Their Virgin Secretary (Masters of Ménage #6)(88)

"And if I offered to move? If I gave up the practice?" He hated how pathetic he sounded, like that five-year-old he'd once been, praying that his mom would hug him, just once. Like the kid yearning for his dad to play catch with him.

Belle sighed, hesitated. "I don't think it would work."

Of course it wouldn't work. She would need to socialize with clients. She would want a wide circle of friends, and he struggled in those situations. He was a liability. He was a nerd without a filter. No amount of muscle he packed on was going to change what he was. He couldn't magically transform into Eric.

He was good for sex. That had been a shocker. He'd been a sexual savant, easily learning how to please a woman because he was willing to do just about anything. He loved to eat pussy, loved the little sounds a woman made, the way she squirmed on his tongue. He had a big cock and he'd learned how to use it. When he was in bed with a woman, there was no doubt he excelled.

They just didn't want him out of bed.

Apparently, he'd been naïve to think Belle would be different.

Tate pushed his chair back and stood, his gut heavy and knotted and dragging somewhere near his feet. How the hell had he gone from believing he was getting married to breaking up in less than ten minutes?

She stepped forward, the sympathy on her face almost too much to take. "Tate, I don't mean to hurt you. I just don't think it would work in the long term."

He suddenly realized he would do it. He would give up his practice and start over again here. He would sell his house and follow her if that's what she needed. He could beg, but it wouldn't change the outcome.

Belle just didn't want him.

"Hey, it probably wouldn't." He wasn't going to make a bigger fool of himself.



       
         
       
        

She reached out to touch him, but sighed again when he moved away. "Tate, if I asked you to move here, you would eventually resent me. I know it worked for Kinley, but I doubt Eric wants to give up his practice for a woman he spent one night with. I don't see how it works, especially since Kellan isn't interested at all."

Ah, so it was Kellan she truly wanted. He'd known it must be one of his two friends. They were smooth. They wouldn't embarrass her by doing anything painfully awkward. Now that he really thought about it, she would never have gone for their type of relationship. Almost no woman actually wanted to deal with more than one man. They were demanding, obnoxious at times. He might be the most demanding of all, following her around like a sad puppy or the horny mutt trying to hump her leg. Most women preferred men like Kellan.

He held a hand up. "Whatever. It's cool. I'm going to take a shower. I'll look into flights out of here this afternoon."

She looked startled. "I thought you were going to stay for a few days."

"That was when I thought you gave you a shit, Belle. Now, I think I'll let you get on with your life."

Eric tried to step between them. "Tate-"

"So we can't be friends if you don't get your way?" Belle cut in.

"My way? You want to make me sound like a kid who throws a temper tantrum because I had a toy taken from me? I wanted to marry you, build a life with you. I wanted to take care of you and make you the center of our world. But I guess you just wanted a man to pop your cherry and we were handy."

Belle gaped at him. "That's not true! I never said that."

"You don't have to. I know the drill, baby. So I'll make it easy on you. I won't tell you I love you again. Clearly, you don't want to hear it." Trying to hold himself together, he whirled away to leave.

She grabbed his arm. "Tate, stop. Will you sit down so we can talk? I care about you. I'm not trying to hurt you, just be realistic about this. I can't let you give everything up for me when it can't work. You would hate me."

He could never hate her, but he damn straight could hate himself. At the end of the day, this mess was his fault. He was the real reason it wouldn't work.

"I'd rather not rehash this shit." He yanked away from her grip. "I need to take a shower and get back to work. I'll be out of your hair as soon as I can."

He walked out without another word, letting the door shut behind him.

"Tate!" he heard Eric's oh-so-reasonable voice but kept walking. He needed to be away from her, away from all of them. In his suitcase, he found a tank top, then he thrust his shoes on, his whole body numb. In moments, he headed for the door. 

Kellan walked in, a white bag in his hands. "Hey. I got us beignets. I thought we could sit down and figure out what we're going to do about the house situation. I have some thoughts on vetting the people who've been in here in the last twenty-four hours. The cops are going to be useless. They have a high-profile murder to solve. They aren't going to waste many man hours on what amounts to vandalism."