Except . . .
“About that,” she began.
“Oh, you don’t want to watch it? We don’t have to watch anything. I just thought—” A shake of his head. “I just thought that you might want to . . .” He trailed off, reached into his bag. “I brought a game, too. In case—”
Her heart squeezed.
“I do want to watch it,” she told him. “I just don’t have a DVD player.”
He froze. “You don’t have a DVD player? I travel the world for half the year, and I have one in my tiny, postage stamp of an apartment.”
“I don’t have one,” she confirmed. “But unlike the old man currently taking up space in my kitchen, I do have the digital copy, which means that I don’t need to have a DVD player.” She smiled smugly. “I can stream it on all my devices.”
His incredulity had faded as she spoke, and he drifted closer. “All your devices.” He waggled his brows. “And yes, the innuendo was intended.”
She sniffed. “You’re as bad as the girls with your dirty jokes.”
“Hmm.” He shifted closer. “I like it when you say dirty.”
Placing a hand on his chest, she shoved him away so she could grab a pan to cook the chicken. “Ugh. I’m still not—”
“Going to sleep with me.” He lightly tugged a lock of her hair. “I’ve got that.”
“And yet, you’re still here,” she whispered.
He froze.
She froze.
Steady hazel eyes on hers. “Do you want me to go?”
Three days ago at the wedding she would have said yes, and she would have meant it, too. At least with . . . say ninety-five percent of her being. The other five percent was still wrapped up in the yummy hormones and delicious orgasms. But after the night of the wedding, after last night, she—and yes, she was fully aware that this was probably exceptionally stupid—but she didn’t want him to go.
She wanted to watch the movie with him, to listen to him tell her about his travel adventures.
She wanted to spend more time with this man.
As a friend.
Only as a friend.
Except, that line was getting more difficult for her to convince herself of, especially the more time she spent with Brad.
Luckily for her, she could occasionally manage to ostrich with the best of them. Because tonight was all about avoiding the traitorous and dangerous thoughts in her mind and sticking her head in the proverbial sand. She would continue pretending she only liked his company as a friend and was hanging out with him just because she missed Kate.
Obviously, she had to fill that space with someone. Brad was as good a fit as anyone.
See? Ostrich.
She could be good at it.
Either way, her mental sand-head-sticking worked. She was able to turn to him, to lift her lips in a smile.
“No,” she whispered.
His eyes met hers, held. “Okay. I’ll stay.”
She turned back to the pan, heart pounding, only to whip back around a minute later when he began trying to tempt her away from the movie. “Oh no, you don’t,” she ordered, interrupting his expounding on the merits of the board game he’d brought. “You don’t get to tease by taking away Princess Bride after you offered it to me.”
He stopped talking, then his eyes darkened, lips quirking. “Teasing?”
She smacked him lightly with a spoon. “No more innuendos.” A beat. “Now make yourself useful and cut up that cucumber.”
Mischief crept across his face.
She smacked him again.
Then they both gave in and started laughing.
God, she loved laughing with this man.
Nine
Brad
She’d fallen asleep right around the time Fezzik says, “Anyone want a peanut?”
Slumping back against the cushions, her lips parted on slow and steady breaths.
He watched her through the duel, through the hillside tumble, through the castle storming scene, and then he forced himself to get up, to quietly take care of the dishes, and pack away the leftovers. By then, the movie was over, so he scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom.
Settling her under the covers only took a moment, but the temptation to stay, to crawl in next to her, was strong.
Except, she’d made it clear what her boundaries were.
And he wasn’t enough of an asshole to barrel his way past them.
After tucking the blanket around her, he smoothed her hair back from her face, smiling when her eyebrows drew together into a slight frown. Then he stepped back.
He’d save the crawling-in-beside-her for a future date.
Until then, he turned for the door, saw something—well, two somethings on the shelf beside it that had him pausing, considering, and then grinning again.
He snagged them both.
One went into his pocket.
The other he paired with a pen and did what he should have done after that first night.
He left Heidi a note.
Then he let himself out of the apartment.
Even when he wasn’t halfway around the world, he still couldn’t stand staying in one place for long.
Luckily, the Bay Area had no shortage of beautiful places to visit.
And he was like a kid in the candy store, trying to visit each and every one of them.
He’d worked until the sky had just begun to lighten, putting the finishing touches on a website for an up-and-coming airline. Then he’d gotten into his car and driven north along the coast.
Over the Golden Gate, spending more time in traffic than he preferred, but once he’d made it away from the commuters, his journey up the winding highway had been quiet.
After parking along one edge of the road, his car tucked onto a narrow strip of gravel, he climbed out from behind the wheel, navigated the rickety wooden stairs that led down to the beach, and sat on a washed-up log to watch the sky grow bright, filtering in through the heavy fog, gilding the area in an almost-otherworldly glow.
He was just standing, ready to find his feet, to drive back to his apartment and sleep when his cell vibrated.
Retrieving it from his pocket, he saw that Heidi was calling him.
Not texting.
But actually calling him.
A call he was going
