Page 50 of Love or Leave

She had much more in common with Antonio than with Jalen. Possibly more that any other guy she'd ever met.

He was more introverted, like her, and seemed to have similar likes and dislikes. Plus, their sense of humor was practically the same.

But he wanted Fran.

And she couldn't blame him. Fran was his first love. She thought of how impossible it had been to get over Cooper, and she hadn't been married to him for ten years.

Still, it was becoming more and more difficult to ignore her feelings. She wished she could jump into a wormhole that led five years into the future and see what kind of person she'd settled down with. Would it be someone like her, like Antonio, or her opposite, like Jalen?

Unfortunately, time travel wasn't yet a thing, so she'd have to figure it out on her own. It just sucked that finding the love of your life involved so many variables. How was she supposed to findthe oneif she didn't even know what the one was like?

She needed to conduct more research. Collect more data.

Antonio was obviously off the table as a partner, but someone like him might fit the bill. Someone quieter, more reserved. She always thought she needed some balance to help her out of her shell, but she never felt a hundred percent comfortable around super outgoing guys.

Even with Cooper, she'd been so deep in her head and worried about what he thought that she'd never been able to enjoy him.

And maybe sex would be better with someone who was more similar to her, who understood all of her and liked her anyway—not just her more loveable side.

She glanced at Antonio again, making a mental note of his dark brown wavy hair, dark eyes, dark stubble, soft lips…

He was more attractive than Cooper or Jalen, for sure. A little too attractive, if she was being honest. But somehow, she still felt comfortable at the idea of being with him. She didn't think she'd be nervous with him as she had been with Cooper.

It was too bad she couldn't test him out—just a little—to see if her hypothesis was correct.

How great would it be if he were down for that?

She spared a glance at her brother, knowing that Max would be the main reason Antonio would say no. But they wouldn't have to tell Max, would they? They'd already kept their fake dates from him. And, if she was being honest, this whole sneaking around thing was pretty damn… exciting.

Plus, she could use the practice with someone who knew what he was doing, and Antonio fit that bill perfectly.

It would be like a research project.

She peered at Antonio from across the bus and pictured herself sinking between his knees. This time, she didn’t chase the thought away—she let it fester. And the more it festered, the more she accepted that this was the best idea she'd ever had.

She let the image sit in the back of her mind as she planned. She could wait until later that night, after she'd had a few drinks, then she'd pluck up her courage and tell Antonio she wanted to use him for sexual practice.

A thrill and a lot of nerves shot through her veins all at once and she suppressed the urge to laugh at herself. He'd most likely shoot her down. But what if he said yes?

Just the possibility of him agreeing cemented the plan in her mind.

She forced her concentration back to the Scrabble board while listening to Chelsea tell Jae about the things she'd booked for her wedding that week.

Cara just hoped that if Antonio turned her down, his rejection wouldn't sting too badly.

fourteen

Antonio was fucked.

Thoroughly and completely fucked.

He sat in an overstuffed, luxurious leather booth at the fanciest steak house he'd ever set foot in, next to Max and across from Cara, and carried on the impossible task of keeping his eyes off his best friend's little sister.

If the only thing working against him was how gorgeous she looked in the low-cut dress she'd changed into, or how her big doe eyes sparkled under the candlelight, he might have been able to resist.

What he couldn't resist was how much he liked her. Like, really liked her. She was so… perfect.

He glanced up and found her smirking at him, with half-lidded eyes that made him wonder what was going on in that beautiful mind of hers.

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