Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
It’s not fair to her.
And yet, this coldness from her makes me want to pull my hair out. I miss our talks in the morning, and her witty banter. I miss the way she smiled at me.
“I have to fucking apologize.”
I sigh in resignation.
I’ve never been good at apologizing, but if I want things to loosen up and go back to even a fraction of what they were before, I need to tell her that I regret my behavior on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
If you’d told me a month ago that I’d be desperate for a woman to soften up and like me, I’d have laughed in your face and told you to go shag yourself.
But that’s what seems to be happening here.
There’s a store just down the block, so I lock up the office and walk over to pick up some things. When I return, I set them on her desk. I don’t overthink it and try to get fancy; I just put them there for her to find.
Then I return to my desk and wait for her to get back so I can hopefully make things right with her again.
Exactly fifty-nine minutes after she left, I hear Maya return to the office. Thirty seconds after that, she pokes her head in my doorway.
“May I come in?”
“Of course.” I turn to face her, surprised that she’s actually looking me in the eyes. “I trust you had a good lunch?”
“Yeah, it was fine. Where did these come from?” She’s holding up the candy I bought for her.
“You were out.”
Maya frowns over at me. “So you bought me more?”
“I did, yes.”
“Why? You don’t even like me.”
“That’s not true.” I drag my hand down my face and sigh. “Would you please sit?” I gesture to the visitor’s chair.
She looks hesitant, so I repeat, “Please?” Finally, she does as I ask.
“I do like you, Maya. And I have to—” I take another breath. “I need to apologize to you.”
That has those blue-gray eyes widening in surprise, but she doesn’t say anything in response.
“You deserve to be treated better than what you’ve gotten from me this week, and I have no excuse for the way I behaved, other than the simple fact that I was jealous.”
“Yeah, I got that much.”
My lips twitch. Christ, I’ve missed her smart mouth.
“I did not mean to insinuate, in any fashion, that you are easy or, for fuck’s sake, a whore.”
“You made me feel like one.”
The anger is back in those amazing eyes as she glares at me, and I have to swallow hard.
“I’m not proud of how I behaved or the things I said, and I hope you will accept my apology.”
“Why?”
I shake my head. “What do you mean, why?”
“Why are you apologizing now? Are you feeling horny and hoping I’ll pull my skirt up for you again?”
I narrow my eyes on her and feel my jaw clench with pure anger. “Don’t you ever speak about yourself that way again, do you understand me?”
She firms her chin. “The question stands.”
I want to paddle her bottom, and then I want to fuck her into submission.
“I’m simply sorry for ever hurting your feelings. And for acting like a complete knob. I didn’t handle anything well, and I’m embarrassed for it.”
That seems to soften her. When she speaks again, the anger is gone from her voice. “Why didn’t you just say all of this on Tuesday? Why did we have to go through a whole week of being completely uncomfortable? I probably gained ten pounds because I eat candy when I’m upset.”
That explains all the sweets this week.
“You look bloody gorgeous, as always.”
She shrugs. “So? Why did you wait all week?”
“Because I’m a stubborn arse.”
“Yeah, that I know, too. There will be no more sex.” She swallows hard after that announcement. “But we can go back to being…I don’t know. Friendly, I guess.”
“I can deal with that.” It’s going to fucking drive me crazy seeing her every day and not being able to touch her, but I respect the boundary. I’m just relieved she won’t be pissed off every day anymore.
I can keep my hands to myself for two more weeks.
Probably.
Chapter Six
Maya
“Is he still being an asshat?” Stella asks as she passes me my coffee and takes hers from the barista. “He didn’t look like a jerk to me when I picked you up for lunch. He’s pretty sexy, and that accent is…wow.”
“He finally apologized,” I reply as I sit in a seat by the window and shimmy out of my jacket. “Despite that, I was so ready to get out of there for the weekend. I need some time away from him, you know?”
“Sure, sure, makes sense.”
“You still haven’t said anything to Gray, right?”
Stella smirks. “Hell, no. If I did, he’d show up there and kick Derek’s ass.”
“I don’t know, Derek is pretty built.” I grin and sip my iced latte. “It might be fun to watch. But no, I don’t want Gray to know what happened. He’d just go right into fierce-brother mode and cause a ruckus. It’s not necessary. I’m handling it.”