I’d only been in love once before, and I’d given my heart and virginity to that man. I didn’t give it up lightly and when I did, I gave a piece of myself to that person. Like it or not, I had taken that step when I’d slept with Brax. “Okay, I might just do that.”
Kara clapped her hands together. “Yes! Hey, who knows, you could be the one that sticks for him. The one woman who will make him an honest man.”
Yeah, I wished. “He’s twenty-two. I seriously doubt he’s going to settle down at such a young age.”
“I was married at nineteen, and you weren’t much older when you got engaged.”
Point taken.
“And look at your brother.” She leaned back in the chair, tilting it on two legs. “He’s been with the same chick forever.”
That was true.
“Enjoy the rebound, Mandy. Think of what you’ve been through. How many girls would love to be in your shoes—having crazy good sex with a hot guy who makes you feel beautiful and desirable?” She flashed a wicked grin. “Think of what ol’ Rick would say right now.”
“His name was Ross.”
She rolled her eyes. “What would Ross say and think if he could see you now?”
Whether I chose to admit it or not, there was a part of me that felt a certain level of satisfaction being with Brax, especially considering how broken I had been after leaving Arizona.
“You want me to drive you home…especially since your bad boy is waiting for you?”
“No, but thanks.”
She gave me a conspiratorial wink. “Let him wait a bit, huh?”
I nodded. I said my goodbyes to the kids and jogged toward my house. Kara was right. I deserved to be happy, and if that happiness came by sleeping with a twenty-two-year-old heartbreaker, then so be it. A rebound, maybe that’s all Brax was. Maybe that’s exactly how I had to look at this relationship—a no-strings-attached affair with zero commitment. If I could guard my heart against getting hurt, then it was a win-win, right?
I picked up my pace, my heart pounding with each stride down the sidewalk of my hometown, the memory of Heather’s visit replaying in my mind. I wish the mental images would go away.
As much as I tried to act like I was footloose and fancy free about it all, I realized I wasn’t. My heart had already started to get involved. I wasn’t the one-night stand type. Maybe it had happened the second I had opened the door and seen him for the first time in over a decade.
Shit!
Cranking the volume higher on my iPhone, I picked up the pace.
With my heart racing, I turned the corner into my driveway and stopped short when I saw the object of my desire sitting in the rocking chair on my front porch.
CHAPTER 9
Amanda
Damn, he looked good. The navy t-shirt clung to Brax’s muscular body, his dark hair a bit unruly, like he’d run his fingers through it in frustration.
Was he frustrated?
Hesitating for only a moment, I took off the earbuds and walked toward him, wishing he wasn’t so gorgeous as I wiped a hand over my sweat-drenched forehead. “Hey.”
“I thought I’d better stay out here just in case you decided to run right by,” he said, the side of his mouth lifting in a tentative smile. “Mandy, Heather told me she dropped by my house.”
I forced a smile I didn’t feel. If Heather was such a stalker, then why didn’t he block her calls? “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”
We were only three feet from each other. He reached out and took my hand, and I nearly pulled away but stopped myself short of doing so.
“I do have to explain.” He took another step forward. “Amanda, I swear that I’m not seeing Heather. The only reason I spoke with her this week was because she wouldn’t leave me alone. She was dropping by my jobs and it was getting out of control. I’d hoped that having a face-to-face would drive the point home that we were finished. She came up to me, put her arms around my waist, and kissed me. I told her we were finished, and I walked away. That was it.” He sighed heavily. “Trust me, Amanda.”
The truth was…I didn’t know how to trust. And given his reputation, he probably wasn’t the best choice for a committed relationship. But I wasn’t looking for that, was I? No, I was rebounding and I would have the time of my life.