Resisting the Bad Boy - Nice Girl to Love, Vol 1 (Can't Resist #1)(15)

“But everything you need for research is here.” He was well aware that he was pulling at threads now.

“True. But, the UC schools have an outstanding library system so I don’t think I’ll have too much difficulty accessing things.”

“But you’ll lose half a day flying each way.” Okay, now he was reaching rock bottom. He was actually embarrassed for his law school diploma; it was probably getting ready to jump off his office wall.

“I’m not flying, I’m driving. It’s peak travel season and flying over would cost more than I’d care to spend.”

“You can’t be serious? You’re planning on driving all the way to Santa Clara in that hunk of junk out in your driveway?”

“Hey!”

“Sorry, that very lovely POS ‘SUV’ out there.”

She kept right on glaring at him. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t entirely necessary for him to have included the quotation marks, but really, the vehicle was more like a very tall car, circa never-bothered-to-be-recorded.

“Face it, that thing is a nine-car pile-up waiting to happen. You shouldn’t take it on that long of a road trip and you know it.”

“Well, it’s my only option right now.”

Something occurred to him then. “Wait, if you knew you were going to be gone for the next two weeks, why did you counter with two weeks?” He detested false bids.

Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. “Actually, I meant the two weeks after I get back, before my schedule starts getting busy.”

Wow, now he knew how his previous one-monthers felt when he used to schedule them in.

“Sorry, that sounds terrible.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve actually done the exact same thing before.” And he wouldn’t ever be doing it again. This feeling was flat-out wretched. “Why don’t you just find another place to stay here in town the next two weeks? It’s be simpler than traveling, and we’d still get to have the full month.” Good lord, why was he chasing her?

She looked tempted. Maybe he was wearing her down.

Finally, she shook her head. “I can’t impose on any of my friends for that long. And while I could book a room somewhere for two weeks and end up spending about as much as I would on gas, I’d hate to try writing for that long in a hotel.”

“Then stay with me.”





CHAPTER FOUR



STRUCK DUMB, and apparently deaf as well, Abby opened and closed her mouth once before shaking her head. Hard. “What?” She must have heard him wrong. Must have.

“You heard me.”

Did she?

Since Connor looked both pleased with himself and just a tiny bit like he might be ready to barf, she assumed she had.

“I can’t stay with you for two weeks.”

“Why not?”

“Connor, be reasonable.”

“I’m being very reasonable. Were you going home to see your family or just to work on your dissertation?”

“The latter mostly,” she confessed.

“Then do that at my house. I’m not there three-quarters of the time, anyway. And you can head to the library in the afternoons if you’re worried about Skylar bothering you when she comes over afterschool…though it sounds like she and Brian have a pretty strict pact to leave you alone the next few weeks.” He looked at her strangely. “You didn’t tell them you were leaving did you?”

“I was working up to it. We have a fairly unhealthy codependent relationship.”

He smiled. “So it seems. Even more reason to remain close by. C’mon, Abby, say yes.”

“I really shouldn’t.”

“You’ll have your run of the house. I’ll stick to all aforementioned ice cream parameters. And you won’t have to run around searching for that one mechanic in Arizona that might still be able to find parts for your car when you inevitably have to tow it off the freeway.”

The man did make a good, if slightly brutal point.

“You’ll have your own guestroom way on the other end of my—what is it you and Skylar call my house again?”

“The Mini McMansion.”

He chuckled. “Right. Well, you’ll have your very own McSuite.”

“And my own in-house McStud?”

“I do want to ensure you a quality stay,” he deadpanned right back.

“Connor, this is crazy. This goes against everything you base your one rule on to begin with.”

“Tell me the truth,” he pressed, “if you could have a guarantee that it wouldn’t be weird, would you stay? Would it help you with your research, and schedule, and sanity if you could just stay in town instead of driving all the way back to California?”

She sighed, sounding exhausted even to her own ears. “Yes.”

His face changed a little then, gentled, became serious. “Pretend we could rewind the clock back a half hour. You’ve been my brother’s best friend for a decade, basically a second mother to my niece, and the only one outside of family who helped my sister-in-law through her toughest times. There’s not a single person on my speed dial more deserving of an invite to stay in my home than you. Let me do this. Let me help you with a place to stay for a few weeks so you can work on your dissertation and achieve the goals that you’ve managed to work toward in what little time you’ve spared for yourself. Stay with me. I mean it. It won’t be weird.”