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“I’m sorry—” she began to apologize.
“Don’t,” he said firmly, cutting her off. “Do not apologize for the way I made you feel. I’m not mad at you or anything, I’m just frustrated.”
Samantha snorted. “Isn’t that basically the same thing?”
“No,” he answered sincerely as he slowly made his way over to her. “Because I’m not frustrated with you. I’m just frustrated at the situation.”
“Oh, so I’m a situation?” She knew she was being difficult, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop herself. She really wanted to get a reaction out of him in hopes that he would say what he was really feeling.
“No. I’m frustrated that there are so many things that affect us, and I can’t control them. I’m frustrated that my brother treated you just as shitty as he did the rest of us, and I can’t go back and fix whatever pain he caused you. I’m frustrated because I just want to spend every night with you, and I can’t do that. So yeah, I’m frustrated; but I’m not angry.”
Of course, his response was perfect. Why she felt the need to constantly test him was beyond her. He’d already passed the test on day one. Never had he treated her anything like Brandon did, yet she found it so difficult to trust him. Looking into his warm gaze, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She knew he wasn’t trying to upset her. She knew he was speaking the truth.
“I’m sorry,” she said, stepping into his arms.
“Please stop apologizing.”
“Hear me out, please. I’m sorry for constantly trying to test you. I don’t realize that’s what I’m doing as I’m doing it. It’s like you’re too good to be true, and I need to keep proving to myself that you’re real,” she explained. “So, I do need to apologize for that. You’ve never done anything to make me doubt you. I used to do the same thing to Meka until she called me on it.”
“I understand why. It’s fine. We can talk about this later after you’ve had a chance to let what I said sink in.”
His embrace was strong but soothing. Being held like that, she understood what he was saying. She hated spending nights without him. She also hated her apartment, but it wasn’t as easy as just getting a place together. Was it? Maybe it could be that easy.
“Would you feel better about it if you were to sublet your apartment instead of getting rid of it?” he asked. “Not that you need to make a decision now. I’m just throwing it out there because I can see you thinking about it.”
“Oh, you can see my thoughts?” she teased with a short laugh.
“Yup. Right now, you’re thinking how much better I would look if I took my sweatpants off.” He waggled his eyebrows, which caused Samantha to laugh harder.
“Oh wow, you are good. Now what am I thinking?”
Running a hand over his beard, he looked her up and down as if he was really concentrating on reading her thoughts. “Now you’re wondering why I’m still wearing my sweatpants when I know you want me to take them off.”
She snorted with laughter, most of her worry gone. Being able to joke around with him was another novel experience. There was no need to walk on eggshells—no need to hold her tongue.
Taking his statement as an invitation, she captured his lips in a kiss. A kiss he immediately deepened, wrapping his arms around her as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Moaning into him, she moved a hand to the back of his neck and held him in place as he claimed her mouth. Last night she was tired, on edge, and in no mood for sex. But that was last night.
After the heavy conversations, she needed to remind herself that they were okay. Especially since they hadn’t really come to a conclusion about moving in together. Sure, it was possible to have a disagreement, or have a discussion that didn’t necessarily end in a resolution, but she’d never experienced it.
When he moved back toward the bed, she followed him. He removed her clothing as they went, and by the time he laid her down on the bed, they were both naked. Their kisses had started off frantic, but when he made love to her, it was slow and gentle. Sweet touches and soft kisses. She felt safe and treasured, all of her insecurities far from her mind as they moved together as one. Cupping her face in his hand, he captured her mouth, swallowing her cry as they both came undone.
“What the fuck do you mean we have a problem?” Bryce barked into the phone. “You were supposed to meet me here at 7:00. It’s 10:00 and I have somewhere to be.”
Today was Samantha’s doctor’s appointment. He already hated the fact that he missed the ultrasound and wasn’t there when she was thrown for a loop when they told her the estimated gestational age. He had promised her he would be there for all of the appointments, and he hadn’t even made it to the very next one before some stupid work bullshit got in the way.
“Yeah, well, if you can’t be there when I show up then yeah. We have a problem. I’m booked for the next six weeks, so you can cancel if you want to but good luck explaining it to the property owner,” the smug voice on the other end of the line said. Bryce could practically hear his sneer.
“That’s bullshit. You’re the one who isn’t here,” Bryce retorted, knowing it wouldn’t do him any good.
“And when you scheduled, you were told the date was set, but the time was subject to change.”
“Fine,” Bryce snapped before ending the call.
He picked up the closest thing to him, a stapler, and threw it. It dented the wall before coming apart and crashing to the floor. Throwing things didn’t solve his problem, but it felt good. He had to call Samantha. Even if the inspector showed up right that second, there was no way he could make it back to New York in time for her appointment.
“Everything okay?” Lizzy asked, stepping out of her office.
Bryce heaved a sigh. “No.”
