Page 110 of Mr. Fixer Upper
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
“What are you doing?” Paige asked. Her head was pillowed on the arm he had tucked under his head. They both were staring up at the unfinished ceiling in the master bedroom.
“I’m composing a thank you note to your mother in my head.”
She laughed, rising up onto her elbow to study him to prod him in his ribs. “Very funny.”
“Dear Leslie, I can’t thank you enough for being a pompous ass and forcing your beautiful, stubborn daughter to get out of her own way,” he recited.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re thinking about pizza.” Gannon screwed up his handsome face as if he was trying to read her mind. “And trying to figure out what this means.”
Paige flopped back down on her back, breaking the eye contact. She’d been doing exactly that.
“I don’t want to be in a relationship right now, Gannon.”
“So you used me for sex?” he asked in mock horror.
“I forgot how hilarious you are after sex,” Paige grumbled, stretching her arms over her head.
Gannon reached over, his large palm closing over her breast. “I’m hilarious all the time. You just have a terrible memory.”
“Today’s my birthday.” She wasn’t sure why she’d said it beside the fact that it had been poking at her in her head. She’d seen her mother on her birthday, and Leslie hadn’t remembered. Paige had barely remembered. Her life was full steam ahead right now, and she didn’t have time for things like relationships with sexy, smoldering men or birthdays. As rebellious as her mother considered Paige to be, it appeared as though she were following in the family’s footsteps after all.
“Today’s yourbirthday,and you let me fuck you on the floor of aconstruction zone?” Gannon was surprisingly pissed.
“Uh, thank you?” She wasn’t sure what kind of answer he was expecting.
He propelled himself off the floor, dragging on his jeans. “Get up.” When she didn’t move fast enough for his liking, Gannon hauled her to her feet.
“Geez, is this a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am?”
“Put your clothes on, Paige. We’re having a birthday.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want a birthday.”
“I don’t want a birthday, Gannon. I don’t want a relationship, Gannon.” He was misquoting her in an obnoxious falsetto. “Sometimes you’re really infuriating, you know that?”
“You were a lot nicer to me when you didn’t know it was my birthday.”
But he was too busy looking at his watch and muttering to himself. The shine of sex was rapidly wearing off, and Paige wished that she had kept her big, fat mouth shut.
“Let’s go!” The order was given over his shoulder as he trundled down the stairs to the main level.
Paige tugged her sweater back in place, zipped her jeans, and shuffled down after him. “Yeah, yeah. We’re going.”
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Darkness had fallen on Brooklyn, at least as dark as the borough could get with its army of LED streetlights. They drove for a few blocks before Gannon cut the wheel and expertly worked the oversized pickup into a parking space on the street in front of a closed fish market.
“Stay here.”
Before she could even come up with a smart comeback, he was slamming the door and stalking down the block. Paige rested her head against the seat and sighed. She’d chucked her will out the window today and embraced the bad decision that was Gannon King.Again.
Paige frowned through the windshield. She didn’t feel like she’d let herself down. She felt… satisfied, smug even. There was no doubt that time spent in bed—or on the floor—with Gannon was never time wasted. The man made pleasure an Olympic sport. But she’d expected to feel guilty for letting herself down, for caving. She didn’t have time for a man as demanding as Gannon. She didn’t need any distractions at this point in her life.
But as she ticked off the reasons for keeping her distance, none of them held the weight against the argument her post-orgasmic body was making. Shelikedhim. Even when he was being a temperamental ass. He pushed her outside of her comfort zone, challenging her at all turns. And she was stronger because of it.
