Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Wouldn’t that be an interesting superpower? I could’ve used it that night I ran into you and Julian. Except I still would’ve punched him. Just would’ve disappeared right when the cops came.” He winked.
I really wished he hadn’t brought up Julian. But since he did… “It wasn’t necessary for you to go after him like that.”
He glared. “Trust me, it was.”
“You don’t see me going after…” I tilted my head. “What’s her name…Kylie?” A rush of jealousy shot through me. Of all the women I knew Atticus had been with, she seemed to be a regular in his life—at least from what I could surmise from photos taken whenever he was home in L.A.
“Riley,” he corrected. “And I wouldn’t care if you did go after her. In fact, I’d pop some popcorn and watch that shit.”
I rolled my eyes.
He tossed the towel onto a chair in the corner. “But you see…” He walked toward me, causing my skin to prickle. “There are some key differences between the two situations. Riley wasn’t your friend at one time, like Julian was to me. She’s also not even my girlfriend.”
I wasn’t going to touch the subject of Julian being one of Atticus’s former friends, so I focused on the second part of his statement. “Why do you waste her time, then, if she’s not your girlfriend?”
“We have an understanding. She and I hang out when I’m in town, but it’s not monogamous.”
“Oh, that’s right, you’re incapable of that now. If I had a nickel for every text someone sent me about your antics on the road.” My cheeks burned.
His ears turned red. “Really, Nicole? You wanna go there? I don’t know what anything I do as a single man has to do with us. Because I never cheated on you. And you know it.”
I did know it. I also knew Atticus had been a good husband and that at one time, we’d been very much in love. That’s why it was so hard to believe we’d landed in this place—up until today, we’d been virtual strangers for the past few years. Too much damage had been done, though, to ever go back. As much as I still wanted to jump into his arms at times, I couldn’t let my heart go there. I’d been working so hard to try to get over him. But I needed to chill on the guilt pushing. Because the demise of our relationship was just as much my fault as his. We’d burned it down together.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered with a knot in my throat. “Let’s just go to sleep. It’s been a long day.”
His eyes seared into mine for a few seconds before he reached for one of the extra pillows on the bed and dropped it on the floor.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m setting up on the floor.”
The room consisted of one full-sized bed and a small chair in the corner. The bed took up almost the entire room.
“There’s barely enough space for you on the floor.”
Atticus ignored my concern. “I found a blanket in the hall closet. I’ll be good.”
A moment later, I realized that if I allowed him to sleep on the floor, it might give him the impression that I couldn’t trust myself around him. Wouldn’t it be better not to make such a big deal about it? After all, if I could sleep platonically with Atticus, I could do anything. Maybe sharing the bed was exactly what I needed to get over him once and for all. Sort of like exposure therapy.
“I think you should sleep in the bed,” I blurted before I could think any more.
Atticus shook his head. “I told you. I’m not letting you sleep on the couch.”
“That’s not what I mean.” I paused. “I think we should share the bed.”
His eyes widened. “You smoke something while I was in the shower?”
“No.” I laughed nervously. “I just think we’re two grown adults, and there’s no reason we can’t lie on the same hump of foam.”
“You said the word hump, not me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can you be serious?”
His smile faded. “Look, if you’re cool with that, I am, too. I sure as hell wasn’t gonna be the one to suggest it, though.”
“I am fine with it.” I blew a breath up into my hair, wondering if he could sense my nerves.
“Okay, then. Bed sounds good.” Atticus took a deep breath and let it out. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After an awkward moment of silence, I grabbed my stuff and went to the bathroom to take my own shower. And boy, was it needed. I planned to take my sweet time, hoping I’d get lucky and he’d be asleep when I returned.
The hot water helped calm me at first. But then my nerves kicked in again as the reality of the situation began to register. Two weeks of sleeping in the same bed with Atticus every night but not being able to touch him would be absolute torture.