Page 13 of Four Dates and A Forever
At least she had those firmly in place. She couldn’t say the same for her self-respect or dignity.
She squeezed her eyes shut and even that hurt, enough that a groggy moan slipped out. The strumming stopped, for barely a millisecond but Elsie heard it.
“Rise and shine, Red.”
She groaned, pushing a pillow over her face in hopes of suffocating herself to avoid this very awkward situation. “Can we just lay here and pretend nothing happened?”
“Depends on if you can tell me exactly ‘what happened’ refers to.”
Well, there was conversation, a little flirting, then—oh godand then—she lost what little pride she had left all over his shoes. She didn’t remember much past that, except—
“Did we dance theDirty Dancingdance? The one where they crawl across the floor?”
“You danced, while I watched and clapped at the appropriate moments.”
“And the inappropriate parts?”
“I closed my eyes.”
She snapped them back closed. “Ouch.”
“It’s the hair,” he said softly.
“Is this a ‘redheads are fiery’ comment?”
Reaching up, he took out the elastic band she was wearing. Her hair came loose and tumbled down and before she could ask him what he was doing, his fingers slid along her scalp, making massaging circles.
Her body started to tingle. And when he murmured, “I’ve always liked your fiery side,” that annoying tingle became a full-blown hum.
No way in hell, she thought, batting his hands away.
She didn’t have the time for men right now. And she didn’t have the experience with men to tangle with a guy like Rhett Easton. She had zero faith in her instincts when it came to trust anymore. Little by little, her father had chiseled away at her ability to take people at their word. Every broken promise, every weekend she sat there waiting for him to show, only to be disappointed, left deep wounds. What little she’d managed to salvage after her childhood had been obliterated by Axel.
She didn’t get to pick her parents, but she’d had a say in her choice of husband. Marrying a man whose career literally depended on his ability to pack up and head out at a moment’s notice? To cancel plans and miss anniversaries and disappear when things got hard? That was all on her. She should have known from the start that their lifestyles were completely incompatible. Which was why she was done with people who didn’t know how to stick.
Her immediate thought was to hide back under the covers. Then she remembered that this was her bed and that she was tired of running from men.
Sexy hum or not.
“Out.” She sat up, making sure to tuck the sheets under her arms so that all her bits were hidden. When he didn’t move, she shoved him. “Get out.”
A growl was the only warning she got before she came face-to-face with two big, brown, wild-looking eyes. It was as if Fozzie the Bear and Cujo collided, creating a pocket-sized assassin, with sights locked on Elsie’s jugular.
Grrr …
“What isthat?” she asked as two dozen needle teeth flashed her way.
“Meet Littleshit, part of my divorce settlement.” Rhett’s divorce settlement moved to lunge right as Rhett picked him up. His little doggie legs didn’t get the message and moved at the speed of light, paddling through the air as if trying to get to Elsie and eat her face off.
“With everything you had to divide, you asked forthat?”
Arf. Arf!The teeth were back.
“More like a parting gift from my ex.” Rhett kissed the little demon on the nose, who panted happily, then turned into putty at Rhett’s touch. Had he been a cat he would have purred. “He gets a little jealous sometimes. Don’t you, boy?”
Boywas dressed in a pink hoodie with a bedazzledFancysewn on the back and matching pink sneakers. Its owner was dressed in jeans, his guitar, no socks, and a vintage T-shirt that did little to conceal the hard body beneath.
Her heart skidded to a stop. Was there more to the night than she remembered?
