Free Manhattan Muse: A Contemporary Romance by Vivian Wilde Page A

how chilling they could be.
    Our moment was interrupted by Nate’s trainer as fast as it had begun. Breaking away, Nate planted one last kiss on my lips before turning away.
    “I am on a strict schedule,” Nate said. “But I will always find a way to fit you in. Such as dinner tonight at eight. I’ll pick you up.”
    “OK,” I whispered before I watched him leave.
    Everything he was saying was exactly what I wanted to hear, but the last thing I wanted to date was a liar. While he was the lesser of the two evils at the moment and had the ability to turn me on to the point of no return, there was no denying that I hadn’t forgotten the elephant in the room.
    It was the reason I was still so reserved. If he had another woman whose God given body was still intact, I don’t think there was a way I could compete with that. And that scared me more than anyone could ever fathom.

Chapter 18
    I couldn’t dance after everything that had just happened, so I ended up going home. I was becoming too emotional invested and that was the last thing that I had wanted to happen. These feelings led to me to do the next thing that I ended up regretting as soon as I had hit send.
    Hey Nate, I know you said you were going to call me later, but I wanted to apologize for being so vulnerable earlier. That’s not me and I don’t want you to think of me as weak.
    When I didn’t receive a response after thirty minutes, I sent another one.
    Just ignore that text. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I think it’s my mood. You caught me on a bad day.
    The vicious cycle continued for three more texts.
    Not that you are the problem. That came out wrong. I’m the problem.
    Because I am acting needy. I mean, you are free to do whatever you want. I’m not trying to control you. I just want to know that we are on the same page.
    You know what, it’s OK if we aren’t. I’m fine with that. The last thing I want to do is hold you back.
    I read and re-read everything I had sent. I felt horrible for blowing up his phone with my stupid thoughts. They probably weren’t even relevant and probably didn’t even make any sense. When my phone rang six hours later, I waited until the last ring to pick it up.
    “Hello?” I said, praying that it came off nonchalant.
    “Hey,” Nate said sternly. “Are you OK?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, just ignore all of that. I don’t know what came over me. Hormones or whatever. You riled me up. Not that it’s your fault but-”
    “No, I’m not going to ignore it,” Nate said. “It struck me deep. I’m coming to get you.”
    “I didn’t mean to hurt you-” I said but was cut off by the click of the phone. Looking at my screen, I saw our call had ended.
    For the next fifteen minutes, I tried to pull myself into a presentable manner before he arrived. However, that didn’t happen.
    “Just let yourself in,” I called to the door. When he refused to enter without a welcome, I was left to shield my face from view while I opened the door before retreating back into the bathroom.
    “Sorry,” Nate said. “That’s one of my things.”
    “It’s fine,” I said. “I just need a little more time.”
    “Take all you need,” Nate said. He hunkered down on the couch and waited the thirty minutes it took for me to get ready. I crept back out into the living room, feeling ashamed as I sat on the edge of the couch.
    “Sorry,” I said, not able to look him in the eye.
    “Why do you keep saying that?” Nate said, sitting up and tipping my chin towards him.
    “I don’t know,” I whispered.
    Nate gazed deep into my eyes before surrendering.
    “Come on,” Nate said, leading me to the doorway. “We have a reservation. I will buy you a glass of wine. That will get it out of you eventually.”
    From then on, the night was perfect. Despite my reserved nature, Nate’s patience never once faltered. He ushered me into the cab. He held my hand all of the way to the restaurant. He pulled out my seat for me