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It had been a half-slurred, sleep-induced confession. He might not even realize he’d said it. But she heard it, and those words vibrated through her entire body. They probably seared a brand—his brand—on her soul. And as the silence between them stretched longer and longer, she wished more than anything she could say the words back to him. Saying them, though…that was a step she just wasn’t ready for.
Maybe when the whole mess with Thadeus was done, she’d be able to tell him how she felt. If she could figure it out, that is.
If he still wanted her around after that.
“Stop overthinking it,” he admonished sleepily.
Well, so much for him not realizing what he’d confessed. She supposed she’d have to get comfortable with her feelings quick.
She could handle that…right?
CHAPTER 27
Knox woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, ready to ruin Thadeus’s life, and alone.
The alone part wasn’t much of a surprise. Tenley only seemed capable of sleeping a few hours a night, and could get more done in the hours before he woke up than he could get done all day.
So, when he rolled out of bed, he fully expected to find Tenley in the kitchenette, sipping coffee, ready to tell him about all the cool things she’d done while he was drooling into his pillow. But when he got there, she was nowhere to be found.
She wasn’t in the bathroom, either. The living room and pool area were also empty, except for Layla, who smiled her doggy smile up at him. “Where’s Tenley, girl?”
Layla was happy to hear Tenley’s name, as evidenced by her tail thumping against the hardwood. But she didn’t seem to know the answer to the question, either.
That’s when his inner critic, the one who’d only shut up over the past five years for a few minutes at a time when he was with Tenley, started talking inside his head, telling him she probably left because she was done with his sorry ass. That she was moving on to bigger, better things. Better people. And maybe worst of all…
He’d told her he loved her and she was either a) disgusted enough to run, or b) totally freaked out by the extent of his feelings.
Feelings she didn’t reciprocate.
At this point, he wasn’t even sure which thought was the most troubling. They all sucked giant, hairy, donkey balls.
OK, don’t freak out for no reason. You know none of that is true about Tenley. You know her. She knows you. She hasn’t given you any reason to doubt her.
Knox had just about talked himself off the mental ledge when there was a knock at the door. In his head, Tenley had gone out, was now back, and had forgotten the door code. Which he would later realize was ridiculous because Tenley never forgot anything.
He was surprised enough that he couldn’t hold in a disgusted groan when he opened the door and Thadeus was there instead of Tenley. “What the hell do you want?”
Thadeus’s gaze moved scornfully over Knox’s bare chest and boxer briefs. “Dressed for success as usual, I see.”
He let his eyes move over Thadeus in a similarly disdainful manner. “Dressed like a douchebag as usual, I see. Now, I ask again, what the hell do you want?”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t want anything from you. I’m only here to see if your lovely bride changed her mind after our talk last night.”
Why were you talking to her last night and why didn’t she say anything to me about it? his annoying inner critic asked. Outwardly, he just tightened his jaw and said, “She doesn’t want anything to do with you, either.”
“We’ll see. I told her I know she’s a filthy little gold digger, even if you don’t see it. Once you screw up and lose your trust, she’ll take the fifty thousand I offered and leave you in her rearview where you belong.”
Knox instantly relaxed and rolled his eyes. “Shit, man. The clothes in her overnight bag probably cost more than that. If you wanted her to take a fucking bribe, you shouldn’t have been cheap about it.”
If Knox knew anything it was that Tenley wasn’t going to betray him—not for any amount of money.
Seeing that he clearly wouldn’t be getting the reaction he wanted, Thadeus sneered at him. “You two deserve each other.”
“Aw, thanks. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
And with that, he slammed the door, mind racing. Tenley talked to Thadeus the night before, then disappeared sometime before Knox woke up. Did that mean the bastard had said something upsetting to her?
No. There was no way Thadeus could say anything that would upset Tenley. She was unflappable.
