Page 46 of Revealing Mark

He chuckled. “Good to hear.”

He lay on his side with his one hand caressing my face. Myeyes found his and I saw a moment of doubt before he smiled, showing off his sexy dimples.

It had been great sex but that was all it was ever going to be. I had no regrets with sleeping with him, but I’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of me saddened by the realization.

I turned to my side and kissed him one last time, memorizing the feel of his lips against mine.

When I lifted my mouth from his, I forced myself to move off the bed and start gathering my clothes without a word. I didn’t want to look at him while I got dressed. To give myself a few private moments, I went into the bathroom and smoothed my hair as best I could without a brush.

When I returned to the room, he was dressed in his jeans and sitting on the edge of the bed, looking contemplative. Perhaps he was regretting what happened.

“I won’t tell Matt,” I assured him.

He shrugged. “I don’t like keeping things from him but this one is your call.”

I nodded. It was best to keep it between us. There was no reason for anyone to find out; besides, it would make things a lot more awkward than they already were.

“I’d better go,” I murmured, not wanting to leave but knowing I had to.

He rose and picked up his shirt, pulling it over his head before walking over to me. “I’ll see you out.”

“Not necessary,” I replied lightly, not wanting to reveal how heavy I felt inside. I had known going in what the score was, but my emotions seemed to be getting the better of me and I was finding it difficult to act like this was the norm for me.

There had been nothing normal about being as close as two people could be…with him.

“Don’t do that, Tracy.”

“What?”

“At least let me walk you to your car,” he insisted. He’d neverlooked sexier, the bed-hair caused by my hands, his kissable lips that had been kissed by me. It was difficult not to get lost in what had just happened between us.

“Fine.”

I was thankful to find my purse in the kitchen. Mark was waiting by the door to walk me down. I couldn’t think of anything to say so we remained in an awkward silence. Was this how it was going to be from now on?

When I got to my car, I turned to face him.

“Whatever is going on with you, let someone in to help you. Matt’s really worried about you and, after last night, so am I.’’

His mouth tightened. I touched his arm.

“Take care of yourself.”

My eyes softened. When he didn’t respond, I got into my car and he closed the door.

“Drive safely.”

That’s all I got after earth-shattering sex. I swallowed my disappointment. I kept myself together until I watched his figure disappear in my rearview mirror.

I refused to allow the burn in my throat to lead to tears. He had given all he could. Not once had he lied or built up my expectations. Unfortunately, that had been my fault, and I had to figure out a way to lock them away so I would be able to move on.

My phone was ringing but I couldn’t find it. I pulled some clothes from the sofa and dug behind the seat. It continued to ring and then I found it down the side of the sofa. I really should find a place to put it so I would find it easier than hunting through most of my living room.

Feeling frazzled and unsettled, I answered the call but therewas no one there. I looked down to see the call had ended already.Damn it!

I didn’t recognize the number. Maybe they would leave a message. Most people didn’t get business calls over weekends but when you were running your own business it was a different story. I didn’t have time to think about it because I was due at my parents’ house for Sunday lunch. It had been a few days since I’d last seen Mark and I hadn’t heard anything from him. Not that I had expected to.

Today was going to be beyond awkward. I had been tempted to skip it but that would lead to my family hounding me for a reason why and I didn’t want to have to lie. Besides, it was probably best to get it over and done with. I couldn’t avoid Mark so I had to find a way to be around him and be normal. Over time it would probably get easier, I reasoned.