The man actually saluted her. “Yes ma’am. I’m on it.” He made a show of adjusting his jeans. “Just gotta figure out how to walk normally again first.”
Riley laughed when he funny walked to the refrigerator. “I could grow to like you, Cody Roberts.”
Her sexy-as-all-get-out neighbor turned, and the expression on his face was nothing but serious. “As God is my witness, that’s my wildest hope, but you might change your mind once you get to know me. I want you like the very devil, Riley, but I have some conditions before we fall all over each other in bed.”
Conditions?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Riley’s face blanked, all the mischief and fun that had been there gone in a flash. Cody mentally regrouped. He should have waited until after they ate to bring up his conditions, but she’d rocked his world with that kiss she’d initiated, and he’d totally lost his bearings. And the thing was, he’d learned something new about himself, something he never would have guessed.
He liked her being the aggressor. Who knew? Although he’d been celibate for—he did a quick calculation in his head—close to six months, he’d been with his fair share of women. Every single one of them had been like putty in his hands, looking to him for direction on what he wanted from them. That hadn’t seemed boring before, but now it did.
“What conditions?”
“Nothing big, just some things we need to agree on.” He walked to her chair and put his hands on the back, leaning toward her until their faces were only inches apart. Damn, she smelled good. “Let me feed you first, then we’ll talk.”
She shrugged. “It’s your party.”
Regretting that he’d spoiled the mood, he rose and went to the fridge, taking out milk, butter, and the eggs he’d already whipped. He tried to think of something amusing to say, but he wasn’t an amusing man. As he worked, he listened to her talk to his dogs. She was good with them, but being that she was a veterinarian, it was a given that she loved animals.
“Your feast, darlin’.” He slid a plate in front of her, grabbed the second one from the counter, and took a seat across from her. Trained not to beg for food, Sally and Pretty Girl lay on their bellies at his feet.
After pouring a generous amount of syrup over her French toast, she took a bite. “Oh, yum. This is delicious.”
At least he’d done something right. “Where are you from originally?” he asked.
“Everywhere and nowhere.”
At the flash of sadness in her eyes, he wished he hadn’t asked, but her answer intrigued him. He waited to see if she would explain.
She sighed. “It’s not my favorite subject, but I don’t make it a secret. I grew up in foster care, bouncing from one home to another. I was considered a difficult child.”
“I’m sorry.” Although as a kid, he’d sometimes wondered if his parents were aliens from another planet, he’d still known that in their own way they loved him, and he’d had a stable home. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her.
“Yeah, well, it was what it was. Where are you from?”
“Vermont. My parents are professors at a liberal arts college. I was as foreign to them as they were to me.”
“But they loved you?”
Her question sounded like a plea, as if she couldn’t bear the thought of another child not loved. “Yeah, they did.” The conversation had taken a turn he hadn’t expected. He never talked about his personal life to anyone, yet he was telling her.
With a groan, she pushed her plate aside. “I usually only have coffee and yogurt for breakfast.” She grinned. “Now I just want to crawl back into bed and go back to sleep with my full tummy.”
“I’m glad you liked it.” He hadn’t been sure if she would, but French toast had seemed safe enough.
She glanced at her watch. “I have about thirty minutes to spare you. Tell me about these conditions of yours.”
“More champagne?” he asked, suddenly reluctant to speak about the list he’d made in his head last night.
“Tempting, but no. I have a surgery at ten.”
“Okay, here’s the thing.” He slipped off a flip-flop and stroked the fur on Sally’s neck with his foot. He’d always found touching his dogs calming, and at the moment, he was damn nervous. What if she didn’t agree to what he needed? Was he willing to let her walk out if she didn’t? All he knew was that he wanted her like he’d never wanted anyone before. That both excited him and scared him.
Just spit it out. “Okay . . . I’ve already told you that I’m messed up. I’m not a man you want to fall in love with, so rule number one, don’t fall for me.”