Page 52 of Must Be Love - Irresistible Bachelors

Daisy puts a hand on my shoulder. “You can’t screw it up, Amber. He clearly likes you.”

I consider this. He has instigated most of the relationship. AJ must have feelings for me, at least to a point.

Still, I’m not going to push for an invite to his house. Even though it’s a damn nice house, and I wouldn’t mind christening other rooms the way we did the basement, either.

If I continue down this train of thought, I’ll have an embarrassing situation to deal with. I’m wearing a white skirt today, and it won’t do anything to hide a wet spot.

“I agree with Daisy. Not only is Dr. Blake crazy hot, but he’s obviously into you. He wouldn’t be doing what he’s doing if he wasn’t.”

I trust my friends’ instincts. They know more about relationships than I do.

“It’s different than it was with my other boyfriends.”

“That’s because your other boyfriends treated you like shit,” Nicole says. “You’re not used to being treated well by a guy. Trust me, all of this is good.”

“They weren’t that bad.”

Nicole rolls her eyes. “Don’t even start. We had this conversation already. They were awful.”

“Okay, yeah, but…”

“No buts, Amber. You’ve finally found the perfect guy. Don’t let your brain freak out and ruin this for you.”

“Okay, okay, you’re right. AJ really is perfect for me, isn’t he?”

Both my friends nod their agreement. I need to get out of my head and just enjoy this relationship. So far, it’s been great. I shouldn’t be so worried about messing it up. I’m still not going to invite myself to stay over at his place just yet, but if he were to bring it up, I wouldn’t say no. It would be nice to give a bed a try. It just occurred to me that we’ve only had sex in unconventional places so far.

None of my exes would’ve had sex in a basement bowling alley or in an exam room. They were vanilla-in-the-bed kind of guys. I like sex a lot better with AJ.

“You know what?” Daisy says. “We should go on a triple date.”

“Woah. I don’t know about that,” I shake my head.

“No, that sounds like a fantastic idea! I met Dr. Blake at the convention, but I haven’t had a chance to properly assess him. And Daisy hasn’t even met him!”

I laugh. “You’ll scare him away. Jack and Josh will definitely scare him away!”

“If he gets spooked that easily, then he’s not good enough for you.”

Okay, she has a point. I do want my friends to meet this guy. Properly meet him, not just a quick meeting at a convention surrounded by thousands of other people.

A triple date wouldn’t be the worst idea. In fact, maybe it would be a fantastic idea. I want AJ to know I’m serious about him. What’s more serious than introducing him to my friends?

“Okay. I’ll bring the idea up to him. I can’t guarantee he’ll go for it…”

“I’m sure he will. Hopefully, we do something other than bowl in his basement.”

All the giddiness I’m feeling disappears.

“Woah, woah, what’s wrong?” Nicole asks. “Your face just fell like a downed tree.”

“AJ hasn’t taken me out in public.”

Nicole’s face scrunches. “What do you mean? You said you went for coffee on your way to work. That’s public.”

I shake my head. “Curbside pickup.”

“Oh,” Nicole says, biting her lip. “And your other date was in his basement?”

My palms sweat. This can’t be happening again. Am I AJ’s dirty little secret? We’ve had sex in his office and in his basement, yet he’s never so much as walked down the street with me.

Panic storms my chest. I squeeze my hands, trying to calm myself down.

How could I have been so stupid? I believed this was different. Why would a guy like AJ want a girl like me? Even my friends were surprised to see how sexy he is. Of course they couldn’t see him with me. I’m too curvy for AJ. I bet his ex-fiancée was all straight lines and had a thigh gap.

Tears threaten to spill from my eyes. Falling for AJ was a mistake. If he really liked me, he wouldn’t be trying to hide me.

“Calm down, Amber,” Nicole says. “You’re spiraling. I see it in your eyes.”

“I’ve been a fool, guys. He doesn’t like me. AJ is just using me for sex.”

“No,” Daisy says, her tone harsh. “I don’t believe that.”

“How can you not? You saw him! There’s no way that guy likes me for real. I can’t believe I’ve been this blind…”

Daisy stands and leans forward, getting as close to me as she can from across the table.

“Enough. You’re wrong. Aside from the dates, has AJ done anything to make you feel like he doesn’t want anyone to know about you?”

I consider this. He’s never straight up said he doesn’t like me. He calls me beautiful when we’re together. He’s told me about his friends and family.

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