foot, waiting for her answer, but she didn’t know what to say. The foot massage was making her brain short- circuit. “Let me guess: You couldn’t even begin to pretend to like me.” His joking tone was at odds with the searching look he gave her.
“You guessed it. I’m a terrible liar.”
Reid pressed his lips together and nodded.
“The truth is, I don’t want you to be my rebound guy, Reid.”
“I think you’re making yourself pretty clear,” Reid said with an edge of something . . . disappointment?
“No, I don’t think I am. If I have a relationship with you I want it to be the real thing, not some silly sham. I suppose I made up that stupid scenario to try to come up with a way to spend time with you without feeling a sense of guilt for jumping into something so soon. But I already like you way too much, and that’s dipping into dangerous territory.”
“Wait. What did you just say?”
“It’s too soon. I need to get my head screwed on straight.” She tapped her temple.
“No . . . the other part. The part about liking me. Let me get this straight. You don’t want to date because you like me too much?
“It sounds silly spoken out loud, but yes.”
“That’s insane.”
Addison scooted up in the chair. “Well, it’s your fault! At first I was just physically attracted to you but I thought you were, well . . . kind of an ass. Then you had to become all likeable too and there’s that dimple when you smile.” Addison sighed. “And then . . .” She trailed off and shook her head.
“It was the piggyback ride, wasn’t it?”
“Yep, that sealed it for me. And now this . . . just when I was pissed when you didn’t call. Why couldn’t you just stay a jerk and we could have had some really hot sex?”
Reid laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“I know. That’s why it’s so funny.”
“Not only that but I wanted to find out . . .”
Reid sat up straighter. “What?”
“Nothing. No more champagne for me.”
“Tell me.”
“No!” The word sliced through his gentle request. She scooted forward but he held her feet captive. “Let go of my feet, please.”
“I won’t let go until you talk to me.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine.”
“Meaning you’re going to tell me.”
“No, I’m going to wait you out.” Addison blinked at him for a few seconds. Along with all of that handsomeness he looked pretty stubborn and she kind of had to pee. Then again, she’d been mocked in the tabloids; what was one more little embarrassment? “Okay, well, I think that men get bored with me after a while, especially in bed,” she said in a huge rush. She hoped he didn’t understand because she wasn’t going to repeat it.
“You’re joking, right?”
She nibbled on the inside of her lip.
“Hold on. Wait.
She nodded slowly and then covered her face with her hands. “I think this is the single most embarrassing moment in my entire life. And, trust me, I’ve had a few big ones.”
“You wouldn’t disappoint me, Addison.”
She peeked at him through her fingers. “Maybe not at first.”
“I promise. Not in the short term or the long run.”
“You can’t know that.”
“We’re going to find out.”
Addison dropped her hands and stared at him. “No, I can’t let you do that.”
“I’ll take one for the team.”
“We called the whole thing off!”
“That’s right. We’re not pretending anymore. Addison, look. I know that you’re right. The timing is off for us. I get that you want to back off and get your life together. I have some decisions of my own to make. But Sara said something to me earlier and it stuck.”
“What did she say?”
“When life gets shitty you have to take a leap of faith.”
Addison frowned. “Sara said that?”
Reid gave her a crooked grin. “I’m paraphrasing, but yes. She said that my life is all about numbers and graphs, and sometimes life just doesn’t always add up perfectly.” He sighed. “I guess it’s just that I watched my parents’ financial struggle for so many years. I started to hate the farm, but damned if they didn’t dig in their heels and hang on by the skin of their teeth.”
“It’s called a labor of love. My mother could retire if she wanted to, and my dad spends each day surrounded by music, art, and photography. It’s not about the money. It’s about loving what you do.”
“Yeah, but I thought they were all going crazy! With Jeff heading to Nashville, Braden quitting school, and then Sara leaving her teaching career, I thought I was the lifeboat in a sea of insanity.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I was wrong.”
Addison put a hand on his arm. “It’s never wrong to care, Reid.”
“That’s what Sara said, but, Addison, I was wrong to try to hold them back. Jeff recently played a gig at Tootsies in Nashville. Braden is happy being back here instead of taking business classes that he didn’t care one lick about. I argued against the Old MacDonald education program and it makes money and, more importantly, has done wonders for my dad’s health. I was wrong about everything, so that pretty much means that the barn wedding idea must be a good one, since I was against that as well.”
“You’re being way too hard on yourself.”
“That’s the way I roll.”
“Well, give yourself a break at least for the rest of the evening.”
He gave her a slow smile. “So, you think you’re boring, huh?”
“Oh, stop.” Addison rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. “I can’t believe I told you that.”
“Well, I’m going to really enjoy proving you wrong.”
Addison’s heart thudded. “So, where do we go from here?”
“My cabin.”
Addison was referring to the future but then squashed it. Aiden and Garret had made her gun-shy and insecure. Reid was right! They didn’t deserve the power to rule her life.
“Hey,” Reid said at her sudden silence. “I was teasing, Addison. I want to take you to my cabin, but let’s just see where the night takes us. No expectations, okay?”
“Okay.” Addison nodded and gave him a smile. “What about food? Do we need to stop somewhere?”
“Are you kidding? My mother keeps my fridge stocked full of her home cooking. I have some fried chicken that will make you weep.” He patted his stomach. “I’m busting out of my clothes.”
“I think it looks good on you,” Addison assured him, and then groaned. “I’m really having trouble keeping my thoughts from coming out of my mouth.”
“No way. I want to know what’s going on in that pretty head of yours. So, here’s what I’m thinking. Let’s get your swimsuit and head out of here.”
“I need to wrap up the cake.”
“I see the plastic wrap over there. I’ll do it. I’ll tidy up while you get what you need.”
Addison smiled. “I’ll get out of this dress and toss on some comfy jeans.” She scooted to the edge of the chair and gingerly put her sore feet onto the cool floor. He helped her stand up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
