“Fine. I need to make a few calls, so if you two will excuse me…”
I didn’t miss the pointed look between them, but I ignored it.
After they both quietly left my office, I closed the door and sank into my chair, running a hand roughly through my hair. At that moment, my computer screen buzzed, indicating a video call from Seth. I tapped the keyboard to answer, and his face appeared.
“Hey there. How's it going?” he asked.
‘Fine,” I bit out. I was so out of sorts, I didn’t even go through the niceties of asking him how he was doing.
If he noticed anything amiss, Seth moved along. “I was hoping we could touch base about the project. I wanted you to take a look at the latest design and let me know your thoughts before I tell our teams to move on.”
One of the things Seth and I managed well was to assign our teams to projects together and alternate taking the lead. There were few men I trusted as much as I trusted Seth. Not only to be a decent guy and not try anything underhanded, but his judgment was incredible, and he was brilliant.
I must've sat staring blankly a little too long.
“You okay?” Seth asked.
I glanced at the screen. “Yeah, I'm fine. Why?”
“Okay. You seem a little… I dunno, off, I suppose.”
I felt myself snapping before the words came out of my mouth. “How can you fucking tell through a computer screen?”
“Easy, man. I don't mind if you're feeling moody, but I'm just checking in. Friend to friend, okay?”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “Sorry, man. Long week. Let me take a look. Is it up right now?”
At his nod, I tapped into our shared drive where we stored designs when we were working on them. We chatted for a few minutes, my mind only halfway there. As we were finishing up, Seth glanced over his shoulder. I heard the door behind him open and then saw Nicole stepping into the frame.
She leaned down to smile at me through the screen. “Hey Lucas, how's New York City?”
I managed a smile. “Decent, but there’s no view here like what you see in the Sierras everyday.”
“Cities have their own beauty,” she replied.
“How are you and the baby?” I asked.
Nicole was beautiful, but she truly appeared glowing now. Her skin was bright, and her brown eyes warm. “I feel great actually. I got through the worst of the morning sickness, and now I just have strange cravings. I've always thought I was lucky because Seth’s a great cook, but now I feel even more blessed. He cooks whatever I want whenever I want it,” she said with a little laugh.
Seth slid his arm around her hips and dropped a kiss on the round curve of her belly. My heart gave that funny thump again. It didn't have anything to do with Seth and Nicole per se. It was more what they represented—their trust, their easy affection, and their clear love for each other. I'd never noticed the contrast of their relationship to what I’d had with Kayla until now. I couldn't even quite believe I’d actually asked Kayla to marry me. In hindsight, I'd looked at it more like it was time for me to make a commitment. Kayla had fit into my life well enough that I went along with it, fancying myself somewhat in love with her.
Now, that I'd had a few nights with Sophia, nothing could compare.
Nicole straightened and gave a little wave as she stepped away from the computer monitor. “Nice to chat, Lucas. I was just popping in to see if we needed anything at the store.”
Seth spun in his chair, glancing up. “Get whatever you want, and I'll just cook it,” he said with a laugh.
Nicole dropped a kiss on his cheek. Even that brief moment was intimate as he slid his hand up to tuck her a lock of hair behind her ear.
Seth spun back. “Sorry about the interruption.”
“Oh, no worry. Always nice to see Nicole.”
He angled his head to the side, ever perceptive. “You sure you're okay?”
I stared at him for moment, considering whether to try to explain my unsettled state. My newly developed habit of speaking before thinking, which appeared linked only to anything to do with Sophia, resulted in a question rolling out. “How did you know?”
Seth arched a brow. “Know what?”
“Know Nicole was the one for you.”
He looked startled for a moment and then his gaze cleared. “Are you all messed up over a woman?”
I rolled my eyes, shifting my shoulders uncomfortably. “Maybe. I'm just curious for your opinion.”
He leaned back, his expression bemused. “It sounds corny, but I just did. Once you feel a certain way with someone, you know it's something you haven't felt before. That’s how you know. Well that and then hating when they're not there. I fucking hate it when I have to travel without her,” he said vehemently.
