When It's Right(52)

“Blake, what’s the matter? Did I do something wrong? You’ve been moody and avoiding me all day. If I did something to make you angry, I wish you’d tell me what it is. If you don’t want me around you anymore, all you have to do is say so.”

“How can you possibly think I don’t want you around me?” That was the furthest thing from the truth. He wanted her as close as humanly possible.

Yeah, he was a little ticked. At himself. He felt so much for her that he didn’t know what to do with himself, since he couldn’t show her how much he wanted her. He tried to take his time. Go slow. But everything inside him wanted her. Right this minute. Now.

He needed the space and time to cool off, but she’d come to him this time. She’d sought him out. That meant something, right? He didn’t know. Not for sure. If he made a wrong move, it could blow everything, so he stood there, trying his damnedest to keep his hands to himself.

“You barely spoke to me this morning. You stayed away from me all day. You haven’t come into the house to get coffee like you normally do. Just tell me what I did. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”

“What you did?” His anger simmered. Better to be angry than to yank her into his arms and devour her whole. She was completely clueless, and that drove him crazy, too. That, and the fact that she was standing there looking so damn beautiful. Her eyes pleaded with him to say something. How many times had her father blamed her for something she didn’t do to make her believe that she caused his bad attitude? Okay, maybe in this case she played a small part, but it was him and his lack of control around her.

No, it was all him. The worst part, he’d made her feel that he didn’t want her around him, when his goal from second one when he saw her was to make her want to be with him. His thoughts swirled. He couldn’t keep up, so how could she?

“I’ll tell you what you did.” He forced the words out. “You showed up here a week ago and turned my whole world upside down. I took one look at you and my heart fell out of my chest and landed at your damn tiny feet. I can’t sleep for thinking about you. Every time I’m near you all I want to do is grab you and kiss you. It’s all I can do to keep my damn hands off you. And let me tell you this, I’m trying. I’m trying to stay the hell away from you because just being near you is making me crazy.” He ran a hand over the side of his head and shoved both his hands deep into his pockets.

Stunned, she didn’t react or say anything, then a soft smile spread across her face. One of those smiles that shows a woman knows something you missed.

“How old are you?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“How old are you?”

Exasperated, he said, “Twenty-­eight.”

“Does it bother you that I’m only twenty?”

“No. Why would it? You’re more mature than half the women I know my own age. What does this have to do with anything?”

“I’m trying to figure out what made you mad. It isn’t the age difference, so I guess you’re angry, what, because you like me?”

“I like my mother.”

The corners of her mouth curved up at that, but he wasn’t finished being mad, at what, he had no idea anymore. “It’s a hell of a lot more than liking you.”

“So you’re angry because you more than like me, and you’ve been thinking about me, and you can’t sleep. You want to kiss me, so you’re avoiding me. Is that about right?”

Her face and eyes remained serious, but on the inside she was laughing at him.

“You think this is funny? It’s not. I can’t concentrate on anything. I’ve been staring at that damn spreadsheet for over an hour.”

“Oh, I’m taking you very seriously, because I think you really do have feelings for me, and you aren’t quite sure what to do about that, so you’re mad at me because I made you feel something. Since you’re serious, and I’m serious, I have a question.” She pointed her finger at him. “Lie to me, and I’ll know it.”

“What’s the question?”

“What do you want? A quick toss in the hay to get me out of your system, or something more?”

The girl didn’t mince words, shot from the hip, and took direct aim at his heart. Some of the tension went out of him. Unsure how to answer her without screwing this whole thing up, he took his time and thought about it.

He could keep things casual and give her a vague answer, something in between the two she asked. Or, for the first time in his life, he could lay it on the line and tell her what he really wanted. Straightforward as always, she’d asked the bold question, so he figured he owed her the honest answer.