Page 57 of So in Love
Jamie slammed the rest of his beer and set the empty on the counter amidst the usual detritus.He moved some of it aside and heard a thwack as something hit the floor.Classic.
He went around the counter to see what had fallen.It was Crystal’s phone.
Hell.
He dashed out the door to catch her, but she was long gone from the hallway.Maybe if he ran down the stairs, he’d find her in the lobby.
Empty.
He looked outside and saw her car disappearing down the street.Damn.
He retraced his steps thinking he’d just text her.He laughed out loud, filling the stairwell.“Genius idea, asshole.”If he wasn’t careful, he might have to forfeit his Mensa card.
Because he’d been a colossal moron.He should’ve asked her about the actor.Only he’d been trying to play it cool.Except there was nothing cool about behaving like a petulant teen whose girlfriend had hung out with a guy friend and done him a favor to make another girl jealous.
Well, there was only one thing to do.
He went back to his loft, grabbed his key fob—and put on a pair of shoes, geez, he really was an idiot—and his coat and went down to the parking garage.He drove out to Alaina and Evan’s sprawling property, which he’d only been to a couple of times.His familiarity was enough for him to find the guesthouse where Crystal “lived” when she was here.
The property was a few miles south of town, and the lack of light was never more evident than on a cold winter night in which a thick cloud cover completely masked the sky.The porch light at the guesthouse offered a tiny beacon to guide him.He drove up and parked in the driveway, hoping that her car was in the garage and that she was actually here.
He strode up to the door and stood for a second before knocking.What was he waiting for?
He lifted his hand and rapped his knuckles loudly.A moment later, the door opened.Crystal’s gaze flickered with surprise.“You aren’t Alaina or Evan.”
“No.”He stared at her, feasting on the sultry tilt of her eyes, the sculpt of her cheekbones, the lush curve of her lips.He’d missed her, and he’d worked hard to hide that fact back at his loft.Now he didn’t care.
She stared back, her features impassive.“Why are you here?”
He fished her phone out of his coat pocket.“You left this at my loft.”
“Oh.”Her gaze flicked to the phone in his hand.She seemed neither surprised nor grateful.Did she even know she’d left it behind?Pale pink spiked her cheeks.“I didn’t realize I didn’t have it.”
That answered that, then.And that surprised him.She was quite attached to her phone because of her job.“I probably pissed you off so much that you didn’t notice.”
Her eyes locked with his.“Not really.I’m sorry about Adam.I didn’t think about how that would look.”
“Nor should you have.We didn’t have any sort of commitment.”
“No, but you’re right about not doing this with multiple people—and I haven’t.”
“Me neither.”He couldn’t look away from her.He didn’t want to look away from her.“And here’s the thing, I don’t want to.”He knew his filter was about to fail, and he didn’t care.“I shouldn’t say this, but I need to.I love spending time with you.I missed you when you were gone.I… I could very easily develop feelings for you.If I haven’t already.”
He thought about what Sara had said to him last week, that he’d get married and have kids someday, and how he’d brushed her off.Suddenly that didn’t seem like such a ridiculous idea.
“Don’t say that,” she said, sounding scared.“There are a ton of reasons we shouldn’t be together.”
He fought the urge to smile.“Name one.”
She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.“Our ages.I’m too old.Or you’re too young.Both.”
He went straight past merely smiling and laughed.“That’s absurd.”
“We have almost nothing in common.”
“Also absurd—I seem to recall both of us liking sex, particularly witheach other.”He made a sound like a game show buzzer.“Next.”
She pouted and the set of her lips was so sexy, he had to try very hard not to kiss her.“I hate small towns.Jamie, I don’t evenlivehere.”
