Page 24 of Foreplay on Words

The way her eyes widened after I said that almost made me feel guilty, but the way her pupils dilated as she looked at my lips afterward made it worth it.

“So, you read it?”

“I couldn’t put it down.” It was the truth, her words had sucked me in, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages on my tablet. It was the quickest I’d devoured a book in years. I usually got so distracted by my characters I couldn’t finish books written by other writers. “If you hadn’t shown up yesterday, I probably would have stewed in my book hangover for days.”

She was quiet for a moment before standing up next to me. “Will you show me something?”

Images of her on my bed flitted through my mind as I watched the light breeze dance with her hair.

“Sure.”

“Take me on a walk,” she requested quietly. “You have to have explored this place. It’s so pretty it seems like a waste to spend all day working.”

“I’ve cleared some trails around the pond,” I told her as I pointed to a break in the trees.

“Let’s take a break,” she urged as she put the notebooks aside.

“You sure we shouldn’t keep going? We just got started.” I was confused at her sudden need to explore my property.

“I’m here for two weeks, and you’re not as hopeless as I thought. We’ve got time. Come on.” She started to walk toward the water’s edge.

It really was amazing how clear the water stayed. I’d spent a lot of time looking over it, trying to make sense of the words in my head.

I nodded toward a break in the trees, and she followed me.

“How long have you lived here?” Her voice was quiet but curious.

“Three years.”

“Why here?” I don’t know if anyone ever asked me that question. Adrian hadn’t cared. He’d only been upset I wasn’t as accessible outside of the city.

“I was taking some grad-level courses at UConn and fell in love with the area. When I decided I wanted to build, this property was the first one my agent showed me.”

“I thought you lived in Boston before you moved here?” It thrilled me that she listened when I talked.

“I did,” I confirmed, intentionally leaving out the details of my time there.

“Why did you come to UConn? You couldn’t have gone to Boston College?”

“I could have. But I didn’t want to stay in the city anymore.” It was too toxic for me to stay there.

“Because you wanted a quieter life?” she asked as she glanced over at me.

Not exactly.

“I didn’t want to have to find a new apartment.” I knew I was being cryptic, but I hated that part of my life.

“So, you moved to Connecticut?” She narrowed her eyes and studied my face. “It seems like there’s a story there to move several hours away. Especially since your family is in Chicago.”

“There is.” A story I had no interest in telling her.

“And?” I should have been annoyed that she was prying into parts of my life I didn’t like thinking about, much less talking about, but I had a hard time being irritated with her.

“Ex-girlfriend wanted the apartment. I wanted to get away from her.”

“That’s all I get?” she laughed.

“What about you? How long have you been in Boston?” I changed the subject.

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