“I never joke about food,” he said.
“Good to know,” I mumbled around another bite. My stomach kept me glued to the sandwich. That was, until Guy’s phone buzzed again, sounding much louder and more persistent than before. How? Honestly, I couldn’t tell. Probably because the damn thing had gone off routinely every few minutes since right before Guy started making lunch.
“You sure you don’t want to grab that?” I asked. “I don’t mind.”
I figured I was far better off finding out he had a girlfriend before letting things go any further than this. Otherwise, I would be responsible for breaking up a relationship and I couldn’t be the peg that did that. And I was close to insisting on this one. That or leaving and leaving him to his life.
“I’m eating,” he said. “Whoever they are can wait.”
I sat my plate down, extremely annoyed. I shifted in my seat and twisted to face Guy head-on. He stared at me with a concerned expression. My mood was his fault. Now he was going to see what serious Cadence looked like.
“Look, I like you. A lot. But I can’t do this if you have a woman. And, quite frankly, the constant insisting of not answering the phone, the lame excuse of not knowing the number, the repetitive buzzing… all of that is raising huge red flags for me. Not that I had much of an expectation when it came to you, but this whole thing is pushing me to believe this was a massive mistake.”
“I don’t,” he said, calmly setting his plate on the coffee table in front of the couch before turning to face me.
“What?” I asked.
“I was telling you the truth when I said I have no idea who that is. I don’t recognize the number and I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t know. I build houses for a living and sometimes my number is given to the customers who find something wrong with their home and decide to blow my phone up to get something for free.”
I stared at him for several long moments.
He chuckled nervously. “Alright look, if you want, I will check right now.”
I nodded. “Please.”
He pulled out his phone as the buzzing stopped. He sighed and sat it on the coffee table too. “Looks like they gave up.”
“For now,” I said.
“That’s true,” he added.
For the next several moments, I thought about what he said. He had to be telling the truth. Ezra said Guy helped him with building the cabin, and he mentioned the sort of work he did. Suddenly a phone constantly going off wasn’t so much of a red flag.
“Okay,” I said. “I believe you.”
He glanced at me. “Thank you. I don’t want to give you reasons not to. I’m sorry for not explaining that earlier. I was just excited to make you food.”
“I appreciate that,” I said.
“Want another one of those?” He pointed to my mug.
I nodded and handed him the cup. “Yes, please. Thank you.”
“Be right back,” he said and stood up to leave.
I watched him go, observing his tight ass in his tighter blue jeans. I bit my lip. Damn, he was hot. And available, according to him. I truly did want to believe him. There wasn’t entirely a reason not to.
About half an hour later, lunch was done, and I had finished the last of my second drink. I figured I needed to stand up and go before I did something I might live to regret. But no sooner than I had made up my mind and was starting to stand up, Guy pulled my attention to the storm.
The very one I had forgotten all about because I was so wrapped up in him and his pressence. Then he asked me to stay, and I held my breath. My arousal spiked and I wasn’t sure if it was a stellar idea to stay. God, I wanted to. But with the way I keep wanting to rip his clothes from his body… I have morals and restraint, after all.
“I’m not sure staying is a great idea,” I said. And it sucked hearing the words come from my mouth. More than I could express.
“Please,” he insisted. “I would hate for you to get into some accident.”
I sighed and stared out the window. He was right. I knew it. He knew it. The state of everything was a matter of fact. But that still didn’t make staying with him the right thing to do. Especially since I felt my resolve weaken more and more.
Yet, as I met his gaze, the whiskey hit my system and started clouding my senses. All I could think about was his lips and what they would feel like on mine.