Chapter 10
Reconciliation
Sara
My lips tingle from the kiss Drew gave me outside the building. I can’t wipe the smile off my face as my fingers touch my lips. I didn’t think it was possible to fall for someone else. But Drew caught me off guard.
I’m not in love, but the potential is there.
I wasn’t looking for someone else. Honestly, I figured he’d fuck me and we’d have a great weekend, maybe a week together, and that would be it. But the butterflies in my stomach are writing a whole different story.
A very confusing story when it comes to Drew, Dante, and Finn. Because I want them all and don’t feel any shame about experiencing pleasure with the other two while I’m dating Drew.
I’m not this woman, but fuck, it’s freeing to not worry about how one guy might feel about my actions.
I practically float back to Tom’s office. When I step across the threshold, my feet come crashing back down to earth. Wyatt sits in Tom’s chair. My breath catches. He raises his dark gaze and all those lovely butterflies Drew stirred go into hyperdrive.
It’s not that I want Wyatt more. Maybe it’s that I’ve wanted him longer.
He was my hero growing up until things changed.
He stopped touching me, stopped hugging me.
I became a nuisance instead of someone he cared about.
His indifference drew me, made me want more, made me want the Wyatt I loved back.
When Wyatt focuses on me, my insides spark like an overcharged engine, revving to go.
“Where did you find the paper?” His deep voice haunts my dreams.
I clear my throat and point to the left side. “Second drawer down.”
I’m afraid to step into the room, afraid to get close to him and let the stirrings he causes spin me in dizzying circles. Waiting for him isn’t an option. He doesn’t want me. I won’t fall back into the helpless romantic I was.
The doorframe holds me as he searches the drawers. His dark hair falls over his eyes. It’s a little longer than he normally lets it get. He’s always been handsome, almost dignified. But he’s also always been Tom’s best friend.
After I turned sixteen, Wyatt stopped touching me entirely. If I stumbled, he wouldn’t reach out to stop me from falling. He stopped caring for me like he used to. I didn’t know how much it’d meant to me until it was gone.
It hurt, but I think I understand it better now.
It’s painful to want something I can never have. It’s hard to have him this close and know he’ll never feel the same. That no matter how much I want him, he doesn’t want me.
If he touched me, I might break.
I wrap my arms around my middle and release my breath.
“If you’re going to be long, I can go do some filing.” I gesture with my hand, but I don’t want to leave. I want to bathe in his presence, because apparently, I enjoy the pain it causes.
“I’m done.”
He stands and I almost take a step back as his dark eyes meet mine. Fuck, the sparks I feel from him are more intense. Is it because I can’t touch him? Or that I know what it feels like to be touched by someone who wants me now?
If he touched me that way, would I explode on contact?
My hands shake as he comes closer. I grab onto the doorframe behind me as his woodsy, leather scent overwhelms me.
I’ve tried to find his cologne, but it’s not the cologne that makes my insides soften.
It’s the way it smells on him. I stop myself from drawing in a deep breath to hold it in my lungs like a caress.
He pauses, close enough I could reach out and touch him, but far enough away that just a hint of his warmth reaches me, teases me, torments me. “You’ll tell me if you need anything?”
Oh, fuck, the things I need from this man. I’ve dreamt of the day he finally touches me. When he realizes I’m the only one he could ever want. But those are the daydreams of a girl. I can’t keep waiting on a daydream that won’t happen.
“Sara.”
I suppress the whimper wanting to escape at my name on his lips. Instead, I hold my breath and nod jerkily.
His eyes narrow, then his gaze drops to my lips. I swear my whole body lights up like he’s kissing me, finally. He makes an acknowledging noise and sweeps past me.
The breath I held releases as he shuts the door to his office. Yeah, I’m so not over that guy. His scent lingers in Tom’s office, making me want to close the door so no one can see how much I enjoy it. If this wasn’t my brother’s office, I might even get off to that scent.
But that’s a little too ick for me.
I push my obsession to the side and dive into the projects Dante gave me until I notice the time. It’s almost five. I’m meeting the girls at six at McAvoy’s Bar. I have to let Peabody out before that and I might change into something more comfortable.
Closing down the laptop, I text Brandon I’ll be down in five minutes. I’m putting away a pen when something under the drawer brushes my knee. What the hell?
Pushing back my chair, I kneel on the floor and look under the desk.
“What are you doing, flower?”
Startled, I bonk my head on the drawer. “Ow.”
Closing my eyes, I lift my hand to my aching head.
