“You have to be kidding.”
“But they’re so friendly! I’m following them on Instagram. And I got their numbers in case you need them.”
They exchanged numbers? It was a little creepy. Besides, I didn’t want to socialize with Killian’s exes or wannabe groupies.
On the other hand, it was my mom, the textbook extrovert. That was why she handled my social media for me. Because if I were in charge, I’d never post anything except once in a while when I had a new book coming out.
Mom drove off. I watched the Mercedes turn onto the main road and then went back to the house, dragging my feet and feeling like a dishrag after a Thanksgiving feast. I hadn’t dealt with this many people in a while, and my introvert brain wanted to shut down and take some time to recover. Process what had happened. It was a bit too overwhelming, especially when the visits had happened so unexpectedly.
Killian was standing by the door.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Can we talk a little? It won’t take long.”
I was torn because I wanted to plop down and think about nothing. But he had a stubborn look, the same one he’d had when we first met with our hands on the same ice cream. Except this time he looked more determined. Claiming there was a cockroach on his foot wasn’t going to cut it.
“Okay,” I said, slipping into my home and motioning for him to come inside.
He followed me in, shutting the door behind us. I threw myself on the couch, leaving him just enough room to sit. He did and waited until I arranged myself comfortably, with my feet up on the table in front of us.
“Okay. Number one, Dev won’t bring girls over like that again,” he said. “And whatever he told you is bullshit, so delete it from your memory.”
“Which part? He said a lot of things,” I said. “Besides, you don’t know what he told me while you were in the kitchen with my mom.”
“Pretty sure I do. He’s kind of predictable.”
“You mean that he’s highly concerned about women who aren’t a size two and don’t think a life goal is banging you because they’re unnatural?” I teased.
Apparently he missed the teasing, because he dropped his head into a palm with a groan. “Yeah. Some crap like that.”
“Killian, I’m not going to hold his opinion against you. That wouldn’t be fair. And he isn’t wrong about me not being a size two or not thinking my life exists solely to have sex with you.” I shrugged to let Killian know I wasn’t that affected. Seriously, I’d heard worse from my dad, who should’ve been on my side.
“No, you don’t get it. The reason I like you is that you aren’t size two, don’t want to post every minute of our time together online and don’t look at my cock like you’re going to take it with you if we break up.”
I choked, then laughed.
“I’m serious. I don’t want a woman who only eats salad or is too, too”—he searched for a word—“vacuous to do anything but take a bunch of pictures and upload them to every account she has. I’ve dated more than a few like that, and trust me, it’s no fun.”
I could imagine how annoying that would be. The Sextet’s antics with selfies drove me insane. And they couldn’t have been clearer that their sole goal was to get attention. Even spending time with Killian hadn’t been about being with him, but how it could help them.
Relationships shouldn’t be so cold and calculating. I felt terrible that Killian had to put up with people like that, and I was glad he knew I’d never be with him for anything other than the sheer enjoyment of his company.
Killian leaned forward, his gorgeous blue eyes on mine. “I know the timing’s not the best. Fuckin’ Dev.” He huffed out a breath. “Anyway, I told you I’d have to leave in June to go to Dallas, and… Well, look. Long-distance relationships suck. I want to avoid that as much as possible. This is sudden and all, but I don’t know how much time you’re going to need to think about it.”
It was a very
long intro. “What’s sudden?”
He let out a breath in a rush. “I was wondering if you want to come with me. I mean, at least consider it. I’m not saying you have to sell your house here or anything, but come to Dallas for a few months. Be with me. Let’s see how it works.”
Shock shot through me. Had he read my mind earlier this morning?
If we’d had this conversation without Devlin’s visit, I would’ve smiled and said yes. It wasn’t like I had any ties to the small town, and I definitely wanted to be with Killian more than I wanted to stay in Kingstree. Or at least if Mom hadn’t visited, crying, because of Dad’s infidelity for the nth time. But both of those things happened, and I couldn’t just smile and say okay.
But maybe we should talk about this more openly and rationally, and perhaps even bring up the practical aspects of cohabitating. Although we’d spent some time together, we certainly hadn’t done anything close to living together. And since I didn’t want to sound like I was being accusatory, I decided to bring up my flaws first.
“I’m messy.” I gestured around us, at the empty bottles and notes strewn everywhere.