Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“No. I just…” She set down her burger. “I guess I don’t want to lay it on them right away. Lizzie has never even heard of me being with a guy, even just a date, so this will be new to her. I want to be the one to tell her, and I don’t want to tell her until there’s something to tell…”
I was starting to grasp just how much she went out of her way to protect her daughter, to wrap her in a protective bubble. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to force anything. I just…want to be in this relationship completely. I’m a very transparent person. I didn’t consider the fact that Lizzie would be threatened by me, uncomfortable, or just not like me with you…”
She stared down at her food for a while as she processed what I said. “That’s not really what I’m worried about.” She raised her chin and looked at me. “I know she’s going to love you, Derek. I just…don’t want her to get attached and have her heart broken.”
That was when I finally understood.
She cleared her throat and grabbed her burger again. “I’m sure everything will be fine. If my mother asks about it, I’ll tell her the truth, and she’ll keep it from Lizzie. It’s unrealistic to expect us to appear like colleagues all the time, so that’s fair.”
When I got into the Escalade the next morning, there was only one thing I wanted to do.
The same thing I’d wanted to do since I’d dropped her off the night before.
I closed the door behind me, looked at her gorgeous face, and leaned over and kissed her. “Morning, baby.”
She kissed me back with slight hesitation, like she hadn’t expected the affection. But she kissed me back and flashed me a sincere smile afterward. “Morning.”
I pulled on my safety belt then grabbed my laptop from my bag. When I noticed the car hadn’t moved yet, I lifted my gaze and looked in the rearview mirror.
Ronnie’s eyes were wide, like he couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. When he felt my stare, he cleared his throat. “Morning, Mr. Hamilton.” He hit the gas and got on the road.
“Morning, Ronnie,” I said with a smile.
After we got to work, Emerson worked in my corporate office for most of the day, so I didn’t see her until she dropped off lunch. Pierre didn’t acknowledge my existence because he was obviously still pissed about yesterday. I wasn’t sure if he was still mad that I’d yelled at him, or if he was just mad that Emerson was mine.
Emerson delivered lunch and spread it out on the table, Italian food. “Lunch is here, boys.” Today, she was in a long-sleeved dress with booties on her feet, her hair long and curled like it was yesterday.
“Damn, that smells good.” Jerome put down his gear and walked over to grab a plate.
Pierre kept working.
I walked to the table and helped myself. “How’s your day been?” I didn’t kiss her or touch her, but I still blanketed her with my affection with my question.
“Good,” she said. “Getting a lot of stuff done. I’ve actually got to run back over there to take care of a few things, so I’ll come by at the end of the day.” She still kept up her professionalism, but she was a little different toward me, responding to my tenderness with her own.
It was a little weird to have her wait on me all the time when I felt like I should be the one taking care of her, but I tried to keep everything separate, just the way my parents had when I was growing up. But now that I’d had her, all of her, it was hard to look at her the same, because all I ever wanted to do was kiss her whenever I saw her, wrap her in my arms and pull her close.
But if I really did that…we would never get anything done.
She said goodbye and left.
I watched her go, stared at her ass until she was gone.
“You look happy.” Jerome took a bite of his food then gave me a pointed look.
I turned to him, feeling good for the first time in years. “Yeah…I am.”
I was alone in the lab because the guys had taken off. I stood at the bench and sketched out my prototype for the rover because I needed to get a design submitted in the next few days. I was so focused that I barely noticed the sound of the door as it closed.
I dropped my pencil and looked up, seeing Emerson walking toward me with her purse over her shoulder, still gorgeous even after the long day of working in my office and running errands. She looked at me differently than she used to. The change was subtle, but there was definitely a special kind of affection in her eyes.