Page 20 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

“Go, then. No one’s stopping you.”

Her chest rose and fell. That was all I needed to see. Because her body’s reaction still didn’t match the words coming out of her mouth. She didn’t want to go at all. She didn’t want to want me—but she did. I could feel it in every fiber of my being. She was holding herself back, though. How the hell do I get her to stop doing that?

“Goodnight,” she finally said, turning around and heading back down the hall, leaving me wanting more. But I was surer than ever that she’d caught feelings, too.

Damn. I never got her number.

***

The following morning, a hint of sun peeked through the dark curtains in my hotel room.

As I blinked my eyes open, I looked over at the alarm clock, and my stomach dropped.

Nine AM!

I was supposed to have been at the worksite by seven.

How the fuck could I have let this happen? Apparently, I’d been so distracted last night that I’d forgotten to set my alarm. Whipping the covers off, I jumped out of bed and started throwing on clothes. I grabbed all of my stuff, tossing everything into the suitcase. I needed to check out since I’d be heading straight home from the worksite.

My head pounded because I needed coffee so badly, but I refused to stop to get some before heading to the project. By the time I arrived at the house, everyone was already busy at work. I was the only asshole moseying in late.

I spotted Alex in a corner of the bedroom off the first floor. She was immersed in conversation with a couple of male volunteers. She laughed as they painted together, and it seemed like she didn’t have a care in the world. She looked amazing in black leggings that accentuated her long legs and a white T-shirt tied in a knot at her waist. Her hair was up in a messy bun. It pissed me off that I’d missed a good chunk of the morning with her.

As I continued admiring her from afar, someone crept up behind me.

“I can see why you like her,” Holden said.

I turned to find him with a smirk on his face. I’d forgotten that while the other guys had already headed back to the City, he was sticking around to help again this morning.

Irked by his comment, I raised a brow. “Why do you say that?”

“I chatted with her earlier. Where were you anyway?”

“I forgot to set my alarm last night.” My eyes drifted over to her again. “You and everyone else around here seems to like her.”

“Maybe you should set your alarm next time, if you don’t want to miss the fun.” He punched me lightly on the arm. “Anyway, what the hell happened last night? The way that chick was hanging all over you, I didn’t know how the evening was going to play out.”

“Kyra was drunk as a skunk, and I wanted nothing to do with her.”

Ironically, Kyra was nowhere to be found this morning. Probably nursing a hangover.

I filled Holden in on everything else that had happened last night—from what Kyra pulled in the elevator to Alex coming to my room.

He shook his head. “You got lucky that Kyra told her the truth. Not sure I would’ve believed you either, if I were Alex.”

“Keep it down,” I whispered. “I don’t want her to know I’m talking about it.”

He lowered his voice. “Anyway, I think you should keep going for it.”

“I’ve been trying, but she’s hard to get.”

“Some of the best things in life are.” He patted me on the back. “Anyway, hate to drag you away as soon as you got here, Romeo, but I need you to come with me to the store. I’m gonna need your help unloading a couple of appliances.”

I looked back over at her. “Shit. Okay. Let me just go say hi first.”

He nodded. “Don’t take too long. I gotta get back to the City soon.”

I entered the bedroom where Alex was still chatting with those guys.

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