"What? What are you so afraid of?" Nova asks.
"What if it doesn't work out?" I ask, peeking through a slit in my fingers. "What if he decides it was fun while it lasted, but that's all he wants? I'm not built for that."
I want what my parents have. That's what I've been searching for my entire life. And I've adamantly refused to look with clients because I know how often they're looking for everything except a future. I don't want to be one of many, especially not for Royce.
"You're in love with him."
I don't say anything, which seems to be enough of an answer for the three of them. Ava lets out a muted squeal, reaching out to pry my hands away from my face.
"I'm so screwed," I whisper. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Last weekend would like to disagree," Nova says, grinning at me.
I flick a piece of ice at her, earning a giggle.
"What are you going to do?" Seraphina asks, cocking her head to the side.
I shrug, staring down at the water ring on the chipped table. "I guess…tell him? I mean, I have to tell him, right?"
"Duh!" Ava cries.
"Fine. I'll tell him." I narrow my eyes on the three of them. "But if he breaks my heart, I'm blaming the three of you."
"And if he doesn't, we're playing rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to be the Maid of Honor at your wedding."
"Goddamn kid's games," I groan, earning laughter from all three of them.
By the time four o'clock rolls around, I'm hard at work trying to craft a press release for Santiago Devlin. I swear, working for Teo Kirby was almost a cakewalk compared to working for thatman. Every week, it's a new scandal, and none of them are ever easy.
It's like he's hellbent on destroying his career or something. Why? Don't ask me. He's a darn vault of secrets.
"Damn," Royce whistles from the doorway. "My baby looks good when she's in business mode."
I glance up, unable to hide the smile on my face. I swear, he's so outrageous. I love it far more than I should.
"Speaking of business mode," I say, dodging him when he tries to kiss me, "we need to talk."
"Fine," he growls, shoving the door closed. "You have two minutes, and then business mode ends, and I'm kissing the fuck out of you."
"I only need one."
"Wanna put that to the test?" he asks, waggling his brows. "Because I'm down to make you come in sixty seconds."
"No." I pause. "Well, yes. But wait."
He grins at me, leaning back against the door with his hands in his pockets. "The clock is ticking, pretty baby."
"No pet names when we're in business mode, Royce."
"Fine, the clock is ticking,Miss Jónsson."
I shake my head at him, trying not to smile. "I heard from the Firestorm people. They want you for the campaign, but I think you should reconsider."
"Why?"
"Because their drink is full of crap that's terrible for you. Do you really want to push a product that causes heart attacks and kidney failure when you're the spokesperson for a nonprofit that's fighting for people with congenital heart defects?" I shuffle through the papers on my desk before I find the one I need. "This is an info sheet on ReCharge, a company that bottles electrolyte-enhanced water. They're looking for a spokesperson," I say. "The pay isn't quite as good as what Firestorm is offering, but they're willing to offer you shares, and you'd be promoting a product you can actually get behind. Plus, they give a percentage of profits to charities that provide water to areas that need it most, like the Horn of Africa."
He takes the paper from my hands, scanning it. "You think this is a better fit than Firestorm?" he asks after a moment, glancing up at me.
