Page 68 of Toxic

“We’re not,” Seek insisted.

“Okay,” I said, holding my hand up. “Let’s say for a second you’re right, and he’s wanting to date me.”

“Make you his old lady,” Kit said. “Toxic probably wouldn’t date. He’s an all in or nothing but casual kind of man.”

“I- Okay. Say he wants to make me his old lady,” I conceded. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Tory asked.

“It better not be Will,” Dani muttered.

“It’s not Will exactly,” I said, “just the lesson he taught me. I can’t date a man like that again.”

“Toxic isnothinglike Will, Sweetie,” Dani told me.

“Drop dead gorgeous, sexy as sin, women throw themselves at him even if I’m around, natural born flirt,” I was ticking each item off on my fingers.

“You’re forgetting the key differences,” Dani insisted. “Toxic wouldn’t ever cheat on you. He’s not the type. He’s fiercely loyal.”

“How do you figure?”

“He never gets involved with a woman who has a husband or boyfriend. It was pretty much his only requirement that I couldever tell,” Kit said. “He didn’t exactly have a type. Short, tall, thin, curvy, heavy, blonde hair, brown hair, none of it mattered.”

“That’s not making me feel any better,” I muttered.

“There’s no point in hiding it,” Seek said. “The guy always had a lot of…companionship.”

“Nice way to say he’s a hoe,” Jordan said with a snicker.

“But that’s the point,” Seek continued. “Nothing used to get in the way of him having fun. He’s been sober more in the last couple weeks than I’ve ever seen.”

“Just think about it,” Sloane urged. “Give him a chance to show you that he’s not going to disappoint you.”

“And if you catch him with another woman, shatter her hips,” Isla said, offering up what she clearly considered sage advice. “Only need to do it once for word to get around and women will treat him like a leper.”

We all stared at her. She was smiling at us, pleased with herself.

Biting back a laugh, I shook my head at her. “Okay. I’ll give him a chance, but I’mnotsleeping with him.” My ovaries whimpered. I didn’t comment on the hip shattering suggestion. Best not to give her too much encouragement.

“No problem,” Kit said. “It’s probably good for him that you make him work for what he wants.”

“Aw,” Isla said at the same time. “Poor guy.”

That made everyone laugh and glance over at the men again.

“It won’t kill him to have to put some effort in. We just want to make sure you haven’t written him off completely,” Dani said. “Keely wanted me to let you know that she approves.”

“Gee, that makes me feel so much better,” I said in a dry tone. “She hasn’t returned my call,” I added. “Everything okay?”

“She’s been really busy. Some kind of top secret mission she refuses to tell me about,” Dani replied.

I didn’t know what kind of help I could be to my friend, but I hoped she was being safe. Tucking my legs under me, I settled in to hang out with my new friends.

I wasn’t sure what to make of their urging for me to consider Toxic as relationship material. I’d been hurt pretty badly by Will. And even though it wasn’t fair, I saw too much of him in the way Toxic behaved. At least around women. Otherwise they were completely opposite. Toxic was strong, dependable, trustworthy. Will had been just as unreliable in every aspect of life as he had with other women.

Maybe the girls were right. Maybe Toxic was different. But how could I trust him with my heart? Shoving the thought from my mind, I focused on the other women.

CHAPTER 24

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