“Skye,” I say.
“Yeah?”
“It might interest you to know that I had my tailor make two dresses.”
She swallows the sip of water she just took. “Oh?”
“I did. You’ll be wearing that dress again, but the next time you’ll be on my arm, and there won’t be any question as to who you’re with.”
“Will you destroy it again?” Her lips quiver slightly.
I stare at her. “Yes. Definitely.”
Her cheeks go red, and her brown eyes darken slightly. “When exactly will I be on your arm?”
“You decide.”
She lets out a short laugh. “It’s a cocktail dress, Braden. It might surprise you to know that I don’t frequent a lot of formal affairs.”
“You will now. I’m invited to a lot of them, and since you insist on dating, you’ll be accompanying me.”
“If I insist?”
Oh, she drives me to drink. Those eyes. Those lips. Those needling words that tumble out of her mouth.
“I want you in my bed, Skye. If taking you out sometimes is the way to make that happen, I’ll do it.”
“What if I want more than that?”
“What more is there?”
“A…relationship.”
I tap my fingers on the table. “I’ve told you I can’t be in a relationship with you.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t told me why.”
I wrinkle my forehead. She’s not the first woman to ask why I won’t begin a relationship. But she is the first woman I want to actually answer.
Except my only answer is that I know I’m not wired for long-term. I’ve never met a woman who challenges me enough to make me want to commit.
I don’t let my mind get to the inevitable suggestion it wants to make.
Instead, I say, “The only reason I can give you is that I don’t want a relationship.”
“Why?”
I rub my temple. “You’re persistent. I’ll give you that. But there is no answer.”
“You mean there’s no answer that will satisfy me.”
“Semantics, as you like to say.”
“I like you, Braden.”
I want to smile at her words. But I hold back. “I like you, too. I don’t sleep with people I don’t like.”
“You didn’t let me finish. I like you, but why me? You can have any woman out there. You must know that.”