Page 56 of Worth the Fall

For as hot and cold as Thomas could run, I felt like I was sort of the same way. I was fiercely attracted to him, but I wasn’t sure that it was anything deeper than that. And I still didn’t trust myself to make good decisions when it came to men and relationships. I clearly had no idea what I was doing; otherwise, I wouldn’t be divorced already.

Not that it mattered because this clearlywasn’t a date.

Even though it felt an awful lot like one. Or maybe that was just from my perspective. Thomas probably considered me some kind of charity case. Someone he’d felt bad for and just wanted to give a nice meal to after she’d been embarrassed by her ex-husband in front of her staff.

Clara and I headed outside side by side and waited on the empty bench for her dad to finish paying. When he finally walked out, we both stood up at the same time, and Thomas positioned himself between us, like he belonged to the both of us.

“So, we should do this again sometime.” He leaned in close, and the heat from his body made me want to hop into his arms, wrap my legs around his waist, and kiss him like my life depended on it. “But maybe without the extra company,” he added, and I wasn’t sure if he was referring to his daughter or the rest of the town.

“Wouldn’t that be”—I paused for dramatic effect—“unprofessional?” I asked in a joking tone that I immediately regretted.

His face turned dead serious as he ran a finger down my cheek, where anyone who was watching could see us. “Extremely. But I’m starting to think that I don’t give a shit when it comes to you, Brooklyn.”

“Bad word, Daddy!” Clara stomped around, but I was too caught up in what he’d just said to care.

My phone buzzed in my purse, and I pulled it out, noticing another text from Lana. Instead of reading it, I decided to drive over to her place. I was dying to fill her in on what Eli had done earlier at the resort. Although I’d bet a hundred bucks that she already knew.

“Are you parked far?” Thomas asked as Clara stared up at me as she twirled and danced around, her little feet kicking in the air.

“I’m at the end of the street.” I pointed in the direction of my car.

“We should walk with her, right, Daddy? And then open her door for her too?” Clara asked, and I wondered if she’d learned that from the men in her life or from something she’d seen on television.

“I can walk by myself. It’s not that far,” I said, but Thomas looked mildly uncomfortable, like he was suddenly having some kind of internal battle. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Really, it’s fine. You two go.”

Clara shook her head, disagreeing. “Daddy won’t like that. He says that boys open doors for girls they like. And if a boy doesn’t open my car door for me, then I can’t get in with him. It’s what gentlemen do.”

I leaned down to face her straight on. “Your dad’s right. But I need to go see my best friend, and you need to get home. You guys can open my door next time, okay?”

I had no business bringing up anext time, but she instantly calmed as she pondered my suggestion.

“I think that would be okay. I’m kind of tired anyway.” She said the last part through a yawn, and I was seriously dumbfounded. A minute before, she’d been bouncing off the walls, unable to sit still, and now, it was like some sort of sedative had kicked in.

“Next time then,” Thomas said against my ear as he gave me an awkward hug.

But it wasn’t his well-sculpted arms and hard-as-a-rock chest that had me all worked up. Or the fact that I knew everyone inside the diner was probably watching our interaction. It was the other hard-as-a-rock thing currently poking me in the upper thigh. I wanted to rub up against it and see if a genie popped out and started granting me wishes.

Knowing that I’d made Thomas hard was a total turn-on. I liked it way too much. And I definitely wanted to do something about it. Rose had been right. I needed a good old-fashioned boink fest.

Maybe he and I both did. No. Thomas probably had sex whenever he wanted, not that I’d ever heard any rumors like that. But I couldn’t imagine a single woman in Sugar Mountain who would turn down a sexual offer from an O’Grady brother. I was exaggerating, of course, but sometimes, it felt like this whole town vied for their attention.

I understood.

If there was a line to have sex with Thomas, I wanted to skip to the front of it and never let anyone else have a turn.

What the hell was I even thinking?