I don’t know if Regan’s big breaths are because she’s resisting the urge to laugh at the dip in my tone or because she’s struggling to compose herself. If I know Regan as well as I once did, I’d say it is a bit of both. Unfortunately, I hardly recognize myself anymore, much less a woman I once knew.
Just when I think Regan will never answer me, she murmurs, “Can we meet?”
My mouth opens and closes, but nothing comes out—not even a fucking squeak.
I’m not the only one silent. Regan hasn’t taken a breath the past thirty seconds, and Reid isn’t just quiet, he’s frozen like a statue.
“You want to meet?” I ask Regan a short time later, my tone higher than my arched brow.
She coughs to clear the nerves from her throat before replying, “Yeah. I think we should do this in person. We’re adults, so there’s no reason we can’t handle this with maturity. . . Unless you don’t want to?”
“No, no, we’ll meet. When?” I blurt out before she can change her mind, my voice matching the dismal one I used when asking Melissa Belle to the Prom.
My already skyrocketing heart rate triples when Regan suggests, “Now?”
“Now!” My eyes drop to my trousers. They’re not an exact replica of the JC Penney suit she despised, but they’re pretty fucking close.
As quickly as panic rained down on me, anger takes its place. She’s not arranging for us to hook up. This is most likely a meeting on behalf of her client, so why the fuck am I worrying about my outfit like I don’t have a cock dangling between my legs?
I cup my hand around my phone to ensure she can’t hear my ticking jaw. “I can’t meet now; I’ve got stuff I need to take care of.”
That’s a lie, but my heart wasn’t the only thing she stole from me twelve months ago; she removed my empathy bone as well.
“Okay.” I can tell she is pissed, but she holds back her anger—barely. “Then whenwillyou have time?”
I raise my eyes to Reid. I thought he’d be amused by our conversation. He seems more sympathetic than anything. Clearly, I’m not doing a good job of pretending I’m no longer affected by this woman. Even more so when I say, “Uh. . . twenty minutes?”
I hear Regan huff. “It will take me longer than twenty minutes to travel from my apartment to downtown, much less get dressed for the occasion.”
A grin tugs my lips high, pleased I’m not the only one worried about maintaining appearances.
“I can come to you?” I suggest with a shrug.
“What?!” Finally, thesweating over the small stuff like a girlsyndrome has been handed to its rightful owner. “You can’t come here!”
“Why not? We’re adults having an adult conversation. Why can’t that occur in your apartment?”
She grumbles something, but the ringing of my heart in my ears has me missing what she says. “What are you worried about, Rae? It’s been twelve months; I’m sure you can hold back your desires for another hour or two.”
I can’t see her, but I can picture her angry stance and screwed-up face when a deep growl sounds down the line. “I’m not worried about holding back my desires.” Her voice is extra snarky during the quoted part of her statement. “I’m just not sure if I can be in the same room without killing you.”
A chuckle rolls up my chest before I can stop it.
“I’m not joking, Alex!”
I laugh louder. “I know. That’s why I’m laughing.” I’m glad to discover she didn’t lose her feisty temper when she bites out a string of curse words.
Just as quickly as her derogatory names are delivered, an apology follows them. I smile until I realize her pleas for forgiveness aren’t directed at me. It is for someone sitting in the same room as her.
That plucks out my peacock feathers and locks them into an extremely dark and angry place. “Are we doing this or not, Regan? I don’t have all day.”
I grind my teeth together. That came out more offensive than I intended. I am annoyed. It’s just not at Regan; it’s more at myself. It’s been a year; can’t I get over my stupid neurosis already?
“Fine. Come here. I don’t care.” I hear Regan stand to her feet before a weird cooing noise sounds down the line. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she’s snuggling a cat. . .or a baby.
I swallow down the bile suddenly scorching my throat before saying, “I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”
She murmurs in agreement before lowering her phone from her ear, meaning I only catch her whisper, “I can’t swaddle Axel to sleep tonight. Alex is coming over.”
