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Clifton moves away, picking up his food and taking a bite, clears his throat, and takes a drink of his coffee.
I did, thanks. I might as well be diplomatic, even if my first thought is to ghost him like he’d done to me for weeks. Maybe he’d get the hint with my clipped response.
He doesn't. He texts again and I pick up my phone, already annoyed. Can I take you to dinner?
I roll my eyes, annoyed. Why is he suddenly trying so hard after giving me the silent treatment for weeks?
I have plans. I don’t, but he doesn't need to know that.
“Is everything okay?” Clifton asks as I put my phone down a bit harder than intended on my desk. I glance at him, unsure what to say. He gestures at my phone and I let out a sigh, unwilling to talk about my crazy ex’s new tactic.
Instead, I change the subject. “Thank you for lunch. Iced coffee is exactly the pick-me-up I needed.” I pick up my drink and take the straw between my lips.
“You’re very welcome.” He gives his coffee cup a shake, rattling the ice before taking another drink. But I wasn't paying attention to any of that. I was looking at his hand, large and powerful, and wondering how it would feel on me. I glance at his lips, imagining them kissing down my body and a low humming heats up my core.
“Are you okay?” he asks, arching an eyebrow at me as if fully aware of my body short circuiting while thinking about him. Before I can respond, my phone chimes again. And again.
Annoyed, I pick it up and set it to silent mode.
And it begins to buzz.
“Maybe you should answer that?” Clifton asks.
I shake my head no as my phone buzzes again.
“You sure are popular.” There’s a smirk on his face as he says the words that tell me he knows exactly who is messaging and he finds the situation funny.
“At least someone is messaging me,” I say, resorting back to our teasing fun, turning my phone off to avoid the barrage of messages.
His eyebrows race for his hairline and he instantly quips back. “Sterling is only texting you because there’s another man in your life and he can’t handle rejection or competition.”
Damn. He really nailed Sterling in that one statement. The guy can’t handle competition, and we’d all seen how he dealt with not being the only man on my mind.
But those thoughts took a backseat to the realization that Clifton had said something very interesting.
I said there was another man in my life... referring to himself.
He sees himself as a man in my life.
He just admitted he likes me and my body revs up, excited at this confirmation. This was yet another signal from him, a door he’d opened and offered me to walk through. And oh, man do I want to. I stand up and make my way to him, leaning down and coming face to face with him.
“There’s another man in my life, huh?” I ask.
A slight smile tugs the corners of his lips.
Then he closes the gap between us, kissing me again. And this time, nothing interrupts us.
Chapter Thirteen
Clifton
Despite the quiet in our office, I can hear the hum of the building as people begin to shuffle out toward their vehicles and off to their lives.
I glance over at Emma, wondering what’s on her mind. She flashes me a soft smile, one that melts my insides like chocolate left in the sun on a hot summer day. I think about the kisses we’ve shared even as the smart side of my brain tells me I need to snuff out this developing spark between us.
“It’s about time to go home,” I say, and she nods.
Some nights we stay late, but somehow, we’re both ahead of the cases we’re working on. Maybe because we work better together. Or because being around her leaves me energized and ready to take on anything.
