Page 23 of Mr. Red

I start laughing. Maybe it’s from being embarrassed, maybe from feeling like a kid again, I don’t know, but I’m laughing with no end in sight.

He gives me a big, genuine smile and shakes his head.

I want to see a lot more of that smile.

But I can’t. I shouldn’t want to either. He’s the moron who almost ran me over, he’s leaving in a few months, andhe’s a client. There’s no way we’d work.

Keeping my distance doesn’t seem like it’ll work either.

Chapter 14

Matt

I’m not sure what’s going on with me. I made a picnic and got to the trails early just so I could potentially run into a woman. A woman I shouldn’t be focusing on in the first place. Then I backed down from kissing said woman. I’ve never backed down from anything, let alone from making a move. I’ve never waited to kiss a woman, period.

I waited here to see if she would come. What the fuck?

If she didn’t come here, would I have just waited in my car all day? What the hell am I thinking? I’m going insane.

Maybe I should talk to someone. I’m positive I bumped my head and forgot. Now I have compulsive tendencies. That’s the only explanation for my actions right now.

Holding her—not kissing her or fucking her, butholding her—was the highlight of my day.

Being with her makes me feel like a teenager. Literally. We had a food fight for fuck’s sake. She’s completely in the moment, and makes it easy to just be me. I want to be with her more. I can’t explain why; I just need to.

“We made it!” Scarlett exclaims.

“Oh yeah, nice.” I look around like I’m not thinkingabout my odd choices of the day.

“Nice? It’s beautiful!” She glances at her phone. “That took way longer than I was expecting.”

“Oh, do you need to start heading back?” My face drops.

For what? Are you meeting someone? Who?

My heart rate picks up and I clench my jaw. I’m getting jealous before I know what her plans are, but any plans not involving me are a major fucking problem.

“Sort of, I need to clean my place. It’s my day off, so I have to get things in order.”

I let out a breath I’d been holding in as my jaw relaxes. “That’s not much of a pressing matter.”

“When else would I do it? I wouldn’t have any time until next week. Plus, I have my own project I need to get started which involves some planning.”

“You like planning, huh?”

“It’s not that I like it, it’s that things go smoother when there’s a schedule. I’m not big on surprises.”

“Surprises are the best.” Not for me, but for most people.

“No, surprises make me have to think about more than I need to. The best thing is to be prepared.”

“How long does it take to clean your place?”

“Most of the day. There’s a specific way to do it so I don’t miss anything. Dust is my biggest enemy.” She huffs.

“I could have a housekeeper come by your place. You could work on your project while they’re there. Then you’d be free tonight.”

“You’renotgetting me a housekeeper.” She shakes her head.