I couldn't help but laugh. Seth was a contained man. It had surprised me when I first heard about him and Nicole, but then I'd seen them together and there'd been no doubt. I thought about the way I felt the other morning when Sophia rolled over and sank down onto me. I could chalk it up to sex. Don't get me wrong, sex with her was amazing—the mind-blowing, earth shattering kind of amazing. But it wasn't just that and I knew it. I stared at Seth and managed to nod. “All right. Thanks.”
“Anytime. If you want to talk more, I'm here.”
We left it at that, and I ended the call. I immediately buzzed my intercom for Danny. He stepped into my office within seconds, closing the door behind him.
“What's up? You still cranky?” he asked.
I leaned back in my chair with a sigh. “No. Sorry, I snapped earlier.”
“Mind filling me in on what's going on?”
I so did not want to have this conversation. I knew Sophia wouldn’t appreciate it, but she wasn't here to be upset, and I needed some advice.
“Okay, you have to promise you won't breathe a word of this.”
“Of course not.”
I took a breath, gathering myself. “So there might be something going on with me and Sophia.”
Danny stayed quiet, but I saw the glint in his eyes. After a beat, he arched a brow. “Not a surprise. I can sense your draw to her. Is this why you're so cranky? Because she canceled on the London trip?” he asked.
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Yes.”
He cocked his head to the side. “I'm not really sure what's going on because you're not offering much information, but something like that wouldn't normally get to you. Work pretty much drives your life. Even when you were engaged to Kayla, your work life didn't change much. It certainly wouldn't have rattled you if she didn't come on a trip.”
“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think this is serious.”
Danny grinned. “Sophia’s awesome, and I think she’d be good for you. So what are you gonna do?”
I lifted a hand and let it fall. “I don't know. I don't even know where she is.”
“We can find out,” Danny said.
I stared at him for a long moment. “Let's do it. I think this means canceling the London trip again.”
Danny chuckled. “No problem. I'll call them and tell them we have to move it back again. That should buy you some time to straighten things out with Sophia.”
He stood and left. I spun in my chair to look out the windows. I couldn't quite believe it, but I'd fallen in love with Sophia. I didn't know that I could say I knew what love was, but I knew what this was. I wanted her with every fiber of my being. Within a few minutes, Danny returned.
“She's in Cape Cod. I'm texting you the address right now.”
That's all I needed. As I was about to race out, he called out, “Do you need a ride?”
“Nope. I need to get there as fast as I can, and I drive faster than Stanley.”
With Danny’s laugh following me, I ran out of the building.
Chapter 19
Sophia
I stood on the porch at Megan's family vacation home, staring out over the beach. Waves crashed against the shore, and salty air blew through my hair. I to
ok a deep breath and let it out slowly. We’d gone out to brunch this morning after dinner and drinks last night. I was still unsettled and mulling over how to back out of my contract with Chandler International. I missed Lucas. It was a visceral ache inside of my heart. I was that silly person who had fallen in lust and love with a man in the span of a few weeks.
I needed to get a grip and that meant I needed to not be around him day in and day out. The attraction was too strong, and my heart was too silly. The screen door from the kitchen leading onto the porch opened, and Megan leaned through it. “You have company. I have to run some errands. I'll be back in a little bit,” she said quickly.
Before I even had a chance to ask her who was here, she was gone, the door slamming shut behind her. I was puzzled. Nobody knew I was here except for her. I turned to open the door, only to find Lucas coming through it. At the sight of him, my heart twisted in my chest and butterflies massed in my belly, taking flight and spinning in wild circles. My pulse lunged.
He looked tired. His green eyes were weary, and his hair was rumpled. He wore his usual work uniform, faded jeans that hugged his muscled legs with a button-down shirt hanging loose over them. His shirt was wrinkled, almost as if he'd slept in it. I glanced at my watch. It was late afternoon, and I had no idea why he was here, or how he’d found me.
Over the thundering beat of my heart, I stared at him. He approached without saying a word, stopping just in front of me. We stood there with the ocean breeze gusting towards us, blowing my hair wild. With one strong gust, his mouth hitched at the corner, and he reached over, smoothing my hair out of my eyes, his touch sending a hot shiver through me.
“How did you know I was here?” I finally asked.
