Page 55 of The Single Dad

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“No.” I shake my head, mystified. “I really don’t.”

Around us, the traffic starts again. It takes a blaring car horn to make me notice that the light has turned green.

Her voice is small, and she looks away as if embarrassed as she says, “I’m talking about the woman you fucked last night.”

My brows draw together as I try to figure out what the hell she’s talking about.

The woman I fucked…?

The tension melts from me instantly with the sudden burst of clarity.

“Oh.” I let out a breath, relieved. “You mean Carrie? That wasn’t it at all.”

“Then what—”

“She’s my masseuse,” I explain. “She comes over once a month. I spend long hours at work, and it’s not exactly easy on my spine. That, and…”

I trail off. I’m not ready to admit to the rest: that my injuries still plague me from time to time, ever since the incident. That frequent massages help to keep the soreness at bay.

I try to continue as if I hadn’t almost slipped up. “Anyway, I like to get a massage once a month, and it’s more convenient for her to come to me rather than the other way around. She gets paid a good premium for a house call, so she doesn’t mind.”

“Oh,” Riley says. “Okay.” I glance at her. She’s staring out of the windshield, but there’s obvious relief in her face. She takes a breath. “A masseuse. What about her massage table?”

I chuckle. “I have one at the house. Makes it easier for Carrie. That way, she doesn’t have to lug her equipment around.”

“Oh. That’s… I understand,” Riley says. Her stare seems a million miles away, but I can tell that she believes me.

But it’s not enough for her to believe me. I want her to understand me.

“I know I made that comment about women coming over,” I say, “but I actually haven’t fucked anyone since you moved in.”

Her gaze flashes to me, and she blinks, surprised. “What, you just haven’t wanted anyone?”

I meet her gaze briefly before returning my eyes to the road. I grip the steering wheel tighter, heat flashing through me. “That’s not true. There’s someone I want.”

Both of us lapse into silence. The New York traffic slides around us, a sea of black and gray cars dotted with yellow taxis.

The tension between us is palpable. She sits next to me, fiddling aimlessly with the threads of a hole in her distressed jeans, and I’m filled with the sudden urge to reach over to the passenger’s seat, slip my fingers beneath the fabric, and tear it off.

I feel like I’m about to snap. I’ve never craved anyone like this, like I crave her. I’ve never felt desire this strong, strong enough that I almost want to abandon the wheel just to have my hands on her body.

I want her. Badly.

But I can’t have her.

Chapter 18

Riley

After Cole picks me up from the community center, the following week is a special kind of hell.

At this point, we’re both aware of this thing burning between us—it’s gotten too powerful to deny, and we have each separately admitted that we feel it.

But neither of us will do anything about it.

I’m definitely not allowed to do anything about it. Cole is my boss. It’s a good job, and if nothing else, I owe it to Archie to keep things professional.

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