Deep down, I knew the truth. I didn’t want us to end. I didn’t want us to be just friends. I didn’t want to think in terms of just me. I wanted to keep wondering what she wanted for lunch. I wanted to continue unwinding together after a long day.

In that moment, it was crystal fucking clear that I wanted Addison. The real question was if I was I actually going to do anything about it.

ADDISON

After that night in Houston, I no longer knew how to act around Barrett. The lines had been blurred, although neither one of us would admit it. Some days I tried to distance myself as much as possible, while other days I acted just plain weird around him. When I say weird, I mean I found myself doing all the weird crap women do when they really like someone and want to catch his attention. Basically, I was acting like an inexperienced teenage girl with her first crush.

Barrett, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened, like the moment we left Houston, he had entered a time warp where things were exactly the same as in the beginning. He still aggravated the hell out of me with a barrage of sexual innuendo on a daily, if not hourly basis. His ability to transcend made me wonder if the whole thing had been some figment of my imagination.

Now a week after Houston, we were back on the Santa María and deep into the heart of Ohio. After our third rally of the day ended at eight, I had been so thrilled to climb the bus stairs that I fought the urge to kiss the top one. I made a beeline for the couch before anyone else could stake a claim. Since we weren’t campaigning with Senator Callahan, we had a skeleton crew. Besides Ty, we just had Pete and two of his minions helping run our schedule and appearances.

I had just pulled my Louboutins off my swollen feet when Barrett appeared. “Scoot over.”

“But there are plenty of chairs.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that, but I want the couch.”

“And I need it so I can prop my feet up. When you’ve worn heels for thirteen hours, we’ll talk.”

“What if I offered to give you a foot rub?”

Cocking my head at Barrett, I asked, “Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not. Hell, for part of the couch, I’d be willing to suck your toes.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Ew. I’ll pass on that one.”

Barrett laughed as I scooted down the couch. The moment he sat down, I plopped my stocking-clad feet in his lap. “You’re really holding me to it, aren’t you?”

“Damn straight.”

After cracking his knuckles, Barrett said, “All right, I’m going in.”

When his fingers started kneading my foot, my head lolled back against the back of the couch and a low groan of pleasure emanated from deep in my chest. “Man, you’re really good at that. You might have a future as a masseuse.”

“Comes from practice massaging other areas.”

Tilting my head, I peeked one eye at him. “Like the Bear?”

Barrett laughed. “I meant areas on a female’s body.”

“Of course you did.”

“Although he does get plenty of attention.”

“You mean he hasn’t gone into hibernation with the sex drought that’s been imposed on you?”

“He never hibernates. He’s always ready and willing should the opportunity arise.”

Cocking my brow at him, I asked, “Have there been any opportunities lately?”

He wiggled his fingers at me. “You mean besides with my hand?”

I laughed. “Yes.”

“I told you before, I’ve never cheated on a woman.”

“But we’re not really a couple.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

I nibbled on my bottom lip as I processed the enormity of what he was saying. “During all this time, you haven’t snuck in a hookup?”

Barrett paused in massaging my foot to scowl at me. “No, I haven’t. Considering we’re practically joined at the hip, I’d love to know when you think it would have been possible for me to bang some random bimbo.”

He had a point. There was so little of our time that was spent apart, let alone any time completely alone. Since the beginning of our relationship, our schedules had been so regimented. Not only did I feel bad for doubting him, I was seriously impressed that he had been celibate this long.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to doubt you, especially since I don’t have any reason to suspect you.”

Barrett grinned. “Apology accepted.”

He then rubbed a spot that had been aching all day, and as it had been so long since I’d been touched like this, I hitched a breath in. Oh. With those magic hands of his on my feet and knowledge of the Bear via the internet, an ache began to spread between my thighs. When I shifted my hips, Barrett’s nostrils flared. “Is there a problem?”

To save face, I bent over to massage the top of my calf. “I had a cramp.”

“I must be loosening up some of the tension,” Barrett replied. His eyes dropped to watch his fingers working my calf muscle through my hose-clad skin. When his tongue darted out over his bottom lip, I sucked in another breath. If I was reading him correctly, his expression told me he’d like to run his hand up my foot, past my calf, and between my legs, and damn me to hell if I didn’t want the exact same thing.

I was just about to teasingly move my foot over his crotch when Pete stuck one of the secure phones in Barrett’s face. “It’s your dad.”