Book 1 - Page 31 (2/2)

I walked out and didn't stop until I reached Stanton's limousine. Squeezing Cary's hand as I got in, I managed to wait until the car pulled away from the curb to start crying.

”Hey, baby girl,” Cary called out when I shuffled into the living room the next morning. Dressed in nothing but a loose pair of old sweats, he was stretched out on the couch with his feet crossed and propped on the coffee table. He looked beautifully disheveled and comfortable in his own skin. ”How'd you sleep?”

I gave him the thumbs-up and headed into the kitchen for coffee. I paused by the breakfast bar, my brows lifting at the ma.s.sive arrangement of red roses on the counter. The fragrance was divine and I inhaled it with a deep breath. ”What's this?”

”They came for you about an hour ago. A Sunday delivery. Pretty and super pricey.”

I plucked the card off the clear plastic stake and opened it.

I'm still thinking about you.

Gideon

”From Cross?” Cary asked.

”Yes.” My thumb brushed over what I a.s.sumed was his handwriting. It was bold and masculine and s.e.xy. A romantic gesture for a guy who didn't have romance in his repertoire. I dropped the card on the counter as if it'd burned me and fetched a mug of coffee, praying caffeine would give me strength and restore my common sense.

”You don't seem impressed.” He lowered the volume on the football game he was watching.

”He's bad news for me. He's like one giant trigger. I just need to stay away from him.” Cary had been through therapy with me and he knew the drill. He didn't look at me funny when I broke things down into therapeutic jargon, and he didn't have any trouble shooting it back to me the same way.

”The phone's been ringing all morning, too. I didn't want it to disturb you, so I shut the volume off.”

Aware of the lingering ache between my legs, I curled up on the couch and fought the compulsion to listen to our voice mail to see if Gideon had called. I wanted to hear his voice, and an explanation that would make sense of what happened last night. ”Sounds good to me. Let's leave it off all day.”

”What happened?”

I blew steam off the top of my mug and took a tentative sip. ”I f**ked his brains out in his limo and he turned arctic afterward.”

Cary watched me with those worldly emerald eyes, eyes that had seen more than anyone should be subjected to. ”Rocked his world, did you?”

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