Page 27 of Tempt

“I’m not sure I do.”

“Let me fix this.”

“Is it something to fix?”

He has the good grace to at least look chagrined. “I don’t know, but I hope so.”

“What we have is a single night of sex and a decade of baggage. How do you fix that?”

An unexpected grin flits across his face. “A decade of sex.”

“Sam!”

“It’s basic math. We need balance.”

I would never survive a decade of this.

“You’re too much for me,” I admit. The lack of sleep has made me painfully honest.

His jaw twitches. “I shouldn’t have gone out last night.”

He doesn’t owe me an apology, but I notice that isn’t one. It’s a calculation of error.

I shake my head. “I would have found a way to say goodbye this morning either way.”

He searches my face, his gaze hard, sharp. “I thought we had a connection.”

We always will. That’s the problem. “It was the storm. We got carried away.”

“So what’s your plan now? Find a bench to sit on?” He gestures at the cavernous main hall of the station. “Wait here until you can get a seat? Is that so much better than spending a few more hours with me?”

My chest aches because of course not.

“My life is a series of very bad decisions, Hazel.” He leans in, his voice low and urgent now. “And the thing is, I’ve always known it. Every single time. I’ve known in the moment that it was a mistake to… Pick whatever fuck-up you want. Abandon my girlfriend for poker games. Bet every last penny I had and then some. Lust after my ex’s best friend.” A hard, bitter smile curves at his mouth. “But only because she didn’t want me in the same way.”

I did, though.

“Go into business with my brother. Get addicted to the wins. Forge relationships with people who could give me unfair advantages. Every turn. Mistakes I saw clear as day and embraced anyway.”

“Last night,” I whisper.

“Not a fucking mistake.”

“For you.”

“Ah.” He laughs under his breath. “Well, I can’t argue with that. I’m no good for you.”

“That’s…” I trail off. “Don’t say that.”

“It has to be what you’re thinking.”

“I just don’t want to be pulled under. But I don’t regret last night, at all. It was very good for me.”

“I have some utility?”

“More than some.”

“What if I make you a promise? No expectations. Nobody gets pulled under. You have an out whenever you want it, but let me get you to Ottawa first.”

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