Page 88 of Decidedly Off Limits

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“I will,” he said. “I promise. After the event.”

We talked for a while, catching up on our lives. I told him about my photography and he said he would love to see it sometime. The only things I didn’t mention were Trent and the calendar.

“You really have changed, Kelsey.”

The corner of my lips quirked up to one side. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

“Definitely a good thing. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you this excited about anything beyond your job. I need to take a lesson from you sometime.”

Since he had to return to his office, we stood up and he hugged me. The gesture felt like thick socks on a cold winter night. Nice, comfortable, but nothing beyond that. It was nothing like hugging someone you loved so much, you could barely breathe. That was more like hot chocolate—with a splash of Bailey’s and mounds of whipping cream.

Owen kissed my cheek, nothing more than a friendly peck. I pulled away and turned to leave—and was met by a pair of warm green eyes.

35

Trent

Kelsey’sdickwad ex-fiancé kept talking to her, oblivious that she wasn’t listening to him.

He must have said something that grabbed her attention because she looked at him again, smiled, then walked toward me, her smile grander than the one she had just given him.

And something stirred inside me. Not jealousy. Fear.

Fear that I would be the next guy she dumped for being a workaholic. Some women attracted the bad-boy type; she attracted workaholics.

Except that wasn’t the life she wanted anymore.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Getting some coffee and fresh air before returning to the office. What about you?” She was the last person I expected to see here, since the hospital where she worked wasn’t nearby.

“Owen wanted to tell me something. But I have something more exciting to tell you,” she said as we joined the line for coffee. She removed a business card from her purse and handed it to me. “This woman wants to talk to you about a charity she’s involved with. My photography instructor showed her the photos Luke and I took of you, and she wants to use them in a hottest-bachelors-in-San-Francisco type calendar. There’s also an auction she would like you to participate in. You know, a chance for you to strut that sexy ass of yours and raise money to help women dealing with cancer.” The way she was grinning, you’d think she had just won the lottery. Not the fifty million dollar one, mind you.

My body went cold at her words. I had trusted her when she said no one would see those photos. If they had been leaked, it could have damaged my hard earned reputation in the industry. What the hell was she thinking?

“Thanks, but no thanks. Being sold at an auction isn’t my thing. Anyway, I’ve been thinking,” I said, knowing that it was time for me to end what Kelsey and I had before I made another goddamn mistake, like I had with my previous girlfriends. “Things are getting really busy at work now. So I think it’s time we end our fuck-buddy arrangement. I don’t have time for it anymore.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond. “This is going to take too long.” I gestured to the line in front of us, ignoring the couple who was obviously listening to me. “I need to get back to work.” I walked away.

Kelsey didn’t come after me. Not that I expected her to. Like her ex, I was picking work over her. Only unlike in her ex’s case, I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to become partner. Work was my safe place—when it came to my heart.

But instead of going back to work, I drove to my apartment building, doing my best not to think about Kelsey. Doing my best not to think about all the times we’d made love. Doing my best not to think about the fun I’d had with her over the past few months.

The elevator pinged open and I trudged down the hallway to my apartment. Inside, I tossed my keys on the table by the door. And for once the emptiness in my life reached up and slapped me. No one was here to greet me and ask me how my day had been. No one was here for me to wrap my arms around. No one was here for me to throw on the bed and make love to.

My life was empty and meaningless.

Melodramatic thoughts and I headed to my bedroom, where I changed into my workout gear. Josh wasn’t here to challenge me, but with the way I was feeling, it didn’t really matter. My thoughts would be bringing up the rear, yelling at me to get my ass moving.

And yes, they must have attended SEAL training along with Liam and picked up a thing or two. They rode my ass hard as I ran to the park.

After I finished torturing myself with sprints, I jogged to the outdoor workout center and pushed myself equally hard there. The plan was that by the time I was finished, my body would be so tired I wouldn’t have the energy to think about Kelsey.

Now, if only my brain had been in on that plan.

I half-heartedly jogged home, which at this point resembled staggering. After showering, I plunked down on the couch and found the channel I needed—The Food Network. Maybe I could whip up comfort food, like Erin used to do whenever she had boyfriend problems.

Too bad the network hadn’t been appraised of my plan ahead of time. Whatever the host was cooking looked good, but I didn’t possess any of the ingredients. Same deal with the next episode.