AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck. What is wrong with me?
She was supposed to marry another man tonight, and here I am salivating over her body. I remind myself that she’s not mine. That she never will be.
Sure, I find her attractive. But in the grand scheme of things, we’re just friends. Way too different. Not compatible. She’s practically a superstar and I’m an overwhelmed single dad.
Guys like me never end up with girls like Inez.
When the zipper hits the bottom of her spine, I abruptly let go. Inez gasps when the dress begins to slip down her torso. But just in time, her hands fly up, securely gripping the fabric over her breasts.
I hurriedly turn around. And crash face first into my damn bookcase.
She gasps again. Louder this time. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay?”
“I’m good.” Without looking back, I rub my banged up forehead, feeling like an idiot. “Have a good night. Let me know if you need anything,”I say in a rush and scramble toward the door.
But the sound of Inez saying my name stops me in my tracks. “Nolan?”
“Yeah?” I dare to peek over my shoulder.
Her cool-and-casual mask slips. Her delicate forehead scrunches low over earnest blue eyes. “I really do mean it—thank you for being there for me tonight.”
My heartburn returns with a vengeance when I hear the vulnerability in her tone. “No big deal,” I toss out quickly. Before my own mask slips again.
Then I take off down the hall, leaving her standing half-exposed in the middle of my home office.
What the hell have I just gotten myself into? I have a sinking feeling this won’t end well.
For me, at least.
4
INEZ
I’m aware of Nolan’s scent before I even open my eyes. It’s the mild freshness of his laundry detergent mixed with the clean woodland fragrance of his deodorant.
This scent has always been a turn-on for me. It was such a distinct smell to me, something I could separate from all the other odors of the bar. My coworkers would go home complaining about the smell of beer and grease. But me? I swear my work shirts only clung to Nolan’s delicious scent.
I turn my face into the pillow and inhale deeply, engulfing myself in all that masculine goodness.
My thighs clench together.
Funny how I’m sniffing the linens of my ex-boss when I was about to marry another man just yesterday.This is a new low for me.
And is it bad that I don’t even remember what Vance smelled like?I try to force my memory back to the reality show set. But the only scents I can recall are the chlorine from the backyard pool and the noxious fragrance of twelve other women’s perfumes.
As handsome as he is, Vance never gave me that ‘spark’. He didn’t provoke fireworks in my belly. And most unsettling of all, I just didn’t trust the man.
In the days leading up to our wedding, I couldn’t help the feeling—the knowing—that his intentions for me weren’t pure. Definitely not love.
My god. I walked away from the ‘perfect man’ on a hunch. Everybody’s going to think I’m crazy.
There was just something about the way he constantly treated me like an object. The way he would imply that having me on his arm would raise his status somehow.
I guess some women might interpret that as a compliment. But the fact that he didn’t know my favorite color or that he would always forget my middle name or that he refused to memorize the name of my hometown? Red flags in abundance.
Eventually, that icky feeling Vance gave me was too much to ignore.
I couldn’t shake the warnings from my intuition, telling me that this guy didn’t really want to spend his life with me. His plan was to lock me away in a gilded cage. To only take me out and parade me for status on special occasions.
