Read Online Make Your Move by Samantha Hunter - Free Book Online Page B

at her led her to believe he wasn’t interested in going back to being friends at all.
    Uh-oh.
    “What I meant to say,” he continued, “was that not only would it be impossible for us to forget what happened last night, but we shouldn’t forget it. How can we ever be with each other again without wanting more?”
    Her heart sank. He was right.
    “So I guess we have to keep our distance? Let things cool down, and over time, maybe we can make it work, if we try?” she suggested, her throat constricting at the idea of losing Dan at all, even short-term. She hated feeling so needy, but couldn’t seem to help it. It was Dan.
    He closed the space between them, taking her in hisarms and holding her close. “No, Jodie. What I mean is that we should do the exact opposite. We should be lovers. Exclusive lovers. Just you and me.”
     
    D AN WATCHED THE COLOR drain from Jodie’s face and grabbed her shoulders, helping her to one of the kitchen chairs.
    “Hey, are you okay?”
    He hadn’t expected such a drastic reaction to his proposition. Maybe laughter or something along the lines of her telling him he was completely crazy, or another angry flare of temper, but he hadn’t expected her to look as though she would pass out.
    “I’m fine,” she said, wiping a hand over her face. “I don’t…I think I misunderstood you.”
    “You heard me exactly right. We should be together, Jodie. It’s…logical.”
    Her eyes widened. “How is any of this logical?”
    He started to pace back and forth, the way he always did when he was formulating an idea.
    “Well, we’ve already been in a committed relationship for over a decade,” he posited, and when she tried to interrupt, he stopped her. “Just listen. Statistically our friendship has lasted longer than sixty-five percent of new marriages, which tend to dissolve within eight years,” he said.
    “But we aren’t—”
    “True, we aren’t married, but we have spent a lot of time together. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst, and we’ve always communicated extremely well. We’re there for each other, no matter what. On top ofthat, we’ve been successful business partners. That’s even more impressive than beating the divorce statistics. Did you know that two out of three business partnerships fail within five years?”
    She shook her head. “No I didn’t but—”
    “Additionally, you can’t argue that our sexual compatibility is off the charts. Do you know the odds against the number of orgasms that you had—”
    Jodie put up a hand. “No, I don’t, and I don’t think I want to. Listen, Dan, people can’t become lovers based on statistics.”
    “Why not?”
    She looked at him long and hard, as if trying to figure out whether he was serious.
    “Well, because…they just don’t.”
    “And maybe that’s why they fail. You and I have history, we have background, we have friendship …now we have more. It’s logical that our friendship would have developed into more over time. It’s probably why neither of us has been permanently attracted to anyone else.”
    “That’s a stretch.”
    “Maybe. But I hypothesize that we could be extremely happy and successful in a romantic relationship. We owe it to ourselves to try.”
    “You’re forgetting a pretty big consideration, Dan.”
    “What?”
    “I don’t want a romantic relationship. I’ve lived my life without it, and no matter how many statistics you quote, I don’t want this,” she said quietly. “And you know me better than anyone. You know that’s true.”
    Dan felt the words as a punch to the gut, but hestraightened, figuring that if she wouldn’t be convinced in one way, maybe he could convince her in another.
    “You haven’t wanted it before, with anyone else, and I understand why. I know how you were hurt, Jodie, and I know—”
    “You don’t know everything, even if you think you do.”
    “I know enough. I also know you’re cutting love out of your life, and if you do