That . . . I was not expecting.
MY HEART DROPPED THE SECOND he called me baby. Tristan only called me baby when we were making love, or when he was lost in a passionate moment.
“Ryn, it’s kind of—complicated.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think it is, Tristan. You brought me to your parents’ for Christmas, yet you sat on the porch and told another woman you missed her and couldn’t wait to see her.”
His eyes narrowed. “That’s not what I said to her.”
Letting out a sarcastic laugh, I said, “Pretty much, Tristan. You were fucking another girl when you were with me. Forgive me for thinking we were in an exclusive relationship.”
Tristan pushed his hand through his hair and I fought to hold pack the tugging motion in my core. I loved when he did that. There was something extraordinarily hot about it.
“Ryn, I thought you and I were just having fun, and then something happened.”
Smirking, I asked, “Liberty couldn’t get time off of work to visit good old mom and dad, so you took the runner up?”
“No! It wasn’t anything like that at all. I couldn’t decide between the two of you.”
He did not just say that. Motherfucker.
“No, wait . . . that’s not what I meant. I mean it is, but it isn’t. I wasn’t dating Liberty when I was with you at Christmas. It’s always been an off and on relationship with her.” Dropping his head back he let out a frustrated breath before looking at me. “I got confused, Ryn. I started feeling things . . . I mean . . . I had feelings for you that I’ve never had for any other woman before.”
Oh my. That was not what I was expecting. My stomach flipped a little, but I was sure as hell not going to let this prick know that. “I see, so these feelings caused you to call your other part-time girlfriend. Makes total sense. You’re such a prick.”
I started walking away from him. His hand grabbed my arm and I let out a gasp from the instant tingles that spread through it. “Ryn . . . can you please just stop?”
I stopped walking and stood there. “I have nothing to say to you, Tristan.”
“You wouldn’t take my calls. I tried to call you for months. Do you know how pissed I was when you were dancing with that dick . . .”
Spinning around, I placed my hands on his massive, hard as a rock chest and pushed him as hard as I could. He stumbled backwards but was able to keep from falling.
I wasn’t sure if I was pissed or if the hurt was all re-surfacing. “Fuck you, Tristan! You fucking called another woman and told her how much you missed her for Christ sake! You ignored me. It was if I was no longer there. No talking to me, no kissing me, you didn’t even look at me!” I quickly wiped a tear away.
Tristan’s face looked pained as he took a step closer to me. “No!” Shaking my head, I whispered, “No. You don’t get to try and make up for that now.” Turning, I quickly made my way back to the beach house I was renting. And to Dodge, the only man who could make me forget about Tristan Williams, at least for a little while.
Walking up the stairs to the deck, I heard Dodge on the phone. “I can’t make it back tonight, but I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
My heart started pounding. He’s leaving?
Dodge smiled as I walked up to him and slammed my body into his. He wrapped his arm around me and I instantly felt better. Dodge kissed the top of my head and I had a brief moment of feeling guilty. I had a feeling Dodge wanted more from our relationship than I did. To me, it was just about sex. Although I had to admit I was beginning to feel something more for, Dodge. I wasn’t sure if I was afraid to let him in or unable too.
“I’ll call you back later, Lefty. Yeah, the deliveries for this afternoon have all been paid and taken care of. Just sign the paperwork and put it in the coolers.”
Tightening his grip on me, he pulled me closer to his body. I felt his hard dick pressed against my body and smiled. Dodge had a way of giving me attention, even while he worked.
“I’ll be back tomorrow night. Right. Later.” Pulling his cell phone away, he hit End. I glanced up to his face, stuck my lower lip out and pouted.
“You have to go?”
Dodge let out a chuckle. “I do, but not until tomorrow. We have all of today together.”
I had to admit, the idea of spending the entire day with Dodge had my stomach dipping with excitement. Not the same excitement I felt ten minutes ago when I saw Tristan running by, but it was still excitement.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked as I pulled back and looked into his breathtaking blue eyes. His dark-blond hair had that messy look to it. Like he just ran his hands through his wet hair and let it dry.