Page 37 of Playing My Rivals

She cups my face in her hands. “This is important. I want you to listen to me, not think about ways you’ll have me.”

“What do you want to discuss?”

“A couple of nights while you were gone, I stayed here.” She pauses and presses her lips together.

“Yes. You already told me that. I love that you were here. You can stay here whenever you want.” I run my hands along her thighs, wishing she’d get to the point where she’ll always want to be here.

She rests her hands against my chest as I study her beautiful face. “I want to be the first to tell you this because I want you to trust me.”

My shoulders tense. “I don’t like the sounds of where this is going.”

“Before you get angry, please hear me out.”

My heart braces for impact. “What did you do?”

“I stayed here because I’ve been scared at my place.”

A zap of anxiety zips through my bloodstream. “Why have you been scared?”

“I don’t know, but that’s not what I have to tell you.”

“Beauty, tell me what you need to before I die of an anxiety attack.”

“Okay. I told Jamison I was scared, so he walked me home. Well, he walked me here on those nights.” Guilt hangs in her eyes.

His name makes my blood turn to ice, and my body grows tense. This guy might be the one who undoes me.

“Why him?”

“Hear me out.” She swallows. “He’s the only person other than Melanie who knows about us. I thought it would be better to be seen walking in here with him rather than just wandering to your place by myself.”

Her logic makes sense, so I relax. I nod to acknowledge her.

“Melanie walked with us until we got to her place. Then we walked alone the rest of the way.

“It wasn’t anything I wanted to concern you with, so I didn’t tell you while you were away. I always planned on telling you, though. I just didn’t want you to worry about it when you had such important meetings.”

“I appreciate you explaining this to me. I don’t like that it was him, but I see why you did it.” I tuck a strand of Dorothy’s hair behind her ear. “He didn’t come up here, did he?”

“No. Of course not. I’d never let him in here if you weren’t here.”

She reaches up and pinches her bottom lip as her brow furrows. There’s something more. Her eyes tell me there is.

I squeeze her thighs. “What are you leaving out?”

“Matt and Jerry saw us in the lobby. They were confused as to why I was with Jamison and not you. I think they believe I’m dating both of you. We tried to explain that we’re just friends, but I’m not sure they trust us.”

I’m relieved by her explanation. I thought she was going to say something like Jamison tried to kiss her and I’d have to beat his ass.

My body relaxes against the couch. “That’s it?”

“Yes, but don’t you think that’s bad?”

“Not as bad as where my mind initially went.” I move my hands to her hips and pull her closer to me. “As long as nothing happened between you two, I’m fine. You were honest with me, and that’s all that matters.”

“But what about Matt and Jerry? They think I’m a horrible girlfriend.” She pushes off me.

“I don’t give a fuck what they think. But if it matters to you that much, I’ll talk to them.” I reach for her hand. “Come back here.”

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