Obviously, he was sincere.
Maybe he was trying to get over his past and move on with a woman he…liked.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my heart aching because I wanted nothing more than to throw myself in his arms and tell him I wanted him, which I did. “I just didn’t understand that you were truly interested in me.”
He shrugged. “What man wouldn’t be, Shelby? There’s not a damn thing about you that hasn’t gotten my attention from the very beginning. You’re different from any woman I’ve ever known.”
My heart squeezed inside my chest at his words.
Truthfully, I’d never meet a man like Wyatt Durand, either, and I still wasn’t quite sure what to do with this Wyatt who was, for him, spilling his guts to me.
I was honestly still stunned that he wanted to date me.
I guess the question was, could I start something with Wyatt while I still believed he was trying to shake off his feelings for an old lover?
Hell, maybe a new, honest relationship with someone who really cared was what he needed to get over her.
I stood, trying to find a way to feel less vulnerable. “A big part of me wants to give it a try, but I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I’m completely ready for it.” I took a deep breath, knowing I was going to have to bear my soul to Wyatt so he’d understand. “Justin cheated on me. Over and over again. I didn’t know about all of the other women until it all came out during his prosecution. It completely killed any confidence I had left that I’d ever be enough for any man. I went through counseling in Montana, but those feelings have never quite gone away.”
Wyatt reached out, took my hand, and entwined his fingers with mine. “I understand,” he said huskily. “And I’m perfectly willing to convince you that you’re more than enough.”
Honestly, I believed him. He understood what it was like to be rejected for the man he was and be sought out only for his money.
I nodded and swallowed hard. “The last thing you need is a woman who doesn’t completely have her shit together emotionally.”
God, I really wanted to fall into bed with Wyatt, and take whatever he wanted to give me, but my insecurities when it came to romantic relationships were hard to shake.
Honestly, this entire discussion was surreal.
It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him when he said he was attracted to me, but there was still a part of me that didn’t believe it was real.
His dark gaze locked with mine as he asked in a low, rumbly baritone. “I’m not going to push you for anything more right now, but for once in my life, I’m going to be an optimist. You didn’t say you’d never be ready, and I have all the time in the world to prove that you’re more than enough forthisguy.”
He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me between his legs.
I went willingly and slipped my arms around his neck as our gazes locked. “You’ve never had sex with me. My ex used to tell me that screwing me was like having sex with an ice cube.”
“Bastard!” Wyatt cursed. “You have to know that wasn’t true, right? I’ve kissed you, Shelby. You’re probably the most responsive woman I’ve ever been with in my life. The guy was a sociopath.”
I sighed. “Rationally, I know what he was trying to do, what his motivations were, but I don’t have a lot of other relationships to compare it to. I had a long-term relationship with another chef in Chicago, but he cheated on me, too, eventually. So maybe I was an easy target for Justin because I wanted to believe that someone could see me as the only woman in the world who mattered to him. And I’ve never been as attracted to a man as I am to you, Wyatt. That’s why this whole thing is terrifying.”
He tugged me until my ass rested on his powerful thigh, and wrapped both arms around me so firmly that it almost felt…protective. “Okay, so you’ve had more than one idiot in your life,” he said huskily. “I’m not one of those idiots, Shelby.”
My heart tripped, and I tried to remind myself that my life and Wyatt’s life were polar opposites.
How much could we really have in common other than this crazy physical chemistry?
And how long would that last when his heart still belonged to someone else?
But what else did we need if the chemistry and attraction was mutual?
Two single people having sex didn’t have to involve a total commitment if they were both willing.
He wanted to be with me, and God knew that I wanted to know what it was like to be with a man who actually found me sensual and desirable.
Maybe I’d never had sex without some kind of commitment, but Wyatt made me tempted to try it out.
Honestly, my other committed relationships in my life had been a complete façade. The words had been spoken, but they’d never meant anything.