you know the feeling.”

She stomps toward me and pushes her finger against my chest. “Don’t act like for one second you want to settle down and raise a family when you like hooking up with random girls. It’s just one of the many things I can’t stand about you.”

I cross my arms and lift my brows. “And what else can’t you stand? Let’s play a game. For everything you tell me, I’ll give you two about yourself.” I push off the counter, curling my lip in the process of walking away from her. I carry my coffee with me and plop into the recliner, turning on the TV as I go. What the hell had I been thinking? We are like oil and water. We don’t mix. We will never mix.

“How about your little collection of mugs on the nightstand next to you? It drives me crazy that you don’t know how to pick up after yourself.”

“I have long hours!” I pull the lever on the recliner and stand up. “It isn’t like I have a nine-to-five job, Molly.”

“You could try to pick up. And you drink out of the carton. I’ve tried not to say anything, but you aren’t the only one that drinks the juice.”

“Aw, afraid to consume a little of my spit? Don’t act like you wouldn’t like it.”

“You are disgusting! Between your work and your conquests, it isn’t my job to clean up after you. I’m not your wife.”

“And thank god for that.” I storm past her, hating that I love the way she smells. Fucking oranges.

“Please, like any other woman finds it attractive and endearing to clean up after you like you are a teenage boy.”

“Stop! You know what drives me nuts about you, Molly? You fucking fight everything. Everything ever thrown your way. You just look for reasons not to want it, and to push it away instead.”

Posie knew it was time to let out a piercing wail, sucking the wind from our argumentative sails. Molly stomps toward the steps to go upstairs, which is where Posie’s bedroom is located. Molly pushes by me, and my back hits the wall. If looks could kill, I’d be dead from the daggers she shoots my way. “Look what you did! It took me forever to get her down this morning.”