This Changes Everything Read Free Page A

regretted the day he’d finally find a woman to spend his life with, because that would certainly mean the end of sharing their TV marathons and talking about their lives with uncritical ears and having a few hours every month where they could just be .
    Given how scarred he was about his parents’ cold war of a marriage, however, that day wasn’t going to be anytime soon. He’d never said it out loud, but Cleo knew he was afraid of making the same mistakes his parents—and his father in particular—had.
    Smiling, she lifted the empty plate out of his lap and set it on the cardboard table. “Sly?” she asked softly, leaning close. She hated to wake him. The past few months, he’d worked hundred-hour weeks, flying back and forth to the East Coast as he tried to make another new business a success. Yet he’d always made time for her, always kept their every-other-Thursday night date in front of the TV.
    But the strain had been too much. His eyes were sunken and shadowed, the lines around his full lips deeper than they should’ve been. The price of being a successful tech mogul was too high, in her opinion, no matter how many millions rained down upon you. As her incorrigibly idealistic parents would say, you can’t take it with you.
    His eyes opened and found her face close to his. “Am I dead?”
    “Almost. What’s the last thing you remember?”
    “The sexy blond robot chick,” he said.
    “That doesn’t give us much to work with. She was in every scene.”
    “Actually, the last thing I remember is you,” he said, smiling. “You sneezed. Woke me up for a second.”
    “Sorry.” She patted him on the knee. “Well? Are you leaving?”
    His hand came down over hers. He stared at her, heavy-lidded, half-asleep. “You’re awesome, you know that?”
    “How much did you drink? Maybe you should sleep on the couch.”
    He squeezed her hand. “No, listen. I mean it.”
    Then the funniest thing happened. She blushed . “You’re embarrassing me,” she said, rolling her eyes.
    The perfect grin that disarmed employees, competitors, investors, strangers, and, yes, women, lit up his face. Seeing the Sly she knew so well, she couldn’t help but relax and smile back at him.
    But he continued to stare, his strong, warm hand over hers. She fought the urge to pull her hand away. And maybe pour a beer on his head.
    Then his gaze dropped to her mouth.
    Her breath caught in her throat. What was the matter with him?
    He blinked, shook his head, and pulled away. “Man, I’m exhausted.” Yawning, he massaged his face with both hands, then jumped to his feet and pulled out his phone. “What time is it? Wow, only eleven?”
    She got up and busied herself picking up the plates, used napkins, empty glasses. For a second there, she’d thought he’d forgotten where he was. Who she was. “I bet you’ll sleep around the clock. Want some coffee before you go home? You’re close, but it’s never safe to drive when you’re half-asleep.” She didn’t repeat the offer to stay over.
    “I promised Trixie a ride in the morning.” He tried to take the glasses from her, but she shook her head and fled to the kitchen, leaving him alone in the living room. “I’ll pass on the coffee. The sooner I get going, the sooner I can be sleeping.” His loud laugh sounded a little forced.
    “Let me know about her little dog, OK?” she called out to him. She heard the front door open. Waiting a little longer than she would’ve any other time, she strode out to say good-bye, catching him when he’d already stepped out into the hallway.
    “I’ll text you,” he said, reaching down as if to button his jacket, then seeing he was wearing her sweatshirt. “Oh. Forgot what I was wearing.”
    “Don’t worry about it. Give it to me later. I’ll go get your clothes—”
    “No, don’t bother. I won’t be needing them for a while. I’ll get them next time.”
    They stared at each other through the doorway.
    “Sure, of course,” she