Page 75

Sunday mornings are no longer spent on my couch with Oliver.

Now they’re spent in bed, with Tathan, the heat of our bodies warming cool sheets.

After three weeks of him being a part of our bed, Oliver is starting to come around to the idea of another man in my life. I wouldn’t go as far to say he likes Tathan, but he doesn’t pee on him anymore. It’s a start.

Do you remember the deal?

Tathan made me a bet he could make me fall in love with him.

You know when you agree to something, and then you think to yourself, what did I get myself into? Surely, I shouldn’t have agreed to this.

It’s like those time-share things where they say, hey, for only a small investment—thousands of dollars—you can stay here at our beach house anytime you want.

What they don’t tell you is that every weekend you want to stay there, guess what? It’s fucking booked. And then the one weekend you’re allowed to stay there, a hurricane comes through, and you’re stuck inside the entire time.

Sound familiar?

We’ve all been there, or maybe just me. But have you ever agreed to date a guy with the deal that you wouldn’t fall in love with him?

That’s like going to Target and saying you’re only going to spend twenty bucks. I think it’s nearly impossible. At least that’s been my experience.

And this, my friends, dating a guy with the absolute determination not to fall in love with him is nothing like I’ve experienced.

“When will you be back?” I ask, intertwining our fingers together, my head on his chest, listening to his light breathing. Pathetic. I’mtotally, utterly pathetic because while he made me a bet, again, hours ago, it’s a done deal already.

I’m.

In.

Love.

“I come back on Thursday,” Tathan tells me, his lips brushing my temple. “And then I’m taking you away for the weekend.” He glances down at Oliver who’s sleeping between us. He’s getting a little big to be doing this, too. “Without the dog.”

I laugh when Oliver growls. He certainly understands more than we give him credit for.

“What’s the matter with having the dog there?”

Tathan gives me that look. The one that says, I’d be fucking you right now if it wasn’t for the dog. He doesn’t dare move him, been there, done that, and he has the bite mark on his arm to prove it.

“He likes you now,” I point out.

“Yeah, right.” He laughs. “Last night he took my shoes and put them in the toilet.

I’d forgotten about that. Maybe they weren’t friends just yet, but they would be. Oliver’s a sucker for a good guy. Or maybe that’s just me.

When Colton fucked me over, I thought, no, IknewI’d never love again. Until Tathan Madsen pushed his way into my life and hot-tub time.

Back when my dad was sick, he said some pretty crazy things at the time. His mind had been going for a while and near the end, he finally made sense. He told me to save the best of my heart for the one who’d love me at my worst. Worst meaning broken by love. Or I assume that’s what the crazy guy meant.

I thought, at the time, he’s losing it, but now. . .nowit finally makes some sense. We all need someone to show us despite our breaks, the cracks from being deceived, we’re worth loving again.

Tathan sits up, the crack of his bare ass just barely visible under the sheets. He has an adorable crack. “I should get up. If I’m going to make it to Santa Monica by tonight, I need to get on the road.”

Uneasiness settles in my chest. Suddenly, like any girl falling in love, I’m worried about him. “It’s a six-hour drive.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Maybe ifyou’redriving.”

“True.” I sit up with him, cradling a sleeping Oliver in my arms like a baby. “Guess it’s going to be a week in the hot tub by myself,” and I say this with such dejection, he actually laughs at me.