Page 66 of Deal Takers

“I feel out of control, Dev.”

“How so?”

“I want himall the time,” I say in a hushed tone. The boys are walking quite a few steps ahead of us, but you can never be too careful having this conversation in public, especially in a place packed with children. “Like, it’s all I seem to think about anymore. And he’s exactly the same way. When we’re apart, we’re constantly sexting, and when we’re alone together, we shed our clothes within minutes. It’s like we’re both crawling out of our skin to get to each other, and we can’t function until we squeeze an orgasm or two out of each other. That can’t possibly be normal. Right?”

She quirks her head to the side. “Interesting.”

“What do you mean, ‘interesting?’”

“Are you sure you don’t have stronger feelings for him than you’re willing to admit?”

I sigh. “I like him a lot. I always have, deep down, even when he was being a complete jackass and irritating the shit out of me.He’s fun. And we’re obviously compatible in bed, but that’s the extent of it.”

She raises her eyebrows. “I don’t think that’s true, Lorraine.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’m obviously not some sex expert since I’ve only been with two men, but I do know the difference between sleeping with someone and sleeping withthe one. I loved Jackson, you know I did, but being intimate with Rileyis and always has beenon a whole other level. It’ssacred, almost, even when it’s really, really dirty.” I smile when her face turns beet red at that last set of words. “With Nathan around, we can’t exactly do it whenever we want, but the want isdefinitelythere.”

“Honey, I appreciate what you’re saying, but Brody is notthe one.”

She takes a bite of her elephant ear.Damn, I really should’ve bought one of those. “I know you don’t like bringing this up, but let me ask you this. You loved Adam, despite how it ended, and you always said sex with him was fantastic. Now, think about that, and then think about how you’ve been feeling over the last few weeks with Brody.”

I gnaw on my thumb, not liking where she’s going with this. “Okay…and?”

“The missing factor between the two is theconnection—an ineffable bond that transcends reason.It just is.”

I grin as Brody swings Nathan in a circle before planting him on his shoulders. I’m pretty sure he enjoys being at the zoo more than the kid does.

“Devyn, even if Iwantedto actually date him, it would be pointless. He’s not a long-term relationship kind of guy.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Have you ever seen him date a woman more than a few weeks?”

“No,” she says with a shrug. “But I could’ve said the same thing about Riley.”

Nathan squeals when he spots the carousel up ahead. Brody jogs over to us with Nathan bobbing on his shoulders.

“Mommy, Aunt Wainey! I’m gonna go on the horsies!”

Brody gives me a goofy grin. “Yeah,Aunt Rainey, I’m gonna go on the horsies, too!”

Nathan reaches for Devyn so Brody offloads him, handing him over.

“Aren’t you a little big for the horsies?” I smirk.

“I’ll show you big, baby,” he jokes right before he palms the back of my neck and pulls me into a kiss.

In front of everyone.

I freeze. Brody must sense the tension in my body because he pulls back quickly and immediately looks behindhim to see if Drew and Riley witnessed his slip up.Of course they did.I don’t think their jaws would be unhinged otherwise. His eyes return to mine, apologetic, but a little too late. I instantly go into damage control.

“Whoa, there, buddy,” I say, holding my hands up to push him off. “Ever heard of something called personal space?”

Do you see the look on his face?That minuscule, but awful twist of his lips? The crinkle between his eyebrows? The hard set of his jaw? That’s one-hundred-percent, unfiltered hurt. It’s only there for a second or two, but it’s unmistakable.

And it makes me feel like an absolute piece of shit for causing it.

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