Steeling myself, I returned to the office.
“You two are talking?” Flynn hadn’t made himself comfortable but stood where he’d been when I left.
“Yep.” And that was all I was telling Flynn that we’d done.
“You two…”
“She’s going to talk to me about Sam tomorrow.”
“Uh-huh.” Flynn set out the food and utensils. No greasy paper bags from my friend. “She’s…classier than last time.”
“She lost the edge for job hunting.”
“You sound disappointed.”
I was.
Chapter 21
Mara
I drove down a long drive with a giant brick mansion capping the end. This was the address he’d sent me. Since his phone number had been seared into my brain, I’d texted him a half hour ago to say I was on my way. Midmorning shouldn’t be too early or too late. I’d rather get this over with.
I parked and peered over the steering wheel. Glimmering blue behind the house reflected sunlight with its gentle waves.
He had a lake?
Back to the mansion. Much larger now that I was out of the car. Like Wes had told his realtor he wanted the biggest, most pretentious place available. And throw in a private body of water.
I stuffed the small gift I’d brought Wes into my coat pocket. Deciding when I’d give it to him had plagued me the whole drive.
Elegant stairs rose from the parking area and led to a porch with arches that graced the full length of the house. Precisely manicured shrubs rimmed the perimeter of the porch and the stairs I climbed.
Large, deciduous trees surrounded the property in a ring of protection. Their limbs were bare of leaves this time of year, but I could imagine their beauty in the middle of summer.
An intimidating door waited for me. The mansion could be the Death Star from my trembling hands.
The fear fueling my nerves? That would be Wes kicking a woman out as he invited me in.
Were we exclusive?
The willing bodies populating his club didn’t make me feel better, neither did how gorgeous they were. His friend Flynn didn’t look like a guy who settled. Between the two of them…
Didn’t matter anymore. I’d be done with Wes after our talk today and I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing. Sam had only hinted, never outright said, but we’d talked enough that I’d pieced together the crux of Sam’s misery.
As I was staring at the door, wondering if I should knock, ring the bell, or if a formal butler was going to answer, it swung open.
With dismay, I greedily drank in the sight of a shirtless Wes with flannel pants draped low on his waist. Good grief, his body was sick.
“Did I wake you?” Stupid question. He’d obviously been waiting for me. I searched behind him, expecting a lingerie-clad hot body to strut by.
“I just finished working out.”
Yep, his slicked-back hair was shining from a recent shower and his designer soap certainly smelled more expensive than my discount bar.
He couldn’t get sexier if he paid a cool million for it.
I wore an old coat over a white, oversize T-shirt and leggings that looked like a DC comic wrapped around my skin.
Heat ignited as his gaze swept down my body. “Is that a legit comic?”
He squatted to read my clothes.
“Just a page from Wonder Woman.” I shifted my feet. The position we were in set off bursts of stills of us in similar positions.
He straightened, pure hunger radiating from him. “Come in.”
He didn’t move out of the way to make room for me, crowding me into the wall as he swung the door shut.
The sound echoed off the walls.
“Jeepers, this place is huge.”
I pushed past him, rubbernecking like I was in a museum. The atmosphere wasn’t much different. The interior design was a clash of old-world elegance and simple modern lines. No ostentatious colors, just earth tones that relaxed the eyeballs, yet didn’t invite one to go on in and get cozy.
“Every woman’s dream,” he said as if the woman would be with him for the house.
I frowned as I wandered out of the foyer and got my first full view of the main room. “Your TV screen is the size of my car.” I spun in a slow circle. “But no, I’d take my house over this. Except for the bathroom. The coziness of my place with the luxury of just one of the bathrooms in your Bruce Wayne mansion.”
“I don’t use these areas often.” He pointed to the right. “The garages are off the kitchen and the upper level has my bedroom, home office, and family room. I spend most of my time up there.”
Not a good idea to step into his intimate domain. “Your Batcave is aboveground.”
He chuckled. Holding an arm to the left where the epic screen took up the whole wall, he indicated the plush leather furniture. My ballet flats clicked softly on the tiled floor.
“Oh, wait, your coat.” Wes looked around at a loss. “I don’t keep the staff around on the weekend.”
He has people. For his house. He probably has no idea where to put a coat, plus his gift was in the pocket. “I can just hang onto it.”
I shrugged it off and hugged it to me. The depth of the couch prevented me from getting comfortable.
He chose the oversize recliner adjacent to me. “I’m glad you came.”
“You might not be after we talk.” Just say it. No, I had to lay the groundwork. “When Sam and I first started discussing more than our love of superheroes and sci-fi, naturally we talked about family.”
Wes’s face turned to stone.
“First, I don’t care if you believe me, there was nothing sexual between us. Second, he loved you. So much.”
“Then why…”
“Yeah, I’m getting to that. But third,” I smiled sheepishly, “I want to make it clear, he never said it in plain words, just beat around the bush—”
“Like you’re doing?”
I released a nervous laugh, but Wes didn’t crack a smile. “I think what caused the
