And damn it, she could see it.
“Fine,” Beth snapped. “You can come in. But only for a minute. I’m working.” She opened the door wide to let him through and, as he passed, the faint scent of his soap hit her hard. Her knees actually went weak, as if she were leaving his bed again, her body limp with satisfaction.
She touched the door handle to ground herself in the present, then clicked the lock shut again.
She found him standing just a few feet inside, looking over the store as if it were a strange land he’d never visited. True enough, she supposed. The other brother was the one who’d come to the store with a girl.
For a moment, she just waited for him to turn around again, but as she shifted, crossing her arms and then uncrossing them, she realized she felt too vulnerable. She didn’t know what to do with her hands. Didn’t know if she should look casual or tense or aggressive. So Beth walked past him and moved around the glass countertop to her normal station next to the cash register. It felt better to have two feet of counter between them.
Eric seemed unable to tear his eyes away from the back-to-school display. Admittedly, it was a little different from most. The mannequin was dressed in a white button-down shirt and a short black skirt, and she held a ruler in one hand as she peered above the tops of her black glasses. But the other hand held a whip, and her platform shoes were adorned with five-inch metal heels. Beth especially liked
the shiny red apple that was perched on top of the sex-ed books at her feet. It was cute and wicked at the same time, but Eric looked only stunned.
Beth cleared her throat.
“Sorry,” he said, swinging around to her. “I mean, I’m sorry about everything. And how you found out.”
She kept as little emotion in her eyes as possible, unwilling to be vulnerable for him again.
Eric took a step forward and set his hands opposite hers on the counter. For a moment he seemed distracted by the piercing jewelry beneath the glass, or maybe it was the metal cock rings, but then he shook his head. “I can’t really explain why I didn’t tell you my real name. It doesn’t make any sense. It was wrong, and I knew it at the time.”
“But you didn’t care.”
“It didn’t feel real. I don’t mean you, of course,” he said quickly. “You felt… Yeah.”
Her lips started to tilt up, so she pressed them together.
Eric cleared his throat. “But it was all a fantasy, wasn’t it? I’m not the kind of guy who meets a beautiful woman and invites her to a hotel room. It felt like I was someone else.”
“Your brother?”
He winced. “No. Just not myself.”
She wanted to hate him. She did hate him. But she also knew what he meant. She wasn’t the type of woman who slept with a man just a few hours after meeting him. Not that she’d admit that to Eric.
“You look more like an Eric,” she said.
“Do I?”
Beth shrugged. “You can go now,” she said icily, determined not to give in to the twinge of understanding she felt for him.
Silence hung heavy for a moment, and then he nodded. “All right. But I wasn’t playing a game. I don’t want you to feel I made a fool out of you.”
She froze. “Excuse me?”
“I didn’t,” he said quickly.
“Oh, I know you didn’t. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
His eyes widened in alarm. “Of course! I didn’t mean to imply—”
“You made a fool out of yourself, Eric Donovan,” she said past a tight jaw. “I’m fine. I’m great.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I know you are.” His head bowed, but when Beth took a step back, he looked up again. The lines around his eyes looked deeper. “Thanks for letting me in. I just wanted to be sure you were okay.”
“I am.”
“Good.” He left then, unlocking the door and offering a grim wave as he slipped out. Beth just stood there as he left and told herself she was glad she’d never see him again. He was a liar and a cheat, and he didn’t deserve her attention.