Page 56 of Long Hard Fall

“I think so, too. But you know. And you’re in a relationship with his sister, which also means his parents. Keeping it to yourself will only erode what’s growing between you. But, hell, it’s not like I can say do it or don’t. It’s a tough call.” He tossed him a quick wave and continued back to his house.

No. There was no easy answer, no winners. Abbi’s family had already lost. Cash’s gaze landed on his house. Her car was in the driveway.

Dillon’s first piece of advice registered. Not like starting over, but it kind of is.

Abbi scratched her nose with her pinky and the paintbrush she held swiped her hair. “Dammit!”

She squinted as she jerked it away from her head. Had she painted her damn hair?

Tossing the brush down on the tray, she scowled at the whole room. Painting today wasn’t nearly as fun. Not even therapeutic. She’d had a crappy night’s sleep, running through her mind what she should’ve done differently. A thousand scenarios and she really couldn’t think of anything she could change. At no point had there been any reason to say, “Hey, I think my ex-boyfriend doesn’t think he’s my ex and while I technically still live with him, I refuse to spend one more hour under the same roof.”

Maybe some of that should’ve come up?

Ugh. She snagged a rag off the ground and batted at her hair. Cash might be back soon, but did it matter what she looked like? He’d shut himself in his bedroom—without her—and snuck off before she’d woken. But what had she expected, that everything would be back to the way it had been? For the thirtieth time she asked herself if she should just go back home. She’d done what had been dogging her and she’d faced Ellis. All that was left was moving out, and perhaps it was best to do that before she went back to work.

Then there were her parents. She’d purposely left her phone on silent, in her luggage.

Abbi stared forlornly at the paint tray. She had another wall to finish. If she completed the room and cleaned all her supplies up, would he even notice?

Would he notice if she just left?

The longer she pondered it, the smarter the idea sounded. She couldn’t avoid her parents forever, and extra steel lined her spine after facing Ellis. Her parents couldn’t bully her into getting back with him.

No, but they could berate her and constantly and comprehensively hound her about what she’d done until she caved on other issues just to make them happy.

God, she even knew she did it. It was like she regressed ten years around them. One mention of Perry and the conversation was over.

“Hey.”

She whipped around. Cash leaned against the doorframe, his arms folded. His tan jacket couldn’t hide his lean, muscular physique.

“Hey.” Afraid to get her hopes up, she feathered her hair away from her head.

His gaze drifted to her paint-splattered hair. He didn’t exactly smile, but the heaviness in his gaze lifted just a little. “You don’t have to paint.”

“I didn’t want to leave.” Her honesty surprised even her. She forced herself not to fidget under his vivid blue gaze.

“I’m glad you didn’t,” he finally said.

Relief swelled, but she tamped that shit down. He had hang-ups for a good reason. This was new territory for him. Her, too.

“You are?” she asked. Yeah, they were making leaps and bounds in this relationship, but it was more than she’d expected when she’d woken up to an empty house.

He adjusted his baseball cap and recrossed his arms. “You were kind of right. Ellis is none of my business and you said you were single when we met. I either believe you or I don’t.” His serious expression didn’t bolster her hopes that he truly believed her, or wanted to. “I’d like to trust you.”

“I choose to trust you.”

His brows popped up. Had he not thought it took trust on her part, too?

She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “When I go back to Green Bay, I have to know that you’re not trolling town for women, just like you have to trust that I’m not—” she wrinkled her nose in distaste, “—dabbling in life with Ellis.”

“The only pussy I plan to pick up is Alfalfa. And maybe Dutchie and Baron. Oh, and Dillon has Trixie and Dixie.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “That’s getting to be a lot of pussy.”

He grinned. “What can I say? They can’t resist me.” He pushed off the door and crossed to her. He gently picked at the paint in her hair. “Hungry?”

In so many ways, but she sensed it was too soon for intimacy, though the conversation they’d just had was deeper than any she’d had in previous relationships.

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