Neighbors with Benefits (Anderson Brothers, #2)(51)
Oh, no f*cking way. She was not going back to this business only routine after they’d come this far. He dropped the clothes on the floor and spun her to face him directly. “Here’s the deal, Mia. There is no deal. That all changed when I…” He stopped himself before he actually said it.
An odd look crossed her face. “All of that changed when you what?”
When I fell in love with you. But he couldn’t say the words—not when she looked so hurt and honestly, horrified. He’d thought she felt the same way, but apparently he’d read it wrong.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m pretty sure where this conversation is going, but I’m also sure this is not the time or place to have it. If you are backing out of the deal now because of what happened in that closet, then I really underestimated you. And me, I guess.” She handed him the leash. “You walk the dog. I’m going to shower.”
Clancy tugged at the leash and whined. Wait. She thought he was calling off their deal because of sex? “You misunderstood.”
“Clearly,” she said, picking up the clothes from the floor, then turning sideways to squeeze into the room. The door closed with a click and Clancy whined again.
Sonofabitch. He looked down at Clancy at his feet, still pulling on the leash. What the f*ck was he supposed to do now? She’d jumped to the absolute wrong conclusion.
The dog pulled harder and barked. First things first.
Clancy took care of business right away, but Michael figured he should come up with a strategy for dealing with the confusion before he returned to the room.
Think on the why, not only the what. It was his usual mantra when coming up with pitch strategies. The what in this case was obvious: Mia thought that now they’d had sex, he was done with their agreement. Though, in his mind, that was a pretty big leap for her considering how the weekend had been going so far.
“Why, Clancy?” he asked the dog sitting next to him on the bench on the bed and breakfast porch. “Why did she make that leap when it wasn’t logical?”
She was impulsive—and while he loved that about her, it was also a pain in the ass. Clancy stared back at him as if he understood every word he was saying. “Human relationships are not logical,” he continued. “You’re lucky you’re a dog.” Clancy’s tail tapped on the bench as he gave a commiserative wag.
“Why?” he asked again. Because she was returning to past habits. Self-doubt. And it had happened to her multiple times. No sex-first relationships was her non-negotiable rule, and something in what he’d said, or not said, or maybe nothing but her own fear, had led her to believe that was exactly what had happened.
It probably wasn’t his fault she’d misread the conversation, but it would be his fault if he didn’t straighten it out. This was a deal he planned to land, even if it meant losing a little control. He couldn’t let her go.
“Okay, Clancy. Here’s the strategy: I’ll try to reason with her and straighten this out. I’ll even beg if necessary. If that doesn’t work, you turn on the charm, okay?”
Clancy affirmed with a shrill yip.
Chapter Seventeen
Mia stepped out of the shower much calmer than when she’d gotten in. One day, she’d learn to sit back and wait before she said something. One day, she’d be less impulsive.
Dammit. He’d left her nothing to wear but her outfit for tomorrow or the red dress she’d just worn that was too much for pajamas and way less than clean. After brushing her teeth, she climbed into bed, still wrapped in a bath towel, and pulled the covers to her chin.
Michael had been gone a long time. Too long.
She stared at his suit for the wedding, which he’d hung on the bathroom door. Surely he hadn’t headed back home and left that behind.
She’d replayed their conversation over and over in her head and was now doubting she had it right. He’d really said nothing indicating it was a one-and-done. But, seeing Clancy had reminded her that from his side, this was carrying out a business agreement and that she needed to pull her heart out of the clouds or she’d be gluing the pieces of it back together all over again.
“You misunderstood.”
Maybe she had. He was different than the others—she just knew it. She was the master of impulsive behavior and had let her fear take over. She rolled to her side and tried to empty her mind. Breath in four, out eight. In four, out eight. To her relief, she heard the door open and thump into the bed. He hadn’t left.
Too big a chicken to face him, she pretended to be asleep.
The shower started and after a moment, she rolled over.
“I thought so,” he said with a sly smile from the bathroom doorway. “I found it unlikely you’d be asleep after being so angry.”
Clever man. “I wasn’t angry. I was hurt. And probably rash.”
He reached into the shower and turned the water off. “Definitely rash.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You didn’t finish your sentence in the hallway and I filled in the blank.”
“Yes, you did.” He sat on the edge of the bed and patted it. Clancy jumped up and joined them. She loved how comfortable he’d become with the dog. “And I can see how you jumped to the wrong conclusion. But it was a very wrong conclusion.”