“I asked Danny to help me find you.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on the way to London?” I asked.
“I was. I canceled the trip until the week after next. I'm hoping you'll be able to go by then.”
I stared at him, uncertain what to make of any of this—his presence here, what it meant he’d asked Danny to help find me, and the fact he’d canceled his travel. I might not have known Lucas long, but I knew without a doubt, work was his priority.
I shook my head finally. “I can't go to London, Lucas. I took this weekend to figure out how to tell you I need to cancel my contract with Chandler International. I didn't mean for it to happen, but this thing with us is too much. It's not just sex for me. I know you don't ever intend to be serious with someone, so I need to take care of myself.”
He stepped closer, shaking his head slightly.
Uncertain of what he meant, I stepped back. “Please don't. I can't do this.”
“The only thing I want from you is for you give me a chance.”
I didn’t see how it was physiologically possible, but my heart beat even faster. “Give you a chance for what?”
He cleared his throat, and for the first time ever, I saw uncertainty flickering in his gaze. “It's not just sex for me either. Don't get me wrong, that's amazing,” he said with one of those devastating grins that made my heart trip and fall on its ass. “I seem to have fallen for you.”
My heart flew into my throat, emotion rocking me. I shook my head again. I couldn't quite believe him. “What do you mean?”
“I'm in love with you. It's crazy, it doesn't make sense, but it is what it is,” he said simply, his voice gruff.
Tears pressed against my eyes, and the next thing I knew I was in his arms, blubbering that I loved him too.
Epilogue
Lucas
One year later
I walked down the hallway at the offices, veering into the suite where Sophia's office was. She insisted on keeping her office here with Suzanne despite my attempts to move her into the suite with me. She declared she couldn't get any work done if I was right there.
My heart knocked against my chest as I walked through the waiting area. I was relieved to see that Suzanne was on her lunch break. I knocked swiftly on Sophia's door and stepped inside. She was on the phone, her hips leaning against her desk as she looked out the windows behind her. I walked straight to her, stepping behind her, sliding my hands over the curve of her hips and dropping kisses along the side of her neck.
I felt her breath draw in sharply and grinned against her skin.
“Megan, I have to go. Something just came up,” she said quickly.
I heard the murmur of Megan's reply before Sophia flung her phone down and spun in my arms.
“What are you doing? I can't get anything done when you come here in here like this,” she protested, although her cheeks were flushed, and I saw the desire flashing in her eyes.
“Let’s have lunch,” I said with a chuckle as I deftly unbuttoned her blouse and slid a palm inside to cup one of her breasts.
Her nipple puckered under my touch, and a little gasp escaped from her lips.
“You are naughty,” she said with a giggle.
“I suppose I am,” I murmured as I let my lips make their way down her neck to lave her nipple, my tongue dampening the silk.
Meanwhile, I pulled her skirt up and slid her hips onto the desk, pushing her silk panties out of the way and sinking my fingers inside her core. I found her hot, wet and ready. I didn't wait. I tugged her hips to the edge of the desk, almost groaning when her knees fell open easily. She got right with program, quickly freeing my cock. Inside of a few seconds, I was sinking inside of her slick channel.
“You'd better make this quick,” she murmured between moans and gasps. “I have a meeting in ten minutes.”
“You know I love deadlines,” I replied with a chuckle, lifting her to me and pounding into her.
I reached between us, circling my fingers over her clit, and grinned when she cried out, her core clamping down around my cock. I followed her over the edge, my release thundering through me.
I would take her anyway I could have her. I knew tonight I would have the luxury of a long, slow exploration of every inch of her, but for now, this was enough. I let my head fall into the curve against her neck and breathed in her scent. Damn. I loved this woman. She was my touchstone, the woman I could always come back to and who was always there. My heart gave that hard thump, the one that I'd gotten accustomed to finally.
“I love you,” I murmured into her neck.
I felt her hand slide through my hair, and a kiss on the side of my neck.
“Ditto.”
***
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Good-girl-gone-bad Charlotte Grace is a lusty romantic who promises you a nonstop shot of pick-me-up romance. Stories filled with steamy, creamy goodness and the satisfying aroma of that happily ever after we all crave.
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