“Fisher …” I deposited kisses all over his face. “If I’m yours…” my lips brushed the shell of his ear “…then you have to take the bad with the good.”
Bad sex.
I wanted him to take the bad sex that would come with our first time.
“What if …” He threaded his fingers through my hair, pulling it away from our faces. “What if you’re not supposed to be mine?”
Before I could present my most heartbroken frown, a fist tapped my door twice, and then it opened.
There was no time to stand. There was barely time to blink.
“Reese, do you have—” Rose stilled. Eyes wide. Lips parted into a huge O. “I … I’m sorry.” She backed out of the room and shut the door.
“Rose …” I flew to my feet and out of my bedroom.
Grabbing Rose’s arm before she got more than two steps toward the porch, I pulled her into my bathroom and shut the door.
Closing my eyes for a brief second, I blew out a slow breath. When I opened them, Rose eyed me with concern.
She didn’t see us kissing. Our clothes were on. And for a split second I considered pretending that we were wrestling like siblings. But Rose wasn’t stupid.
“If you tell my mom …” I had no clue what came after those words. I didn’t actually know how Rory would react, but with a certain level of certainty, I knew it wouldn’t be good.
“She’ll send you back to Texas and kill Fisher,” Rose said without hesitation.
I nodded. That worked. Honestly, Rose knew Rory better than I did. I trusted her prediction.
“Reese, he’s ten years older than you. You know that, right?”
Another nod while biting my lips together.
“What has he done? Have you …”
I shook my head at least a half dozen times. “We haven’t done … that.” It bothered me that Rose jumped immediately to Fisher, as if he had taken advantage of me. Like a predator or child molester.
“It’s a terrible idea.”
“I know,” I whispered, even though I didn’t know anything for certain when it came to Fisher Mann. “Please … please don’t say anything to Rory. Let me tell her when I’m ready.”
“Uh …” She chuckled. “I don’t think she ever needs to know. If you’re not having sex …” She narrowed her eyes as if she was clarifying again that we hadn’t had sex. “Then it’s nothing more than wasted infatuation. Boredom. And it will and should end soon. Right?”
My answer didn’t come out right away because I didn’t know the answer.
“Reese, listen, honey … Fisher is a wonderful man. And he’s your boss. Rory and I adore him. And for the right person at the right time, he will be quite the catch. But … and I mean this in the kindest way possible, Fisher is a man whore.”
My eyes narrowed.
“He’s not ready to settle down. He enjoys dating. He enjoys casual sex. And that’s great for women who are in the same place in their lives. Like Tiffany. She’s not ready to settle down tomorrow. She’s looking for casual and fun. Fisher is a great fit for her right now. But I honestly have no idea what he has to offer you beyond a job. If you’re not sexually active, then you need to be smart. You need to remind Fisher that he’s your boss, your mom’s friend, and that’s it. Anything else makes him a guy who is way too mature for you and focused on only one thing … trying to get into your pants. And your heart will get broken because I know enough about you to know that you are not that girl looking for anything less than the fairytale. Fisher is not anyone’s Prince Charming right now. Okay?”
Her words paralyzed me. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t piece together a string of thoughts that made sense. A man whore? That seemed extreme. And he didn’t want into my pants. Or did he? Was it the game? Was I his toy?
“If you want me to talk to him—”
“No!” I shook my head. “Please, just let me handle it. Don’t tell Rory or anyone for that matter. I’ll … handle it.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Fisher was gone, upstairs I assumed, by the time Rose and I exited the bathroom. Rose suggested she and Tiffany leave. I didn’t know what she was going to say to Tiffany, but I felt confident that it might be a “Fisher is a man whore you deserve better” speech.
“Night, sweetheart.” Rory poked her head into my bedroom a little before ten as I reorganized my puzzles after Fisher rifled through them, solving the hardest ones.
After Rory’s bedroom door clicked shut, I texted Fisher.
Reese: Hi. Rose isn’t going to tell Rory or anyone.
Fisher: We leave at six in the morning.
I deflated at his cold response.
Reese: Are you mad?
I waited over fifteen minutes for a response.