Page 51 of Business or Pleasure

Men sucked.

A couple minutes later, I jumped when the buzzer next to my door went off, signaling that someone was downstairs, wanting to come in. I sighed and got up, resigning myself to telling Franklin to go away.

Except it wasn’t Franklin who answered my greeting.

“What are you doing here?” Not the politest greeting, but I’d already been rude to him once. Why stop now?

“I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, if it is not too late.”

“You sound like you just stepped out of Downton Abbey.” I hit the right button. “But sure. Come in.”

“I’m Scottish, not English,” he reminded me when I opened my door a few moments later. “Downtown Abbey is English.”

I rolled my eyes as I closed the door and turned to face him. I folded my arms, suddenly remembering that I wasn’t wearing a bra. Or underwear. Just my shorts and t-shirt, both of which were fairly thin cotton. In the right light, he’d know exactly what I didn’t have underneath.

I really shouldn’t have let him in.

“It’s late, Baylen,” I said with a sigh. “You wanted to speak, so speak.”

“I handled things…poorly on Tuesday,” he said. “I didn’t think about what position I might be putting you in by stopping in as often as I did. I should have spoken to you first.”

“Thank you.” I honestly appreciated the apology, but I was the one in the major wrong. And I needed to admit it. “But all that was on me. I had a bad morning, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

The silence that followed was uncomfortable, to say the least. We might’ve apologized for the way we did things, but neither of us had addressed the truth about some of what had been said.

Like the fact that Baylen was going back to Scotland. And he was rich. I wasn’t. Two big reasons that we didn’t work. Couldn’t work.

Right?

“I do intend to return to Scotland.” He broke the silence with a softly spoken statement. “And that raises some questions that will eventually need to be answered, but that’s the future. Right now, I’m here, with you, and I think there’s something between us.”

I swallowed hard as he came toward me. “What about the rest?”

“The rest?”

He was close enough now that I could smell his body wash. Being this near to him threatened to crack my resolve. “Just because I said it rudely doesn’t mean it’s not true. You and I aren’t just from different countries. And a difference in worlds isn’t fixed by a change of location.”

“Aye, if we want there to be something real between us, there aren’t any easy answers.” He reached out and tucked some hair behind my ear, the tips of his fingers brushing my cheek. “But I think it could be worth the work.”

“And if it’s not?”

He shrugged. “Then we go our separate ways. But I don’t want to look back on this and wonder what could’ve happened if I’d just been willing to take the risk.”

I didn’t have to ask myself if I wanted the same thing. I wanted him so badly that it almost hurt. No amount of ice cream or television fantasy could be a replacement. And it wasn’t just physical either.

If all I wanted was an orgasm, I could take care of that myself. If I only wanted sex, I could find someone to hook up with. But I didn’t want just anyone. I wanted him. I wanted a connection with him.

“Is there anything else you want to say?” I asked, tilting my head back so my eyes could meet his.

“Not at the moment.”

“Good.” I grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down as I went up on my toes to bring our mouths together.

For a moment, I surprised him, but it didn’t last long. His hands went to my waist, and I felt the heat of them through my clothes.

I wanted skin on skin.

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