Page 39 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
The girl had tenacity. I had to give her that.
Once everyone had filed out of the kitchen to go about their tours of the house, I moved toward her and stood on the far side of the island.
Winter shifted her weight from one foot to another before settling. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“Not true.”
“We haven’t spoken all morning.” She looked away, cheeks turning pink. “Did I do something wrong last night? If I said something… did something… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“No,” I said, perhaps a little louder than I should have. I dropped my voice and moved around to her side of the island. I wanted to take her hands in mine, but I resisted. There were too many eyes around, too many opportunities for whispers and town gossip. “No, and I’m sorry I made you feel that way. Last night was about me. It had nothing to do with you.”
She looked up at me. I saw all the insecurity in her eyes and wished I could spare her from it. “It doesn’t feel that way.”
I cringed.Shit.
How could I explain this to her?
Treading lightly, I tried to find the right words to alleviate her embarrassment. “Last night wasn’t a rejection of you. It was a compilation of shit I haven’t dealt with, and it all came to a head at once. I shouldn’t have put you in that position. You did nothing wrong. And for the record,” I added, “I wanted you. All of you.”
Her cheeks turned an even brighter pink, and I felt the primal urge to drag her in close and kiss her.
Instead, I broke down a barrier and took her hand, guiding her one step closer and checking to make sure nobody was around. “I have demons, Winter. Places I don’t like to go, no matter how badly I want to.”
She searched my eyes before nodding once. “I understand.”
“You do?”
She nodded again and ran her thumb over my knuckles. “Yes, I think so. And it’s okay. I don’t want to make things weird or ask more of you than you’re ready to give. Although it felt good.” Her cheeks shifted from pink to a magnificent shade of red, but she didn’t falter. “Really good.”
My pants felt suddenly tight and the room was abruptly too hot for comfort.
This girl was going to be the death of me.
CHAPTER18
WINTER
I’d struggled all morning with how I was going to talk to North when he finally decided to talk to me face to face, and it had gone about as well as I’d hoped. He’d eased my worries that I hadn’t done something wrong, although the rejection from last night still stung, and he’d given me room to tell him how I felt. How I’d managed to look him in the eyes and tell him how good it was?
Well, that was beyond me.
But I’d done it, and I’d felt his whole body tighten at my words. At least I had some vindication. He wanted me physically as badly as I wanted him. He just had something standing in his way.
I had a feeling it was the shadow of his dead wife.
There was nothing I could do in the face of those demons—there was nothing I wanted to do, either. If he wasn’t ready, it was as simple as that.
North and I abruptly stepped apart when Justin came in the kitchen with Cami under his arm, which was draped lazily across her shoulders. She smirked up at him, her curls now tousled and damp from the melted snow, and rolled her eyes when he muttered something, most likely a come-on, in her ear.
She shoved him away. “Keep your slimy sales tactics for your buyers, Justin.”
He rubbed at his chest, feigning hurt feelings. “Sales tactics? I don’t know what you’re talking about. With all of Winter’s hard work, I’m not going to have to lift a finger. This place will sell itself now. I can feel it. Right, North?”
My gaze slid to my boss.
He nodded. “I don’t doubt it. You just need the right people to walk through those doors. Speaking of walking through doors, we should go.” He checked the time on his watch and nodded to me. “We have clients coming into the office from St. Louis today for a pitch. We’ll grab a bite to eat on our way.”
Justin thanked me a dozen more times for my work as he walked us to the door, and Cami trailed along behind us, cutting in when she had a chance and asking if I wanted to go for dinner tonight to catch up. I eagerly agreed. I’d been surrounded by too much testosterone, and I needed female companionship after everything that had happened last night. I didn’t want to air North’s business, but I did want to talk to someone who understood him and could take a load off my shoulders.
