Page 55 of Praised
“Good. Let him know you’re over him by ignoring him. He doesn’t deserve your attention.”
The front door opened, drawing my stare. The lights inside of the house threw Flynn into a dark silhouette against the stark whiteness of the walls and the sharp lines of the teak wood door.
Drake was right. Cody didn’t deserve my attention, but Flynn did.
He’d committed himself more to me in the past handful of weeks than Cody had in the months we were together. And here I was, waffling back and forth like there was any sane or reasonable excuse why I shouldn’t be with Flynn. I’d come so close to talking myself out of being with him, that if he’d been any other man besides the one he was, I might have lost the chance for good.
“You’re right,” I said, straightening up and unlatching my seatbelt. “I just got to Flynn’s house so I’ll talk to you later.”
“When later?”
“Sometime tomorrow. I’ll text you his address.”
“Good. Thank you.”
“Thank you for watching out for me.” I shouldered open the driver’s side door and swiveled, dropping my feet onto the ground.
“That’s what friends are for,” he said.
The background noise turned loud again and I knew Drake was making his way back into the club. I told him goodbye and disconnected the call, then copied and pasted Flynn’s address into a text message and sent it off.
The nerves from earlier that had finally started to wane during my conversation with Drake were back in full force as I walked from my car to the porch. When Flynn’s face came into focus, I found it nearly impossible to swallow. It was mind-blowing that I’d ever had the audacity to look at this man and tell him he didn’t deserve me. I was the one who didn’t deservehim.
I’d fought him at every turn, and he’d fought back, not willing to give up without one hell of a fight. And I hadn’t appreciated that until I’d almost lost him.
“I’m sorry.” I stepped onto his porch, sliding my phone into my pocket.
He cocked his head to the side, expression curious. “For what?”
I closed the space between us and wrapped my arms around his waist so I could rest my cheek against his chest.
He’d changed clothes from earlier and instead of wearing the suit I so often saw him in, he had on the same pair of gray sleep pants from the last time I’d spent the night. No shirt, so my skin pressed against his, immediately sending heat waves from my head down to my toes.
“I haven’t been fair to you,” I murmured.
Flynn stroked his hands through my hair and down the back of my head, down my neck and over my shoulders.
“Come inside, Rose. Let’s talk.”
CHAPTER19
FLYNN
Rose shuffledinto the house like he was about to get grounded.
He kicked his shoes off just inside the door, and I glanced down at him in time to watch him slide his socked feet across the tile like he was ice. He stopped quick enough, clearing his throat and changing to a normal step. I led him toward the couch, which I knew he hated, and sat down. Patting the cushion next to me, I waited for him to follow suit before asking, “What do you mean you haven’t been fair?”
Rose scrubbed a hand down his face then sprawled out across the couch. He tucked his back into the crook of my arm, one hand resting on my thigh and the other flung over the back. With his legs splayed, one knee bent and foot on the floor, the other hanging off the far edge. He tipped his head back and I stared down at him, immediately willing myself to not get lost in his eyes.
“I haven’t been fair to you from the start. I’ve been telling you what I want, what Ideserve.”
The sneer in his voice led me to believe he was recalling the conversation we had before he’d left me at the hotel, but I could also tell he wasn’t done so I waited to respond.
“And then just deciding on my own that we’re too different to work, even after you tolerated the rest of it. I tried to break up with you and—”
“And I told you no.”
“Not only did you tell me no, but you still invited me over here? You came to my work and you answered my texts, and now I’m here?” Rose closed his eyes and let out a breath so huge I wondered if he was going to melt into the couch.
