“You’re young, vulnerable, and we’re trying to get your life back on track. You have a history you should face, not bury. I don’t want to make things worse for you.”
“I’m of legal age, sound mind, and want to have fun for a change,” I insisted.
“You need to work through what happened to you. I’m not taking any chances.”
“Telling me what I need and what I don’t need is chauvinistic.”
“Fine. I’ll rephrase—you can be with other men. But not with me.”
It scissored my gut. The way he didn’t trust that I was okay. I smeared a calm smile over my face, beaming through the pain.
“Thought you said I needed to stay abstinent.”
If you don’t crave me, at least be possessive of me.
“Change of plans. You can sleep with whomever you want.” He paused, frowning down at me. “Provided fuckface doesn’t mind a little audience. I’m not letting you be alone with some random.”
“No one’s gonna want to do that.”
“No?” He made a sad face. “Too bad.”
Tears pinched at the back of my nose. He was being his special brand of asshole again. The message was clear—he didn’t want anything to do with me sexually. A fling was off the table. Texas was a one-off. Who knew? Maybe he wasn’t into me there, either. What if he just felt bad for me because of Craig? A pity fuck. His version of a friendly pat on the back.
Yeah. That’s all it was. He didn’t want me to fall apart at the wedding. To be unwell when his entire job was to keep me together. He was only everfixingme, not fucking me, that night.
I wanted to be sick.
“Hand me my phone back?” He opened his palm, placing it between us.
I dropped the device into his hand, looking away.
I Siri-texted Keller on my way to the house.
SOS. Need mental TLC and friendly advice. See you at my place.
By the time the taxi pulled up to my front door, Keller’s cherry red Ford Mustang Shelby was already there, blocking the garage door. Keller hopped out of the car just as I materialized from the cab, wearing a neck scarf, oversized glasses, and an ironic Hawaiian shirt.
“Darling! Back from the wilderness.” He kissed the air next to both my cheeks. He slid his glasses down his nose and widened his eyes to what was happening behind my shoulder, AKA the bane of my existence exiting the taxi, then pulling our suitcases out of the trunk.
“My, my. I’ll have him for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.”
“Just be careful not to choke,” I muttered, sliding my sunglasses up to rest on my head. “He’s a health hazard.”
“He looks like a vice.” Keller smiled to himself, hugging my shoulder. “You wanna tell me you still haven’t sampled him?”
“About that.” I cleared my throat. “Let’s head inside. We need to talk.”
“And leave him with the suitcases?” A mischievous glint zinged in Keller’s eyes.
I tossed a look behind my shoulder, then gave Keller a shrug.
He winced. “Ugh. I can already tell the energy between you two issonot good for my skin.”
Keller and I walked into my house. I grabbed a couple La Croix cans and made my way up the stairs. I locked both of us in my room before Ransom could give me the third degree about screening people before they entered the house.
“Tell me everything.” Keller clapped his hands together. “Starting from the rumors your sister was a bridezilla. The tabloids are having a field day after what was leaked from the pre-wedding photo shoot. Was she that bad?”
“No,” I said, crossing my legs over my bed. “She wasworse.”