“You okay, flower?” Finn’s footsteps grow closer and his hand touches my elbow.
When I open my eyes, his green eyes are right there. They’re deep and sparkle like emeralds with flecks of gold. It’s so easy to get lost in them. He’s kneeling beside me. His hand smooths over my hair.
“No lump.” His gaze follows his hand.
My heart slams against my chest remembering his lips on mine. My pussy pulses with an aching need. I’ve never come so much in my life. Definitely not like that. Heat floods me.
His gaze collides with mine and his lips tip into his flirty smile. “Want me to kiss it better?”
Oof, I almost nod because hell yeah, I do. Instead, I see the slip of paper hanging from the drawer. It’s a Post-it. I peel it off and study the sequence of letters and numbers.
“A password?” I turn it but that changes nothing.
“Could be. Tom has a horrible memory.” Finn stands and holds his hands down to help me. Of the guys, Finn is the shortest, but he’s still over six feet which, even in my three-inch heels, makes me feel pretty small.
He cups my jaw and trails his thumb over my cheekbone. “You good?”
I nod, staring at his lips, wanting to feel them against mine again. He kisses like he wants to consume me whole and I’m definitely on board for that.
“Finn,” someone else says.
We almost jump apart as we turn toward Dante standing in the doorway. His eyes narrow suspiciously, but I don’t owe these guys anything. Neither of them was anything more than a way to get off. Neither of them offered me more. That doesn’t stop the flush from taking over my chest, neck, and cheeks.
“I found another note under Tom’s desk.” I hold up the slip of paper.
Dante strides into the room and stops behind me. With both of them surrounding me, I resist the urge to fan myself from the heat accumulating under my skin. Dante doesn’t take the paper but reads it over my shoulder.
Finn arches an eyebrow at Dante, since I’m literally between them. I’m trying to maintain my cool but losing it by the minute to the flood of desire drowning me. They’re both close enough to touch me. To press me between the two of them.
“Password?” Dante’s breath teases the hair beside my ear. A shiver races through my body.
Finn’s grin widens as he lowers his gaze to mine. “Possibly.”
My hand shakes slightly from the tension brewing. Dante slips his hand over mine, steadying it, and I almost lean back into his warmth.
“You don’t mind if I take this. Do you, pip?” His fingers touch the small of my back and a jolt of sparks rains down over me. My lips part.
Finn chuckles. “I don’t think she minds at all. In fact, she wants you to have it. Don’t you, flower?”
My gaze lifts to Finn’s mischievous green eyes. My tongue darts out to wet my lips and he moves in a little closer. What’s happening here?
Footsteps sound outside the office door and they both step away from me. I’m still flustered and aroused when Wyatt stops in the doorway.
“Heading out?” His dark eyes linger on me.
I swallow and nod. “I found a potential password under Tom’s desk.”
Wyatt steps in and my knees want to give out. The three of them are too much for my system to handle. I set the paper on the desk and grab my purse.
“I need to let Peabody out.” I glance at the other two and feel the sexual tension from each of them. Biting my lip, I stop a couple feet in front of Wyatt who’s blocking the door. My voice is softer when I say, “I need to go.”
Wyatt cocks his head as if seeing me for the first time today, or like what I said didn’t make sense. But then he moves out of my way. I don’t look back as I edge around him and leave the office.
I don’t know what that was, but I’m not quite ready to be that bold.
I tied my hair up in a high ponytail and changed into jeans and a light sweater. I reapplied my favorite red lipstick and made sure Peabody ate his dinner and got some outdoor time before I left.
The car stops in front of McAvoy’s Bar.
“When do you want me to return, Miss Sara?” Brandon meets my gaze in the rearview mirror.
“I’ll catch a ride home. Have a good night.” I grab my phone and clutch and step out onto the curb. When I open the bar door and step inside, the car pulls away.
The bar is dark, but fairy lights add some much needed light to the room. I spot Hope sitting at the bar talking to her brother Jason. He’s a large guy with a bald head and the same bright blue eyes as Hope.
I wrap my arms around Hope from behind. She startles before she realizes it’s me.
“Hey.” She turns on her stool and smiles. “How was the first day?”
Jason sets a strawberry daiquiri on the bar in front of me. I give him a grateful smile.
“Long. Weird without Tom there.” I set my clutch down and draw the daiquiri over for a drink. “Mmm, I need this.”
“And I need this.” Kayla sits down next to me and bumps my arm. “Do you know how many good-looking men work at my new branch?”
“A lot?” Hope asks and takes a sip of her daiquiri.