My eyes flick over my shoulder. “Okay, Sir Grouch-a-lot.”
“Sir Grouch-a-lot?” He flinches.
I really am overstepping, but we are out of work time, so what the hell.
“Yes. You are permanently grouchy, like a troll under a bridge. You shall not pass.” I exaggerate an impression of a troll, dropping my voice so it’s low and drawn out. “Although you smile sometimes, and when you do, those moments are beautiful. You’ve been doing that more lately, and once—nope, maybe twice—you’ve laughed. Is that a record for you?”
“Beautiful?” he asks, as if taken aback by how I described him, before flattening his lips into a thin line, annoyed that his day isn’t going quite how he planned because of me.
“Yes,” I confirm. “So do more of it when we go in here, because it makes you look very handsome. Dashing.”
“Dashing?” he whispers, shaking his head in disbelief. The corners of his mouth twitch, threatening to break out into one of his knockout smiles.
I roll my eyes, regretting I told him that, and push open the boutique’s door to be hit by a rush of cold, air-conditioned air. It’s just what I need to stop feeling hot and bothered around him. Still, I wonder if air conditioning can really save me from the heat he ignites inside me because every time we meet, my insides melt like chocolate left out in the sun too long.
This was a bad idea, not one of my finer moments. Being near him makes me feel like I’m a kettle about to whistle… all the way to his bed.
Yup, this was a really, really bad idea.
And yet, he’s hardly putting up a fight as he follows me into the store.
“I was lying about not wearing a bra. I have one on, just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.”
I glance behind me to be met with flared nostrils, his jaw tensing, and that thick vein in his neck pulsing wildly.
Liar. He was definitely wondering.
21
ELI
Decisive and confident as ever, Sapphire picked out several dresses and was in the fitting room before I could say boo.
I count the taps of my foot against the marble floor, resting my back against the elaborate chair that looks more like a throne from a period drama than a side chair.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
It’s only been a few minutes since Sapphire entered the fitting room, but it feels like longer.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
I shouldn’t be here.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
I have things to do.
I don’t.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
One, two, three, four, five… The sound of the fitting room door unlocking brings an end to my frantic foot tapping.
After Sapphire told me she was going to approach a stranger on the sidewalk to assist her with buying a dress, it brought out a possessive side of me I’ve never felt before, and I’ve been on edge ever since.
She’s testing me, I know she is, and I shouldn’t react, but she’s the only woman on this earth who affects me the way she does. It’s not just a huge problem; there is no medication to help me forget her or that would have prevented me from following her into a dress store.