Fool For You (Made for Love Book 4) by R.C. Martin Page A

my response. “Did you say yes?” I shake my head no, and he studies me for a moment. “Why not?”
    “Um,” I pause, still a little shocked that what I’m about to repeat is part of a conversation that really just happened. “He said that I would be an exceptionally welcome beauty in his bed.”
    Geoff’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise as his mouth falls open. “Holy shit,” he manages. “The balls on that guy.” He coughs out a laugh and then shakes his head at me. “Then again, I’d fuck him.”
    I gasp, smacking him against his chest. “Geoffrey Alexander Fink!”
    “Teddy, come on—a man who wears a suit that well, and who is bold enough to speak to you like that, he’s a guaranteed good lay. Besides, he’s not wrong. You are beautiful.”
    “Oh, thanks. Let’s just forget that minor detail that I’ve never actually had consensual sex with anyone. Sure, yeah, fucking him is actually a great idea. What was I thinking?”
    I start to walk away from him, angry that he would treat Judah’s suggestion almost as flippantly as the arrogant man himself. As my best friend, someone who knows the extent of my devastating sexual history, I expect more from him—on the mend from a breakup or not.
    Unfortunately, I don’t get very far before he catches me around the waist, holding me hostage in his strong grip. I try to turn out of his grasp, but he just holds me tighter.
    “Teddy—look at me.”
    I ignore him, staring at the floor instead. Even though he’s holding me against my will, I still feel safe in his arms. It’s not because he’s gay, either. I just know him. I know he would never hurt me. He’s one of very few men in my life that I trust this much. My relationship with Justin broke me, carving out wounds that might not ever be completely healed. Geoff knows this—he knows that half the reason I don’t date very often is because dealing with the issue of sex is not something I’m willing to grapple with right now.
    “Teddy, please?”
    His warm, pleading tone softens me a little and I peek at him from beneath my lashes.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm. I know how big of a deal sex is for you. I also know how much it scares you. But, baby girl—it’s been over four years.
    “Now, I’m not saying jump into bed with the next guy who asks. I know you. I know that goes against your beliefs, religious and otherwise; but you can’t run from it forever. You have to put yourself out there. You have to let someone at least try to prove that they are worthy of you. Sex is a beautiful thing, and you are a beautiful girl—inside and out. You deserve to experience the passion that comes with that kind of intimacy.” He presses his lips against my forehead, causing my eyes to tear up. “Stop running, baby girl,” he whispers against my skin.
    “I wish it was that easy,” I say, shaking my head at him.
    “I know that it’s not,” he says, looking down at me once more. “But you can’t just let life pass you by. You’re never going to get your twenties back. And you can stand here and argue with me until you’re blue in the face, but I’m never going to believe you when you tell me that your life is complete just the way that it is. It’s not.
    “No one should go through life not knowing what it’s like to be in love . And Justin—Justin doesn’t count. That was not love. That was a selfish, lying, son-of-a-bitch who is something far less than a man. You have to know that there is better out there.”
    “I know,” I whisper, wiping away a renegade tear.
    “You have to believe it, too, baby girl. You have to know and believe that there are good men out there. Falling for one of them is not the end of the world. Hell, fall for a couple of them. I know I have. I don’t regret it, either. It’s better to have loved and lost, right?”
    I shrug, unable to offer him more. I know that if I try and speak now, I’ll only burst into tears.
    “That sexy fucker might have been an