Page 22 of The Cowboy Contract
Even his freaking nipples were appealing, which was stupid. Man nipples were flat little things that served no purpose. Completely useless. And yet, here she was wondering how they might feel under her fingers.
Or her tongue.
Her obsession with Leland clearly knew no bounds, and that was a tragedy. One that was likely about to unfold here in the quiet of his empty kitchen.
Leland came to the table, a cup of coffee in each hand, and took the seat across from her. After giving her the one filled with sweetened creamer, he took a sip of his own additive free beverage. Since she didn’t have anything else she was in a hurry to do—like expressing her feelings and thoughts—Paige took a sip of the coffee he’d made her.
As always, it was perfect. Richly flavored, with the exact correct amount of creamy sweetness.
Leland lifted his brows. “Good?”
She nodded. “Perfect.”
A hint of a smile worked onto his full lips—lips she now knew kissed like a freaking God. “Good.”
She was going to rip her hair out. Maybe peel the skin from her body. This was awful. Painful in a way she couldn’t have even expected. Everything had always been so easy with Leland. Now, all of that was gone. Ruined. All because she didn’t just slam Carlton in the face with a drink tray when she wanted to.
That’s what she got for showing restraint.
Shifting in her seat, Paige decided to rip the Band-Aid off since it wasn’t doing any good anyway. “About what happened last Friday.”
Leland’s coffee cup hovered in front of his mouth, his dark eyes watching her intently. He didn’t respond. Didn’t even really seem to react. Just sat in silence.
More fucking silence.
And she couldn’t take it. That edge she’d been so excited to shove Carlton over came at her with the speed of a bullet. And, dumbass that she was, she jumped right off. Staying here was miserable anyway. Everything was already ruined, how much more damage could she really do?
“Leland, I love you.” Her whole life—their whole life—flew past her as she tumbled into the unknown. “I think I’ve loved you forever. You mean more to me than anyone else in this world, but I didn’t want you to know because I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. Even if I could only be your friend, it was better than not having you at all.” Her voice wobbled a little, butshe carried on, setting down the coffee she wouldn’t be able to drink no matter how perfect it was, thanks to her rebelling guts.
“I love everything about you. How hard you work. How reliable you are. Your sense of humor. The way you take care of your niece and nephew.” Her throat tightened. “The way you take care of me.” She stood, because sitting was no longer an option. Her whole body was on fire and the need to move was unbearable. “I know I messed up kissing you like that, and I don’t know how to undo it, and it’s fucking killing me.”
Tears edged her eyes. She wasn’t a crier, but if there was anything in this world worth crying over, it was Leland. “I don’t know how, but I’m going to fix this. I just need a little time to get my head back on straight, and then everything can go back to normal. I promise.”
That was what had to happen, and maybe it could. But it definitely wouldn’t with her standing here staring at him in all his masculine, shirtless, perfect coffee making, glory.
So she did the most logical thing.
She turned and fucking ran. Sprinted right through his main level to the front door, which she flung open before racing out into the cold air. Did she close the door behind her? Who the hell knew. Not her, and no way was she going back to figure it out.
Right now she needed space—more than she’d already had—to come to terms with their new normal. Chances were good he’d need the space more than she did since she’d just dropped the atomic bomb of all atomic bombs on him—admitting that all these years he thought she was his friend, she hadn’t been.
She’d just been falling in love with him over and over.
He probably felt betrayed. Lied to. Maybe even manipulated.
That’s why, when she finally fell into the front seat of her luxury car—that didn’t fix anything, by the way—a tear finally slipped free.
Because, while she might find some magical way to get over how much she loved Leland, there was a chance Leland wouldn’t be able to get over the way she’d kept it from him.
10
Leland
THE PAST TEN days had been the longest of his fucking life.
No. Maybe that wasn’t true. They had been just as long as the week between the night he kissed Paige and the morning she showed up at his house.
Both had taken years off his life, and proved just how much he needed her. How desperately he wanted to see her face and hear her voice every day.
