Erik
“I’m busy,” I called when someone knocked at my door. I was sitting in my office at King Enterprises, the bright sun shining through the windows trying to coax me out of the building.
Any other day I would have loved to be outside with the rest of town, getting some air, but…the mess in front of me. I had to fix it. That was my responsibility. And it was starting to feel like Mama was slacking in her responsibilities as president of the board more and more lately.
Fuck, will I ever get a break?
No. If it wasn’t Mama, it was Gigi. If not Gigi, then Laurene or the board or a fucking email with someone demanding something.
So, no, I didn’t have time for?—
Knock.
I didn’t bother looking up. “I said I’m busy.”
The door cracked open anyway, followed by the click of heels against the hardwood.
“I know,” came a soft voice. “But you didn’t come to brunch. So I figured I’d bring brunch to you.”
My head snapped up.
Noelle.
I inhaled, sitting back and watching her enter.
She had on a bright yellow dress, with the straps and shit that go behind her neck, the color contrasting with her deep caramel-brown skin.
Her dark auburn curls were twisted up, with messy, soft tendrils falling loose around her cheeks.
Her hazel eyes met mine with that same tentative smile she always gave me when she wasn’t sure I still wanted her around.
As if I could ever stop.
“You came back,” I said thickly.
“Yeah,” she said gently. “I brought you a chicken caprese sandwich and a cappuccino. There’s no pesto. I know you hate pesto, and I double-checked before I left.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said still remembering our altercation, she’d been avoiding me. I didn’t like it when Noelle did that; it felt like someone stabbed me in the chest.
She shrugged, that beautiful mouth curving slightly. “I wanted to.”
God.
I wanted to kiss her right then.
It felt like my eyes couldn’t drink enough of her in.
From the top of her head, down to her feet, I took in Noelle.
My little sister’s best friend. She’d always been the girl next door.
The nice innocent one. She probably was the best one out of all of us.
She didn’t do the bullshit tit-for-tat like the Kings did.
Somehow in this crazy world of Lush, she kept her soul.
“What kind of chaos are my sisters getting into?” I asked.
She stepped closer, and I could smell the citrusy scent of orange and champagne clinging to her skin. I could see the slight flush on her chest, the way her throat moved when she swallowed.
“You have a new niece,” she told me.
I furrowed my brows. “Don’t tell me Laurene’s pregnant again already? Shit, Ashbourne won’t give her a break? I need to speak with him.”
Noelle laughed, light and airy, like champagne bubbles bursting against my ribs.
“No, fool! Serena and Miles got a new cat.”
I sighed, and shook my head.
Her gaze dropped to my shirt—still half-unbuttoned—and she raised a brow.
“Are you hiding?”
“I wasn’t hiding.”
“You sure?”
Another step brought her closer. I could feel the warmth of her skin now. See the shimmer on her collarbone. Her fingers brushed the edge of the table like she wanted something to hold, to stop herself from reaching for me.
My phone buzzed on the desk behind me. I ignored it.
“This doesn’t change anything,” She pushed the food to me. “Make sure you eat this time. Don’t let it sit there for hours and then throw it away. You can’t just have tea for dinner. It’s not healthy, and you’ll get a headache.”
“Don’t worry about me. I told you that before.”
“I don’t need your permission to care.”
That hit somewhere I didn’t expect.
“I just want everyone to be okay,” she said, hands folding in front of her. “You too. Who takes care of you, Erik?”
My phone buzzed again, insistent. But I didn’t move.
She stepped closer, hands brushing against the edge of my desk, looking behind me, voice barely above a whisper. “Answer it. Your mother’s going to start sending people.”
“I don’t want to talk to her right now.”
“Is it about the board meeting?”
I said nothing.
Noelle sighed, then reached up without thinking and gently smoothed her fingers over the crease between my brows. “You’re always frowning. You need to smile more.”
“You shouldn’t do that,” I said hoarsely.
She blinked. “Do what?”
“Touch me like that.”
“Why?”
I didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to have to go down that path.
My life was calculated. All of us Kings didn’t have total free will. I couldn’t put that on Noelle. She deserved a life filled with joy, not the turmoil I knew bringing her into our family would cause—a fate I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
If an action didn’t increase profits for King Enterprises, it was inconsequential, a waste of time and resources. I knew that. She did too.
I had to nip this shit in the bud now.
I reached up and caught her wrist—gentle, but firm enough that she stilled. Her skin was warm, soft as silk, the pulse at the base of her hand fluttering beneath my thumb like a trapped bird.
My palm engulfed her wrist easily, but she didn’t pull away.
Her lips parted slightly, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she stared at me, her eyes wide.
I let my hand drift slowly down her arm, feeling the goosebumps rise on her skin.
Over the soft bend of her elbow, along the inside of her forearm.
I swallowed, forcing the words out. “Thank you for the sandwich, really.”
Noelle was something I’d never be able to have. And I had to be fine with that.
God help me. I wanted to pull her closer. Bury my face in her neck.
But the phone buzzed again.
“Erik…”
“I have to take this,” I muttered.
It took her pulling back for me to release her. I felt myself ensnarled in her hazel eyes before I forced myself to turn around and walk to the other side of my desk. I didn’t bother being cordial when I picked up the phone. “What?”
Some analyst started rambling about margins, stockholders, the upcoming acquisition. Words that once used to mean everything.
Noelle didn’t say anything at first.
She waited. Watching. Seeing if I would eat.
I bit into the sandwich. It was actually the first thing I’d eaten all day. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the slight curve of her lips.
A smile. Small. Satisfied.
“Good?” she asked.
“Fantastic,” I said, and the analyst paused.
Then she started to back away.
Her hair swung over her shoulder, a cascade of auburn, as she turned to the door. She opened it slowly, her eyes sparkling as she gave me another one of those sweet smiles, a smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes, before she stepped out.
And when she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her, her faint perfume lingered in the air.
I stared at the door.
I should have stopped her. I should have told her she was the only thing that made this all bearable.
But life was fucked up like that. Life doesn’t bend for men like me, even with the money and cars and access. Men like me don’t get to want.