“Who’s the guy?”
“A wide receiver on the Chargers.”
“I didn’t know you were into sports.” Nathan replied, sounding amused.
“Oh, I’m not,” I said. “I just appreciate the view.” I grinned, only to suck in a breath when my finger suddenly throbbed in pain.
“What’s the matter?” Nathan’s voice sharpened.
“It’s nothing,” I shook my head as I gripped my pointer finger. “It’s just a paper cut.”
“You’re in pain.” Nathan stared at the tiny cut on my pointer finger where the redness was impossible to miss.
“I’m fine,” I tried again. “If there’s nothing else you need, I’ll be leaving. I’m meeting my date in an hour.”
He made an impatient noise. “He can wait. Let me bandage your finger up for you.”
“That’s not necessary. I don’t want to be late.”
“Come here.” Nathan replied, his voice calm but undeniably firm.
I was all too familiar with the tone of his voice, the one which let me know that there was no room for argument.
I bit back my annoyance and rounded the large desk. Nathan said nothing as he pulled out a small first-aid kit from one of his drawers and opened it up and pulled out a disinfectant wipe and a band-aid.
“No Barbie band-aids?” I joked.
“I’m afraid not. I left those at my house.”
“Damn.” I pretended to be disappointed and if I didn’t know any better I could’ve sworn I saw his lips tug upward in a smile.
The moment should’ve stayed light, but something shifted when his fingers brushed over my skin which were deliberate, careful, and warm.
Too warm.
My breath caught, and I forced a smile, but I couldn’t stop the flicker of memory that hit me square in the chest.
Bandaging my own wrist in the bathroom mirror, careful not to cry in case it made things worse or. Jax crouched in front of me, his touch soft but his eyes cold, cleaning up a mess he created like it somehow made it okay.
I blinked hard and looked away.
Nathan stilled. “Are you okay?”
I nodded too fast. “Yeah. It stings a little, that's all.”
“You know if there's anything you want to talk about, anything non-work related, I'm here.”
My throat tightened. “I know.” The silence between us stretched a beat too long, so I changed the subject. “I haven’t seen Sydney around lately,” I said lightly, tugging my hand back. “She finally got tired of trying to convince you to settle down?”
Nathan’s expression didn’t shift. He placed the wrapper from the wipe back in the kit, slow and steady. “Sydney and I were never serious.”
I raised a brow, pretending not to care. “Could’ve fooled me.”
He finally looked up and held my gaze with a steady expression that made my stomach twist in the most inconvenient way.
“I’m not interested in Sydney,” he said, voice low. “Lately,” he added, “I’ve only had eyes for someone else.”
Heat crawled up my neck and bloomed in my chest, slow and deep.
