Love Bug (The Prescotts Book 3) by Tara Wyatt (electric book reader .TXT) 📗

herself any further, she stepped around the man and started walking up the street at a rapid pace, heading back toward Central Park. She didn’t care that she had to walk all the way back to the hospital. The only thing that mattered was putting distance between her and Max because being around him, especially outside of the office in such a casual, normal setting, hurt too much. It was like this teasing glimpse of something she’d never have. She could imagine how it’d be. Walking through Central Park with Max, holding hands, talking, laughing, enjoying the sunshine. Then they’d stop by Red Fox, get way too much sushi and take it back to his place. They’d watch the sun set over the city as they stuffed their faces and then fell into bed, where they’d spend the rest of the night.

It was a beautiful vision, but it wasn’t real. It wasn’t true. No, the truth was that he’d felt sorry for her, had tried to distract her from the terror she’d experienced with sex, and then had kicked her out the next morning. It didn’t matter what he’d said in the heat of the moment. It hadn’t been anything more than pity on his part. And fool that she was, she was still pining after him, six weeks later.

It was pathetic, and Willa Banks didn’t do pathetic.

Squaring her shoulders as she walked, she knew she had to find a way to get over this. Because Max Prescott would never be hers, and she needed to accept that.

5

The first thing Max saw when he stepped into his office on Monday morning was a neat little pile of cash right in the center of his desk. He knew without more than a cursory glance that it would be forty-two dollars and forty-seven cents, the exact amount of Willa’s sushi order. She’d said she’d pay him back, even though he’d been happy to help her out. It had felt good to be able to come to her rescue in some small way. He snorted out a breath as he stared at the money. Right. As if buying her dinner could atone for everything else. For what he’d done and how he’d made her feel.

He closed his eyes, pain forming into a cold, hard knot right in the center of his chest as he forced himself to remember the hurt in her eyes as he’d watched her leave. She’d had her world turned upside down with fear and violence and then he’d just piled right the fuck on, making her feel like he’d taken her to bed out of pity. Making her feel like he didn’t want her when he spent every single second of every single damn day wanting her.

And God, the wanting. It had only gotten worse in the weeks that had passed. Every glimpse of her was like a drop of water in the desert. Every time he heard her voice was like sunshine after a long winter. He found himself structuring his days around trying to get as many of those tiny tastes of her as possible, a task she hadn’t made easy because she was clearly avoiding him.

Not that he could blame her. Not for one fucking second.

Did she regret their night together? Because he didn’t. He didn’t regret anything that had happened that night—helping Lucian save her and Kayla, and the incredible sex that had followed. No, it was the morning after that he regretted. He would’ve cut off his damn arm to avoid hurting her, but he’d let things go too far and he’d had no choice. And even though he’d hurt her, he couldn’t bring himself to wish it had never happened. He was too selfish for that.

With a sigh, he picked up the money and shoved it in his pocket, his mind drifting back to how ridiculously cute and unintentionally sexy she’d looked in her unicorn outfit, bits of glitter clinging to her cheeks. She’d been dressed up because she volunteered at the hospital, reading books to sick kids. Because of course she did. That was the type of person she was—warm and giving and caring.

The type of person who deserved far better than a broken bastard like him.

He set his laptop bag down and settled in at his desk, bracing himself for the morning ahead. Today was beta test launch day for Tapp’s Blind Date app, something they’d been working on since last fall. Willa was the project lead and she’d be taking everyone through the launch this morning. Knowing he’d be seeing her shortly had him feeling both relieved and slightly on edge.

I don’t know how to act around you anymore.

God, he was such an asshole.

Pushing it all deep down, he forced himself to focus on work. After checking his emails and returning a couple of quick phone calls, he headed down the hall to the large conference room where Willa and several others were already setting up. His heart stuttered, stopped, and then restarted again at double time at the sight of her. Her hair was smooth and straight, falling around her jaw, and she wore a formfitting dark pink dress topped with a black blazer. A small gold chain looped around her neck, emphasizing her delicate collarbones. Lust, hot and sharp, seared through him, and he clenched his jaw, fighting it back.

“Good morning,” he said casually, stepping into the room. Everyone looked up from what they were doing to greet him. Everyone except Willa, who appeared intently focused on the screen of her laptop. After a moment, she looked up, her eyes landing on him. He’d taken a seat at the far end of the conference table, leaning back in his chair and crossing his ankle over his knee.

“Good morning,” she finally said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“Are we on time?” he asked, glancing around the room.

She nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re all set. Everyone who agreed to participate in the