‘Exactly.’ Evan nodded in agreement.
‘Yeah, I see what you mean. Connor’s great,’ Mona said. ‘He comes into the cafe regularly now and we chat. He’s definitely into her.’
‘I’m worried that Bridget is going to screw up because she holds herself too aloof and refuses to trust the people who’ve proven themselves worthy of being trusted.’ He held up his hand as the women jumped to her defence, ‘I know about her history and I’m not judging, but everyone has to let down their guard and trust sometime.’
Claire’s heart squeezed when his eyes met hers. They would know. They’d both had to take a leap of faith and trust in each other to come together.
‘If she doesn’t tell Connor and he finds out, it might blow up in her face.’
‘You really think so?’ Mona asked.
‘Yes, I do,’ he replied. ‘No man worth his salt wants something like that kept from him.’
‘Bridget can take care of herself,’ Mona protested.
‘Of course she can,’ Evan said, ‘but as the man in her life, Connor has a right to know when she’s being threatened by another man even if he stands back and lets her handle it. Right now, Bridget has introduced a secret into their relationship and secrets are poison.’
Claire knew he was right, but she also knew that nothing would move Bridget before she was ready.
‘Shit,’ Mona said.
‘Exactly,’ Claire and Evan said simultaneously.
Connor tossed his CleanSlate aside in exasperation. Normally, he was able to work his frustrations out through drawing, but tonight the subject of his drawing was his frustration.
Bridget’s image stared out at him from the screen. It wasn’t the drawing that was bothering him. It was the woman.
This past week had been an exercise in self-control. Not just in bed either. Being with her was like being just out of reach of a beautiful diamond. There was a distinct wall between them.
Whenever he tried to talk with her about her job, she always steered the conversation toward her students. She never spoke about her colleagues or her boss. He’d told her all about Sam and his co-workers. That’s what people did. They talked about their day, about their lives. But Bridget doled out information in dribs and drabs and rarely volunteered anything that wasn’t safe.
It made him feel like he was only getting what she wanted him to see rather than the whole picture and that didn’t sit well with him at all. He wasn’t one for secrets.
Add in the fact that she was still very controlled during sex and he was growing frustrated. It wasn’t that she needed to let him tie her up and whip her – though his body tightened at the idea of her bound and helpless. No, sex was about vulnerability and connection, and she always felt just out of reach.
When they’d made love the second time, she’d been obviously uncomfortable any time he tried to push her even a little. It was enough to make a man want to forget the whole thing altogether.
He was a firm believer that how something started was how it ended and he didn’t want to go any further with this wall between them. He understood that trust was earned, but part of earning that trust was taking risks and he felt like he was the only one doing that.
Sighing in frustration, Connor grabbed a Guinness out of the fridge. Sipping the brew, he almost tripped over Lotus, who’d followed close behind him. She nudged one of the drawers and, good master that he was, he fished her bone out for her. She grinned and wagged her tail, happily snatching it from him and flopping down on her bed to chew.
‘At least one of us is happy,’ he said to her before taking a long draw on his beer.
She looked up at him, a huge doggy grin on her face.
He laughed. Who could hold on to frustration in the face of that look? Picking up the CleanSlate again, he looked at his most recent portrait of Bridget. She was all he’d been drawing lately.
As if summoned by his thoughts, his phone rang and her picture popped up. Frustrated or not, he couldn’t help but smile. He was falling for her. He knew it. He wasn’t fighting it. But he felt alone in it.
Grabbing up his phone, he connected the call. ‘Hey, gorgeous.’
Her sultry laugh through the phone had him wishing she was there where he could take her to bed.
‘Hey yourself.’ She sounded tired.
‘Everything OK?’
‘Yeah, tired. I’m about to go to bed, but I wanted to call you and give you my address.’
Connor sat bolt upright. This was so unexpected.
‘Your address?’ He was shocked. When he’d agreed to take things slow, he hadn’t realised she’d make molasses look lightning-fast.
‘Yes, sugar.’ He could hear her smile. ‘My address. Meet me here tomorrow night. OK?’
‘Definitely.’ He took down her address.
They chatted a bit more before signing off. Maybe things were turning around.
Chapter Sixteen
‘Why are we here?’ Bridget whispered, trying to draw Claire’s attention, but not that of the other customers in the store.
Claire didn’t appear to hear her. She was flipping through a rounder of bras as if they’d offended her in some fashion. The clink of hangers was enough to make Bridget flinch.
Something was off. Very off. Her friend, usually so open and charming, was so – she struggled to find the right word – so … tense. Like a rubber band pulled tight.
‘Claire?’ Bridget tried again.
Silence.
She didn’t know what had spurred this impromptu shopping trip and she was beginning to feel uneasy.
When Claire had called, Bridget had been all too happy to skip her usual Saturday morning chores. A quick run with Daisy had satisfied the little pocket pit bull terrier and she’d left her happily snoozing while she went to meet her best friend.
She’d expected gossip and fun. Some light-hearted teasing about her upcoming date with Connor. She was getting eggshells and silence.
She’d hoped they’d hang out, window shop, maybe go buy some maternity clothes for Claire now that she was starting to show. Instead they were at Intimate Moments.
Owned by Victor Matthews, a designer who’d made it big in New York only to walk away and come back to his home town, it was River Rock’s answer to both Victoria’s Secret and EdenFantasys.
In addition to exquisite lace and satin creations, many of which were personally designed by Victor, there was the “spice shop”, where latex and neoprene joined satin corsets and other fetish gear. Those items were by request only, though.
In short, if you didn’t know to ask, you didn’t get to buy.
Claire knew to ask. In fact, Bridget had bought her first and only toy from Victor courtesy of Claire.
It had been one of Bridget’s most embarrassing experiences. It didn’t matter that Victor and Evan were friends and Evan gave him a thumbs-up as a great guy. It didn’t matter that she was quite sure Claire had bought much racier stuff from Victor. Bridget had been tomato red from head to toe the whole time she and Claire had been browsing.
Victor had put her at ease with a kind word and some light teasing. She’d liked him at once. Despite his height – he had to be well over six feet tall – he was quite unimposing. Slight of build, though clearly well-muscled, tall and yet stooped in a way that made him seem shorter – he was a contradiction in terms. Right down to his clothing and appearance. He had to spend more time getting ready than Bridget did.
His raven-black locks were always immaculate, as were his clothes. There was never an errant crease or hair out of place.
As stereotypical as it was, Bridget thought he was gay. She’d never seen or even heard a rumour of him
