“Why not?”
“It’s…my job? The thing I do for money? It’s the reason I can afford food and coffee and these bikinis that seem to amuse you.”
“So quit, and I’ll bankroll your lattes and your bikinis.”
How does his blasé tone still ooze charm?
“You’re not doing that.” I tried not to sound offended because I could tell by his tone that he was offering something he would be happy to do. Something that to him seemed like a foregone conclusion.
“Why not?” He opened his arms as if to showcase the exotic view around us. “Why do I have all of this if I can’t share it?”
He was being sincere, but I bristled. I had been through this with my mother. Ramona used me as something of a litmus test for whether a suitor was playing for keeps. And the men she chose provided for both of us financially. Not out of kindness, but out of indulgence of her. I was well versed in being a kept object, and I really didn’t want Will to think of me that way.
“Why not? Because I’m not your…problem.”
He pulled me into a bear hug and kissed my neck as he breathed, “What if I want you to be my problem?”
When I didn’t laugh, he leaned back and looked at me more seriously. “Take a few months off then. And then I’ll help you find a job you’re passionate about.”
“The museum job isn’t perfect, but it’s a start to something.”
“A start to what?”
“Are you trying to Pretty Woman me? Like dress me up and turn me into someone you can take to cocktail parties? Are you Richard Gere now?”
He laughed and took my hands, kissing each one. “I’m trying to take care of you.”
It could be that simple. He could take care of me. And then all of the shit that seemed insurmountable, like my dead-end career and my second job and the question of how I’d ever move out of my mother’s condo…it would all just disappear. I could stop fighting so hard and share his life with him.
It was easy to get swept up in the fantasy, but I told myself not to get carried away. I had to keep my feet on solid ground. I couldn’t give in so easily. I was still clinging tight to my pride andmy deep desire to avoid following in my mother’s footsteps. I would not and could not believe that a man was going to fix me or be the magic solution to my problems.
“Give me your phone.” Seeing the hesitation in my eyes, Will reached for my phone on the side table as if he could sense that, despite my protest, I was seriously considering his offer. Ever the negotiator, he didn’t miss the chance to land a deal once a window of opportunity had cracked open. “We’ll write the email to the museum together. You won’t burn any bridges. Just tell them you’re taking a sabbatical.”
“A sex sabbatical.” I rolled my eyes as I moved to take the phone back, but he already had the home screen open.
He paused as he opened my contacts. “Hot Mean Lawyer?” He looked up at me, arching an amused brow.
I laughed.
Had he never seen it before?
“Why am I in your phone as Hot Mean Lawyer?”
“When we first met, I just…” I waved a hand, pushing away the insecurities that still flared every so often in Will’s presence. “It was just a little joke. After Mia almost hurled on my shoes and told me her friends were all scared you would sue them. I just…It was a little reminder to myself to have fun. Not to take things too seriously.”
“You think I’m hot?”
I laughed harder. “You know I do.”
“I don’t think I’m particularly mean, but it’s good to know you’re not taking things too seriously.” He was teasing now, still looking at the screen as I held out my open palm for him to return the device. “So it’s been like this the whole time we’ve known each other? Every time I call it says Hot Mean Lawyer?”
“That’s how a contact card works.” My palm was still open and out. “Now give it back.”
But he was typing.
“What are you doing?” I raised up on my knees to try to see the screen. “Don’t you dare quit my job.”
“I promise I won’t.” His voice was a little less playful than it had been a second before. “But I think it’s time I got a new title.”