Page 44 of Bargain with the Bachelor
She laughed. “I don’t know... with the right motivation I think you could be pretty badass.”
Warmth washed over me, sending blood to my muscles—and to my cock, which was apparently determined to take every little kindness from Kristal as some sort of cosmic sign.
But it wasn’t a sign. She was making a joke—simple as that. We’d been driven off the beach by a swan, and she was making light of it.
My cock was an idiot.
And so was I. I’d come perilously close to making a fatal mistake—attempting to kiss Kristal when she’d made it clear time and time again she only wanted friendship from me.
Saved by the swan. I owe you one, Romeo.
Feeling like my feet were made of lead, I commanded myself to turn away from her and started walking to the car.
“We should get back,” I called back over my shoulder. “The good light’s almost gone, isn’t it? Or if you want to stay a while longer, I’ll leave you the car and just run back to the house.”
Once I’d said it, I fervently hoped she’d take me up on that offer. I was filled with a charging energy I had no outlet for. A run would do me good.
But of course I wasn’t that lucky. Behind me I heard Kristal following.
“No. I got a lot of good shots,” she said. “We can go back together.”
If the ride there had been quiet, the drive home was silent as a tomb. I was aware of every shift in Kristal’s posture, the sound of her breathing, the soft scent of her body lotion wafting across my nose as the car’s heating vents kicked in.
What was she thinking over there?
I wished for just a few minutes I could read her mind, find out what had been going through it as we’d stood there on the beach, facing each other only inches apart.
Had shewantedme to kiss her? If I hadn’t been swan-blocked and had succeeded in making a move and taking her into my arms, would it have annihilated our friendship and our living arrangement?
What a fucked-up mess I was.
Apparently wallowing in unrequited love all throughout high school hadn’t been enough for me. I’d had to go and ruin my adult life as well.
Something would have to change soon. I couldn’t take much more.
Back at the mansion, I parked in the driveway. Instead of obeying the urge to leap from the car and run away from her, I compelled myself to act like asaneperson and go around to the passenger side to open Kristal’s door.
“Thank you. And thank you for taking me,” she said as she stepped out of the car and walked toward the house with me. “I know you were busy, and it was a lot to ask.”
I shook my head. “No problem. You were right. I needed a break. To be honest, I think we’re all going a little stir-crazy. It’s been over a year of non-stop fifteen-hour workdays for all of us.”
“No wonder you’ve made such a success of your company. You drive yourself—and everyone else—so hard.”
I gave her a sardonic look. “Are you saying I’m a mean boss?”
“I’m saying I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who expects so much of himself and others and has such ambition—for success, power, respect—except for maybe my father.”
My brows lowered. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“No, not really. It’s just… well, he missed out on a lot of good things in life. And the doctors said stress contributed to his health crisis and premature death.”
Stopping at the front door with my hand on the door pull, I turned to her. “If I didn’t know any better… I’d say you were worried about me.”
Kristal’s tone didn’t match my facetious one. Instead, she sounded completely sincere. Her big green eyes seemed to penetrate down to my soul. “I do worry, Hunter. I care about you.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. What was going on here? And why hadn’t we startedthisconversation a little earlier before reaching the front door?
“Well… you don’t need to worry,” I said cautiously. “I’ve got everything under control.”
