“I told Cal I needed Jay off my back, so he set up a meeting with Laurent to talk business. Jay asked me to join, but I toldhim I had dinner with my Arcadia mate tonight. As a thank you, you know.”
“As a thank you?” The scoff he gives turns into a wicked teasing laugh. He leans forward.
“I’ll show you my idea of thank you when I suck you off in the car later tonight.” He says it soft and sweet like he’s picking daisies in a field.
I cough into my fist, trying not to make a scene.
“Baby, you need to stop choking every time there’s dick involved.”
I take a quick sip, my cheeks burning a deep pinot noir.
“You really have it out for me, don’t you? Why’s that? Something’s different about you, I can tell.”
He shrugs, staring dreamily at the ocean. “You make me happy, Sapphire.”
Then he looks straight into my eyes, like I’ve done something good. Like I matter. And fucking hell, I don’t know what to do with that.
Before I can make a total fool of myself by blurting out something reckless, the waitress appears with the menus. It does the trick, heat draining from my face.
Once she’s gone, I clear my throat, my eyes landing on the blue crystal at his chest.
“You make me happy too,” I say softly.
He gives me this shy, grateful smile, and suddenly all the years of emptiness inside my chest don’t mean a damn thing anymore. He makes me feel like a teenager again, the whole world wide open in front of me. Happiness doesn’t even cover it.
We look at each other. Smile. Look away. Smile again. No words. It feels stupid, perfectly stupid. Is that even a thing? It makes me nervous, because I don’t know what to say.
Luckily, Yosh takes it from here.
“How did things go with Jay?”
“He was weirdly reasonable,” I say, adjusting in my chair. “Didn’t try to drag me back to Amsterdam. Said he was proud of me, believe it or not. He even complimented the new tracks I’ve been working on. I guess he’s got bigger things on his mind these days.”
Yosh closes his menu. “I’m so glad he bought your story. I was worried he wouldn’t.”
I wave it off. “It wasn’t that hard. Calvin and Joan backed me up.”
Truth is, that psychological chess game had been anything but easy. I’m still walking on eggshells, half-expecting him to change his mind any second.
Yosh doesn’t need that anxiety on his plate. This one’s mine to carry.
“When is he leaving again?”
I smirk. “Asking for a friend, are you?”
He rolls his eyes but can’t hide the guilty smile tugging at his mouth. “It would be nice if my boyfriend could stay the night instead of racing home before midnight like Cinderella. So yeah, I want Jay gone.”
I look up from the menu. “Call me a princess one more time and I’ll make you polish my crown. With your tongue, just so we’re clear.”
“Like taking care of your royal highness would ever be a punishment.”
He looks so damn content with himself. It makes me want to climb over the table and devour him right there.
“Love, I think we should stop talking before things get out of hand, because I really do want to have dinner with you.”
“Totally agree,” he says. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Wait. I wasn’t finished about Jay. There’s more.”
