Guilty Needs(37)

That nagging, annoying bitch who kept whispering she really needed to talk things over with Colby and figure out exactly where they stood.

Suppressing her in favor of the giddy, lovelorn woman who took over every time Colby showed up on her doorstep, every time he called.

It wasn’t quite as easy to shut her up when she was working, or on the rare nights when he wasn’t sharing her bed. A few weeks had gone by before it dawned on her that he was at her house more often than he was home. Bit by bit, he seemed to be settling into her life and it felt so natural, felt so right that it just made it that much easier to ignore that nagging, practical bitch who wanted reality to intrude on Bree’s fantasy come to life.

What the hell did it matter that she didn’t know where she stood with him?

In that minute, it didn’t seem to matter at all. She sat at her breakfast bar, drinking steaming hot coffee and watching as he whipped up a couple of ham-and-cheese omelets. Her belly rumbled demandingly as the tantalizing aroma filled the air. By the time he slid one onto a plate and set it in front of her, Bree was all but drooling.

Regular sex sure as hell did a number on the appetite, she’d discovered. So much so that she had decided the other day that she was going to have to start running on a more regular basis and watch what she ate. Food was little more than a necessity for her, or so she’d thought, but between the way Colby moved in the bedroom and the way he moved in the kitchen, she’d discovered there was a lot more pleasure to a meal than she’d realized. Eating alone was depressing as hell. But put this man into the equation and meals took on a different slant.

“How busy is your schedule today?” he asked, settling across from her with his plate full of food.

He’d put on a little bit of the weight he’d lost over the past eighteen months. His cheeks no longer had that hollow look. It was probably her imagination, but he seemed pretty damn happy.

Focusing on the question, she shrugged and said, “Pretty light. Two clients this morning, one this afternoon, but I’ll probably head out early from that one. Pretty standard stuff and my guys can handle it without me.” She cut into her omelet and popped a bite into her mouth. The cheese ended up burning her tongue but it was so damn good that she didn’t care and cut off another bite, eating it just as quickly. “I’ve got a pretty busy schedule for the next month or so, though. Starting Monday. Our bid was accepted for the new subdivision going up on the hill and they’re about ready for us to get started on the grounds.”

This job was going to hopefully give her the money she needed to expand her business a little. She needed more room, an office that wasn’t run out of her garage, and more men. If things went well over the next month or so, she’d have it. She even had her eye on a place and had been juggling figures in her head to make sure she could afford it. Right now, if she cleaned out her savings and ate mac and cheese for a few months, she could do it, but she’d have nothing left over. Bree didn’t like taking those sorts of risks, so when her bid was accepted, she’d been ecstatic. She could buy the property, hire two new guys and maybe even have the money for some new equipment if she was careful.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she studied him from across the table and asked, “What about you?”

He grimaced. “I finished up that book. Got to put a proposal together and shoot it off to Angela. Assuming she hasn’t forgotten who I am.”

Bree grinned at him. “I’m pretty sure she hasn’t forgotten your name yet.”

“I disappeared for more than a year. I’m probably not ranking high on her list of favorite authors.” He shrugged and took another bite of his omelet, but she could tell he was worried.

That was good, though. At least, she thought it was. He’d lost interest in his career once it had become clear that Alyssa wasn’t going to beat the cancer. Seeing him worrying about it was a positive sign in Bree’s mind.

“I don’t know how the writer/agent deal works but if she had problems with you taking some time away, wouldn’t she have to let you know she was going to…I dunno… Can she fire you?”

Colby grinned at her. “No, but she could drop me from her list of authors. And I don’t really see her doing that because of this but that doesn’t mean she’s going to be all that thrilled with me either.”

“Colby, your wife died. Only a heartless bitch wouldn’t understand that you might need some time to deal.”

As soon as she said it, she wished she could yank it back. She’d been so f*cking careful not to put Alyssa between them like that and then she had to go and shove her foot in her mouth. Hell, not just her foot—halfway past her ankle, probably.

His smile faded and he laid the fork down, bracing his elbows on the table. “I know she’ll understand but that doesn’t mean I’m necessarily going to get my career back on track. Authors disappear all the time. All it takes is not getting a book out often enough.”

Bree slid off the stool and went around to stand behind him. Draping her arms over his shoulders, she pressed her cheek to his. “Readers haven’t forgotten about you, Colby. They want more from you. Your agent’s a smart lady. It will be okay.”

She wanted to say more but her cell phone started to ring. Recognizing the tune, she rolled her eyes and grabbed it from the counter. It was Joey, one of the college kids who helped part-time throughout spring, summer and fall. He was a great worker, people liked him, he rarely complained but he was one of those people who things just happened to.