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“And?” She now stands up, and this time, she doesn’t even flinch to tug down on her dress that’s inched up her thighs.
I swallow deeply. Even leaning back across the desk, I still have inches on her. She’s a tall girl to begin with, but just not quite enough as I take the liberty to stand up straight and tower over her.
She peers up at me with a flutter of her lashes.
“Here we work to live.” I have a hard time speaking. “Not the other way around.”
A silence falls between us until I’m compelled to pull back, recognizing that I’ve been staring at her for a few seconds too long as I tuck my arms into the sleeves of my coat.
“Besides…” I carry out the thought. “I assumed you were going to use this time to see your family.”
Now, she’s the one who has trouble making eye contact as she toys with the bracelets on her wrist. “As if they’d have time for me…” she mumbles under her breath.
I pretend as though I haven’t just heard her response, one that pangs my stomach with a sense of defeat. “What was that?” I probe.
“Nothing.” She’s back to looking me square in the face, unaffected. “Sorry to bug you.” She tucks in the office chair,making her way towards the door. “Enjoy your time off, Warren. I’ll be here if you need anything.”
She’s hardly a step out of the doorway when I’m urged to stop her. “Delaney.” Her name escapes my lips like honey, so sweet, so slow.
But unlike the hundreds of times I’ve called out her name since she’d arrived, now it’s followed by two words I can hardly rationalize. “Join me.”
She’s silent, her inquisitive stare pausing on me as she places a delicate hand against the doorway.
She’s intrigued.
I carry on. “I’m going to see my Mum up north for a few days. Would you like to come?”
“You…” She seems to have a hard time processing my invitation, biting down on her lower lip to hide an eager smile.
My breath catches in my throat.
“You want me to come with you to meet your whole family?” she asks, looking up at me with curious eyes.
“My whole family is just my mum,” I tell her. “Besides…” I attempt to mitigate my desire for her to join me with a claim I know she’ll believe. “She’d kill me if she knew I was leaving you all alone.”
I flick off the light switch to my office as I reach the doorway, prompting her to rest along the wall.
“Well…” She pauses in thought once more. “I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn't. What if she just wants to spend time with you and?—”
“Meet me back here in an hour.” I’m tired of hearing her attempts at rationalizing why she should or shouldn’t come when her desire is evident across the apples of her cheeks. “We’ll leave then. Okay?”
I watch as she straightens her spine, clasping her hands as one. “I’ll see you then.”
D E L A N E Y
“So, where does your mom live?” I ask Warren while attempting to fiddle with the small dial of his car’s radio.
I don’t think I’ll ever get over just how small everything seems to be here. I’m from Texas after all. Go big or go home.
I don’t think I could name one guy that I dated who didn’t have a Range Rover or a Jaguar. But all that’s changed, and now, even though I’m cramped inside Warren’s pathetic attempt at a car—somehow, I’m not mad.
“You’re bringing all that?” Warren had questioned as he watched me drag my suitcases in toe through the stadium's parking lot.
I shrugged, unsure what the big fuss was about. It was only a suitcase, duffle bag, and two purses. I was underpacking, if anything. “You said a couple nights, right?”
He shook his head in a mixture of disapproval and what seemed to be awe, considering all he seemed to have packed was a measly briefcase and backpack. I don’t think that would’ve even been enough for a fraction of my makeup.
Nonetheless, he shoved his stuff to the side and grasped my luggage from my hand. “I can’t imagine how many suitcases you brought with you from home.” He effortlessly lifted them up one by one before he flashed me another inquisitive look.
