Page 48 of Love Expert

I snort.

Maggie:

I give him a tough time sometimes, but he’s a really good dad, and according to everyone else in town, he’s a really good friend, too.

Well, not to me.But I ditched Plainview twenty-five years ago, so I suppose I no longer count.

Maggie:

Drive safe. I’ll have Billy out his front door in time to meet you at seven. I sincerely hope you have a nice evening. I’ll make contact tomorrow to talk it through if you’d like to discuss anything. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you guys.

“Who are you texting?”

I startle and glance up to find Billy in his doorway, his eyes trained on the phone in my hands. His chestdoeslook good in the green. His chest looks good—always.

His brows come up in question. “I figure, since you’re working right now, you probably shouldn’t be having personal conversations. Is that unreasonable?”

“Firstly.” I lock my phone and push off his bed. “Yeah, that’s unreasonable. It’s also controlling and rude. Secondly,” I stroll closer. “I was texting Devina, so that makes it professional, not personal. She was nervous, so I wanted to assure her that everything is as it should be, and that you would be at Picnic Point at seven on the dot. Being late isalsorude.”

His eyes drop to my lips. Hungry and demanding. Shamelessly staring.

“Billy…”

“I don’t wanna go on these dates.” He brings his intense gaze up again. “Cancel them, Magnolia.”

“No, I?—”

He hooks his finger in the hem of my shirt and drags me a step closer. “You can’t possibly tell me you’re not curious.”

“C-curious? About what?”

“About me.” He licks his lips. He’s the wolf, and I’m inbigtrouble. “I’m not trying to be a prick anymore. I’m not trying to be a jackass. I’m not trying to piss you off. I just want us to speak the truth, because you left town twenty-five years ago, and then it took another four years for me to accept that you were never coming back. Now you’re here, and every time we talk, we end up in an argument before I get to say the things I actually wanna say.”

“W-what do you wanna say?”Stop stammering!

Like an angler reeling in his catch, he tugs on my shirt and draws me another inch closer. “I wanna say I’m sorry for always picking fights with you. That I’m sorry for being too proud all the damn time. That I’m sorry you think I’m a jackass, because mostly I’m not. I mean…” His eyes twinkle with mirth. “Icanbe, and I have loads of practice, which means I’m pretty good at it. You probably don’t believe me, but I can actually be decent company sometimes. You just keep catching my asshole moods.”

“Sounds like a flaw on your part.” I swallow the thick, choking lump of nerves settled in my throat. “Emotional regulation is sexy. Arguing all the time is not.”

“Right.” He inches just a little closer, his nosealmosttouching mine. “Accountability is also sexy, so this is me owning up to my shit. I’m an overworked and underpaid cop. People don’t like me, purely because I have a badge, and those who don’t have an opinion on the matter are typically already dead. I’m a single dad who caught the short end of a shitty stick, my son’s middle nameshouldhave been Knievel, and because he has a thing for crazy stunts, I’m sometimes considered an uninterested, uninvolved dad, when really, that’s not true. He’s just faster than I am.”

“I don’t think you’re uninterested or uninvolved.”Accountability is sexy, Magnolia!“Well… I judged you at first,” I admit. “Because we got off to a terrible start, and you’d pissed me off. But Jeremy’s an amazing kid, and kids don’t grow up like that unless they have guidance from people who really care.”

“I want you to tell me you’re interested, too.” He drags his bottom lip between his teeth. “I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you’recurious. You keep setting me up with these women—three in a single week—but I don’t want them. I’ve been clear about it since day one.”

“You’ve been clear about your feelings toward love,” I rasp, the beep of his phone chiming from somewhere in the room. Not a call, but texts. One, two, three in a row. “Toward dating. You want to get laid and nothing more.”

“I know what I sa?—”

“So when you say you’re interested in me, your interest only goes as far as getting laid. It’s all about sex for you.”

“Right.”

Right.

I sigh.

His eyes flare wide. “No! Wait. That’s not what I?—”