Page 88 of Rent Free

“You misspoke about what?” I asked carefully.

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing, and said, “A year ago, I hated that I wanted you so much.”

I gritted my teeth.

“And when I finally broke, when I had you for the first time, I realized that maybe I was a dumbass,” he continued.

A laugh burst free from my lips.

His grin was soft as he said, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

I took a seat on the bed, my toes curling in the carpet.

“I’m not trying to make things difficult,” I admitted.

He ran one hand through his hair.

“That’s the problem,” he admitted. “You don’t need me. You want me.”

“I don’t want you,” I lied.

His look showed me he didn’t believe me at all.

“I have no clue what I’m doing,” he admitted. “Every woman I’ve dated has been bad. I’ve had seven long-term girlfriends since high school, and every last one of them turned out to be nothing like I thought they were. I’m hesitant to believe what’s right in front of my eyes now.”

I bit my lip. “And what, exactly, is it that is right in front of your eyes?”

He straightened up. “My future. The woman I can see myself spending the rest of my life with.”

My breath caught.

“We need to take this slow. Not because I want to, but because I have a little boy to think about now,” he said. “And, sadly, I know that Sage and Emory aren’t done with us. I know this is about to be a shit storm of epic proportions, and I want you and me to be solid. We can’t let the two of them get in between us. I want this to work. I want this to be so fuckin’ solid that no matter what they throw at us, they can’t hurt what we have.”

I wilted at his words. “That…”

He moved farther into the room, his eyes on me.

He dropped down to his haunches in front of me before he said, “And I don’t want you thinking that the only reason I want you here with me is because I need a babysitter. I have about twenty of them if I really needed it. That’s why I’m gonna give that Montessori school a call in the morning and get him enrolled. That way, I can take him and drop him off. Then all you have to do is pick him up if one of the family isn’t already on the way home and can get him.”

Emotion welled in my throat. “Are you sure?”

He tilted my head up so my eyes could meet his.

What I saw there sent shivers down my spine.

“I’ll take it slow,” he admitted. “That way we don’t get ahead of ourselves.”

“What’s that mean?” I asked. “No, uh…”

“Sex?” he chuckled. “Yes, that means no sex… for now.”

“Until when?” I wondered.

“Until it’s time.” He stood. “Goodnight, Pepper.”

“Until when?” I repeated.

“You’ll know when.”

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