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I sighed and closed my notebook, knowing damn well that this was all pointless. I didn’t understand his insistence on messing with me, on getting under my skin and poking until I bled with irritation. It was like he was some kid on a playground picking on the weird girl, the quiet girl, the nerdy girl. Why on earth would any woman want to be with someone like him long-term?
And why didn’t he let them?
Something in my gut told me he’d been damaged before. I’ve discovered that’s usually the case with men like Wade. Unless he was just born a dickhead, which wasn’t a bad theory either. He’d probably opened himself up to someone, trusted them, and they’d done something to tear him to pieces. Leaving him to fill his calendar with ski bunnies that wanted more than he would give, always sought after, always doing the hurting instead of getting hurt.
That had to be it.
I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to unravel the puzzle pieces, figure him out, stick it to him where it hurt to show him that I had teeth and nails too. But I didn’t have the time or the energy. Didn’t care enough to make it happen. I wouldn’t let myself, anyway.
I had Mom to take care of, and that was my life. Maybe sticking it to Wade would show up in another one.
Chapter 8
Wade
While clapping my hands together to fling the excess white chalk from them, I didn’t notice the door open and close behind me. I was too focused on getting on the wall, working through the pent-up energy coursing through me, and using the pain to zero in on the things I needed to do.
Like cleaning up my act to get a goddamn investor.
“What… is this?”
Ray stood behind me in neatly pressed black slacks and a black blouse that hugged her frame. She was absolutely going to be covered in chalk by the end of this. “My bouldering gym,” I answered, studying the starting holds. If I hold that one with my left hand and this one with my right, put my feet there, and lean right, I could hoist myself up to the next one. “I have it changed out once a week so it’s always a new puzzle.”
“O… kay,” she said slowly. She kicked my clothes out of the way with one heeled foot. “Better question, then. Why am I here?”
“Because I need to go over some things with you and I figured it would be easier to do while I have the spare time.” I placed my hands on the holds, lifting my feet to the only place that made sense. Three swings to the left shifted my momentum, and I was able to throw myself to the next hold, grasping onto the edge with two fingers.
“Are you some kind of adrenaline junky?” she deadpanned. I chuckled. “Skiing, climbing, and now you want to open up some kind of mountain biking park. What else do you do that could possibly get you killed?”
“I’ve jumped out of a plane or two.” I shot her a grin over my shoulder as I lifted myself to the next hold.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to the top without a rope.”
“Oh, I absolutely am, Raylene.”
“It’s Ray.”
Why does she hate her name so much? “Anyway, Ray, I need you to shift some plans around for me,” I bit out. I lifted my feet to the next hold, my arms screaming, and rose up high enough that I could lean on the wall for support instead. “All those meetings I have with the bunnies… cancel them. Effective immediately.”
She stiffened, her gaze locked on me. “What?”
“Cancel them. I need to clean my act up in order to get an investor for the land.” Another hold, another lift, and I could feel the sweat start to bloom across my bare chest and palms. I shoved my hands into the bag of chalk again for good measure. “Here’s where you being so uptight and responsible comes in. I need you to pick out whichever one of them you think will work best, will be the most believable date for my sister's wedding.”
She snorted. “From the ones I’ve met, I don’t think that’s any of them.”
I took the jab in stride. “I’ve sent you my compendium of potentials over email. Have a look through that and whoever stands out will be the one I take.”
I glanced over my shoulder, taking note of the hand she held over her mouth, the way her shoulders moved as she laughed as silently as she could. Her eyes were glued to me, though. Focused and set on the exposed parts of my body. “I’m sorry, you have a compendium?”
“Well, how else am I supposed to keep track of who each one is, what they do, and what they like?” Holding the wall with one hand, I leaned out, stretching my muscles and getting a good look at Ray. I wiped the dampness off my hand on my shorts, covering them in chalk, and stuffed it back in the bag to recoat it. “You think I have room in my brain to remember all of that?”
“In truth, I don’t think you have much room in your brain to begin with.”
“Ha, ha, very funny.” I breathed and looked up the wall to the next hold, formulating a plan to get to it. “Can you do that for me?”
“I suppose.”
“Perfect.” I looked back at her, watching as she turned, clearly considering herself dismissed. “Oh, Ray?”
