Page 57 of The Bachelor

Hell. She already had jumped head first. Like right off of a tire swing. Let go and fly through the air. There was no point in lying to herself. He looked at her and she melted, just flat out melted down into a drizzle.

“You want me to be your dirty little secret?” he said, looking amused at the idea. “The fucking irony of that is huge.”

“Dirty, yes. Secret, sort of. I mean, it’s not like we can pretend we don’t know each other. And I’m not saying we need to stay in the house all the time. I just mean, like no public displays of affection.”

“So we’re just going to pretend we’re buddies hanging out all the time? Nobody is going to believe that.” He looked like he didn’t understand what her point was. “I’m not doing that, sorry. You’re mine, and I want the world to know.”

Avery didn’t want to pretend to be buddies either. She was done taking crap off people for knowing Shane. So maybe that wasn’t even it. Maybe she didn’t want to share him. Maybe she didn’t want to lose him.

If that happened, she didn’t want to be any more hurt than she had to be, and snickers from co-workers would like salt in a wound, because it was going to hurt. “I just don’t want to come off as a foolish schoolgirl crushing on you. I want to retain some dignity.”

“No one is going to think you’re a foolish schoolgirl.”

Easy for him to say. “I’m kind of a foolish schoolgirl.”

“Avery. You are not. If anything, being public about our relationship makes it seem legitimate. Not shady.”

She really didn’t like the sound of that. “So what, you legitimize me?”

“No, no, no. That is not what I meant.” He put his hands up. “I meant that if we’re in a relationship, you can’t be sleeping with the boss for success. We’re a couple. And I won’t have anything to do with the production. The song will stand on its own. Trust me.”

“What if my song sucks? she asked, because suddenly she realized that was her real fear.

“Your song does not suck. I know talent. Jolene and Chance know talent. It’s an amazing song. And I will be your secret boyfriend because you asked me to. But it’s going to suck.”

Boyfriend. The word gave her a thrill and a chill all at once.

“It will be okay,” she told him, massaging the back of his neck. “Because I’m just happy to be spending time with you.”

His face softened. “That’s why you’re good for me. I can’t be sour when give me that look.”

She’d give him any look he wanted. It was that kind of weekend.

TWENTY-EIGHT

“Are we going to spend the entire day in bed?” Avery asked, resting her chin on his chest.

It was late afternoon. After breakfast at a diner around the corner Shane had decided it was really important to lay Avery on his couch and make love to her there. Now they were curled up, satisfied, and he was perfectly content. “One, why not? Two, we’re not in bed. We’re on the couch.”

“Don’t you have things to do?”

“Just you.” Everything else could fuck off. “But you’re right, we should get out of the house. Want to go riding?”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Sure. I haven’t ridden in a few years but I’m guessing you miss it.”

“I do.” She squeezed him, hard. “You’re a very sweet man.”

Her compliments always made him mildly uncomfortable and a lot sheepish. “I guess we should swing by your apartment. You can’t go riding in high-heel boots. Or maybe you can.” He pondered that. “Hell, now there’s a sexy image.”

She laughed. “No, I can’t. But we shouldn’t go to my apartment. We’re being discreet, remember?”

Fuck discreet. That was her rule, not his. But he had to respect it. It pissed him off that people at work had given her shit about him. Not surprising, but still damn annoying. “Next weekend pack real boots. Not fuck-me-boots.”

“Next weekend? What’s next weekend?”

“The Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after the other days of the week.” Shane idly ran his hand down her narrow hip, enjoying the way he left a trail of goose bumps over her soft skin. If they were going to date, they were going to spend time together. He may not know dick about relationships, but he knew that. He wanted to see her every minute that he could.

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