Page 38 of The Keeper and I

“Maybe not, but you’re so damn cute when you blush.”

That made her drop her gaze to the table. Jordan said things like that fairly often even when they were alone with nothing to prove to anyone. But he wouldn’t so much as hold her hand unless they were in public. She had no idea what to make of it. Was he attracted to her? Was he only performing? Despite their best efforts, the lines were blurred.

“I think we should have it,” she said bluntly. “Sex, that is.”

She looked him in the eyes again, prepared to see shock, but that wasn’t what she found. There was initial surprise, of course, quickly followed by…desire? His gaze darkened, and the corner of his mouth kicked up into a smirk.

“Really?” he said.

She nodded. “I think…well, we like each other well enough, don’t we?”

“Aye.”

“And you’ve mentioned before that you think I’m hot.”

“I do.”

“Likewise,” she said with a meaningful look. She took a sip of her coffee, grateful she’d chosen an iced latte this morning. This conversation had her skin warmed up like she’d taken a steaming bath. “And—I trust you. Plus, without the pressure of it being real, it might make things easier.”

A shadow crossed over his face before he shook his head. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “The way you kissed me last night…I know you want more too. No one’s that good an actor.”

That kiss was on her mind for hours after it had happened. When they went back to her place, she had considered having the same discussion with him then, but had suppressed it, thinking she was caught up in the moment. However, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that he was as desperate for her as she was for him. The nudge she felt from his trousers during their slow dance gave him away.

Jordan sipped his coffee. He swallowed slowly and licked his lips—those gorgeous, bearded lips. Now that she had felt them against her skin, she wanted them everywhere.

“I think that’s all the more reason we shouldn’t,” he finally said.

Her brow furrowed. “How d’you reckon?”

“Because we don’t need to complicate this,” he said. “Feelings could get involved—real feelings with the potential to hurt us both. And you’re leaving in a few months.”

For the first time, she cursed the job in New York. It was a runway show for a new designer who only designed for plus-size people. Laci’s agent of three years, BB, had jumped on the opportunity. It was a campaign with shows in Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, and Chicago, and it included events and photo shoots as well.

“Hold on,” she said. “You’re not saying you don’t want to.”

He leaned over the table closer to her. “I couldn’t say that. I’d be a fucking liar.”

“So if this weren’t fake, you’d be all over me?”

“It’s got to be fake,” he said. “I don’t believe in relationships. But if I did, you’d be just the sort of person I’d like to have one with.”

She blinked and shook her head. “You don’tbelievein relationships?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because I once thought my parents were the two people most in love in the world—until they weren’t. Something always changes.”

That sort of explained some things for Laci, like the way he said he preferred being alone or that the last time he cried was when his parents split up. But plenty of people from divorced parents went on to have successful marriages. Not to mention the people that never got divorced like her parents. The tone of his voice did not imply this was up for debate though.

“That’s just sad,” she said.

“Sad?” He chuckled.

“I can’t speak to your experience, but I don’t think witnessing one failed relationship justifies ruling out the whole institution. It’s a sad way to view the world, looking at people and only seeing their potential to hurt you.”