Three Broken Promises (One Week Girlfriend #3)(39)
Author: Monica Murphy

Now he’s the one who’s gone tense. “What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, I decide to just blurt it out. “I found a roommate.”

His expression doesn’t change a bit. He doesn’t even bat an eyelash. “Really.”

I nod, nerves eating at my insides. “The apartment looks nice and is pretty central to everything. It’s in the area I wanted to live in. I checked out the complex site online. She’s in college, she’s a year younger than me, and she works part-time at a clothing store in a mall nearby.”

“You haven’t met her.”

“Well, I’ve talked to her on the phone. Sent her my deposit earlier this morning, too.”

He’s still studying me with that eerie, immovable expression. I can’t tell if he’s happy, sad, pissed, irritated, whatever. “So it’s for sure. She’s your roommate. You’re moving in with her.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ve never met her in person.”

“Well, no. Of course not.” I throw my hands up in the air, irritated by his seeming nonreaction. “It’s not like I can ask you to drive me back and forth to Sacramento all the time, right? I don’t have a car and I have no other way to get there.”

He ignores what I say. “Don’t you think that’s kind of risky?”

“What? Handling all of this over the phone and internet?” I take a deep breath. This is turning into a fight, which is the last thing I want. But when is anything easy between Colin and me? The sex so far has been incredibly easy, but that sort of thing always comes with a price eventually. “I have no choice.”

“So you’re still leaving?” He sounds incredulous now. Looks it, too, which just makes me want to punch him.

“Yes. I’m. Still. Leaving.” I say each word carefully, wanting him to get the message. I’m out of here—but he can change that with a few simple words. He may not know everything that happened while I was at Gold Diggers, but he knows a lot.

I need to hear him say it doesn’t matter. That he won’t judge me. I need to hear him say he cares only about me.

Holding my breath, I wait for him to say something. Anything. I don’t want him to beg me—I know that’s not his style. But if he just said one word. One simple word is all it would take and I wouldn’t go.

Stay.

“I’ll hire you a moving truck,” he says, crawling out of bed completely naked and heading toward the bathroom. My gaze falls to his perfect butt like always.

Right about now, I’d really like to kick it.

Chapter 15

Colin

I’d come up with the perfect plan and I came home in the middle of the day to tell Jen, hoping like hell that she’d be receptive. Why wouldn’t she be? Last night we had the most amazing quickie non-fuck of my life in my office with a packed restaurant on the other side of the door. The way she was the one who sought me out, hot for me, coming all over my fingers, then giving me a most enthusiastic blow job, will be one of my favorite memories ever.

Finding her almost naked in my backyard earlier today felt like an all-time fantasy come to life. Sex outside by the pool, sex in the shower . . . yeah. Everything between us is f**king amazing.

Then the magical moment was ruined by her announcement that she’d found a roommate. And like a dumbass, I said nothing. I offered to rent her a moving truck like some unfeeling ass**le. That was my answer. That’s how I treated what was really a delicate situation. I’m a hopeless prick.

She hasn’t spoken to me much since. Not that I can blame her.

Why is she so hell bent on leaving? I know she craves independence. But I offer her stability. Maybe too much stability, but still. She doesn’t have to worry about finding a job or paying rent or buying a car. I provide all of that for her and more.

Maybe that’s the problem, ass**le. You completely take care of her, almost like you’re her sugar daddy.

Running a hand through my hair, I let out a grunt of frustration. She’s into me. I’m into her. I’m offering her a better-paying job that’s in another town but still close enough that we could see each other. So what’s the big deal?

Don’t forget her need for freedom.

Freedom. More like she’s running away.

I shove the nagging voice in my head to the back of my brain. I don’t need to focus on that shit tonight. I want to keep Jen in my life for at least a little while longer. A great job at a different location would give her a new opportunity, a chance to grow, to reach toward that freedom she’s always talking about, but still keep her close. Close enough that we could see each other on a regular basis. As in a real relationship.

For once, that thought doesn’t freak me out. I’m eager to tell her. Spend time with her. Lie down in my bed at night and hold her, talk to her. Just be with her.

Does she want to be with me? Does she miss me like she did last night? No surprise visits in my office so far tonight, which is a damn shame. I’d planned on bending her over my desk and f**king her fast and furiously until I had to clamp my hand over her mouth to stifle her cries when I brought her to orgasm.

Jesus, she f**ks with my head. She’s dangerous and doesn’t even know it.

Business has been intense tonight. Two unexpected large dinner parties came in, keeping the girls hustling all evening. Thankfully, Jen had taken charge and managed the floor, impressing me yet again. She has so much potential. The things we could do together with my business. How we could take it further . . .

The bar is still in full swing when I finally go looking for her around midnight, ready to get us the hell out of there. I find her in one of the private party rooms, where she and another waitress are cleaning up the mess left behind by the dinner-goers.

“About ready to leave?” I ask, keeping my voice neutral, though it’s difficult when Jen’s standing there, her back to me as she bends over to clear the table. If Mandy hadn’t been in the room, I’d push myself against her. Smooth my hand over her ass. Haul her in close and let her feel exactly what she does to me. Live out that bend-over-the-desk fantasy that has kept me going all night.

Instead I try my best to look casual, my hands shoved deep inside my pockets so I won’t do something stupid like grab her and make an ass of myself in front of Mandy.

“Almost.” Jen flashes me a small smile over her shoulder. The knot that had formed around my heart earlier slowly unfurls, easing all that tension I’ve carried with me the entire night. Looks like she might not be angry with me any longer. “Give us a few minutes and I’ll meet you at the car? Out in the parking lot?”