Page 70 of Without Regret

“It was my aunt wishing me happy birthday, and we were wrapping up. And after getting a look at you, Mason will understand waiting. Why did you come by?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry for yesterday.”

His eyes were locked on mine. “Don’t be if it’s how you feel. If you don’t want something more than sex, then I’m a big boy and will have to accept it.”

“I didn’t like the way we left things.” I took a deep breath. “I realize this is more than sex, Trev. I just don’t know how to talk about it.”

He broke into a grin. “Then we’ll go from there. Okay?”

It was that simple? I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but visions of a contract negotiation kind of came to mind. I expelled a breath. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Give me a minute to go check on Mason and Rufus?”

“If you have plans, I get it.”

“We don’t. He was in town for business and is heading to Irvine tonight, but he wanted to say hello to Rufus first.”

“You could bring Rufus here when you come back.”

He stroked my face. “You missed him?”

“Yes.” I think we both knew we weren’t talking about just the dog.

“I have his bed and stuff at my place.”

“I can come down there instead.”

“I’ll call you once Mason leaves.”

When Trevor rang, I was down in his room in minutes. I found myself a bundle of nerves.

He must’ve read the panic on my face for he pulled me inside as if knowing I was about to flee. Even though he’d said we could go from there, the simple acknowledgment this was more than sex, I knew I needed to give him more.

“You okay?”

I shook my head, trying to fight my emotions. Best to blurt it all out. “I have a tough time talking about my childhood. Nothing about it was good.”

My words obviously took him off guard. He cursed under his breath before grabbing my hand and leading me to the wingback chair in the corner of the living room. There, he settled me onto his lap. But Rufus wasn’t content to be left out. He lumbered over and set his head on the armrest, waiting for me to pet him and thus making me emotional. Rufus had come from a rough start, too, yet he seemed to have no issue with accepting love and affection now.

“Hey, big guy. I missed you, too.” I scratched him for a few minutes before he turned and went back to his bed. “He’d make a great therapy dog.”

“Some people say a dog can see into a person’s soul. That they can tell when you need a good listener.”

I’d believe that.

“I don’t have a family, and I don’t talk about anything before moving to New York at eighteen,” I said. “I don’t celebrate my birthday, and I don’t have anyone I keep in touch with from that time before New York. I realize I may not be opening up completely, but it’s a big step for me to share that much.”

He kissed my forehead. “I can imagine it is. Just you coming over here tonight speaks volumes. As for the rest, I’ll respect the boundary. And if there are any other questions which bother you, then you can tell me. I promise not to push.”

Tremendous relief flooded my heart and head. “All right.” I wanted to do this. Fight the apprehension and let him in. “Maybe we can do a lightning round of questions to get to know each other better.” I figured him prompting me was better than trying to get it out myself. And I was ready to rip off the band-aid.

He gave me a sexy smirk. “When you first arrived in New York, what was your first impression?”

I smiled because that was easy to talk about. “Magical. It was my new beginning. I was broke and lived with a ton of roommates, basically renting a cot in the corner of a room. I started working as a receptionist at the Stone Group that first year. Didn’t meet Simon until a year later, and I’ve worked for him as his assistant ever since.”

“I hate that I’m about to ask this, but you two—?”

I shook my head, accustomed to this perception. “Nope. Never. He was always like an older brother and, well, wasn’t my type.”

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