“And if things don’t work out with us?” I ask incredulously. “Rudy could rent out my apartment and then I’ll never find a place I can afford. I’ll be even worse off than I am now!”
He shakes his head. “I won’t let that happen. We’ll come up with a back-up plan.”
“West, you can’t possibly want me to move in. It’s been…two weeks!”
“I know.” One shoulder lifts in a half-shrug. “Believe me, I keep going over it in my head and while one part of me thinks I’m a dumbass, a bigger part feels like this is the right thing to do. I can’t explain it. The connection has been there from the moment we met.”
“When I accused you of being a serial killer?” I ask wryly.
He smiles. “Yeah, even then.”
“West, I can’t just move in. I mean, short-term, Joey would have to sleep with us because he can’t disrupt Lindy’s sleep regularly.”
“We’ll put him on an air mattress on the floor,” he says.
“And what would I do with all my stuff?”
“I don’t know the logistics yet,” he admits. “I just know this is one thing I can offer you that isn’t money.”
“I don’t want to move in because you feel sorry for me,” I whisper. “That isn’t romantic at all.”
He’s quiet for what feels like a long time, eyes focused on mine. “Is romance important to you, angel?”
“Very.”
“Believe it or not, it is to me too. I guess I don’t show it very well but?—”
“What are you talking about?” I demand, shaking my head. “You’ve beenwonderful.”
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “But wonderful and romantic aren’t the same thing. You do realize I’ve fucked you every way to Sunday but have yet to take you out on a date.”
I flush a little at his blunt words, but he has a point. “Okay, but there have been extenuating circumstances. An ice storm that kept us locked away at home and then you had a road trip. Those were both out of our control.”
“Yeah, but still. I’d like to take you out on a date,” he says. “Something distinctly romantic—without Joey.”
“We have to see if I can trade babysitting duties with Jayne,” I say. “But I’d like that too.”
He puts a hand on the side of my face. “This thing with us—it’s more than just sex. More than extenuating circumstances. Please tell me I’m not imagining it.”
God, I’m falling harder every day. Pretty soon, I’m going to be head over heels.
“You’re not,” I whisper gruffly. “I feel it too. But it scares the crap out of me.”
“Me too.”
We stare at each other for a long time.
I don’t know what demons lurk behind his gorgeous blue eyes but there’s no doubt they’re a reflection of my own. Something we share.
“We can’t let them win,” I say after a moment.
He nods, apparently completely in tune with what I’m thinking. “I know. That’s why I want to do this. I’ve been fighting my feelings because it seems ridiculous. Two weeks… how can we possibly be talking about living together after two weeks?”
“Probably because we started out that way,” I point out. “We were complete strangers and I invited you in. When you couldn’t leave, we spent two days living together. It felt like exactly the rightplace, right time, and right person. I’ve never had a man stay at my apartment.”
“Yet you didn’t hesitate to invite me.”
“No.” There’s no denying it. “There was something about you that felt safe. And then you kissed me and…I lost every ounce of good sense.”