Page 55 of Naughty Heart

I’d take that.

I’d take all of that I could get from her.

What a relief.

I’d had my doubts about my chances of being able to get back in her good graces, but perhaps it wasn’t a lost cause. After what I’d done, I suspected it wouldn’t be easy. Evelyn was hurt.

Fuck, it had nearly killed me to hear her admit on Friday that she didn’t trust me.

This whole thing had been an absolute mess. But I intended to make it right, because it was just as I’d told her. There was no other option.

Weeks ago, when my father asked me where I saw my life in five years, I had indicated I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. I didn’t think it mattered.

Now I knew differently.

Now I knew what he meant when he said I was giving up a life better than I could have ever imagined for a few wild nights. I’d had my fun; I wouldn’t deny that. But what blew my mind was that I’d enjoyed the time I spent working with Evelyn than I had with a single one-night stand.

I had to believe if things felt that good between us when we were working, they’d only be that much better if we were naked.

And it was safe to say I’d started imagining Evelyn naked about two days into this. I didn’t know how not having had my way with her yet hadn’t made me lose my mind.

But I didn’t care.

I was going to do whatever it took.

Because I believed all the effort I planned to put in with her was going to be worth it in the end.

In fact, I was so convinced of that fact, I immediately began setting things in motion to make it right between us again. After we’d gotten back from lunch on Friday afternoon, Evelyn and I had each returned to our separate offices. While she kept herself busy with actual work for Westwood’s, I focused on what I needed to do for her.

First up, I decided to give her a more official apology. Sure, I’d said the words a couple of times, but I wanted it in writing, too. So, I ordered cupcakes for her and had them decorated with red and green to keep with the Christmas theme in our offices, but I had the words “I’m very sorry” spelled out on the cupcakes—a single letter on each one, making up a dozen.

The cupcakes arrived about two hours after we’d returned from lunch, and as soon as she got them, Evelyn marched over to my office with them.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, pretending to not know why she was there.

“You’ve said it.”

“What?”

“You’ve already told me that you’re sorry, Malcolm. I accepted your apology and told you I appreciated it. You didn’t have to get me cupcakes, too.”

I tipped my head to the side, my eyes roaming over her face. Fuck, she was beautiful. “I wanted you to have them.”

“I can’t eat this many cupcakes by myself. You have to have some of them.”

If agreeing to eat cupcakes meant that I’d get to spend more time with Evelyn, I’d eat half the box.

I waved my hand toward the chair on the opposite side of my desk and urged, “Grab a seat.”

She hesitated for a moment, clearly not having thought this through, but ultimately stepped forward and lowered herself into the chair. Opening the box, she pushed it in my direction. “Which one do you want? You could have the “M” for Malcolm.”

My lips twitched. Only Evelyn would come up with something like that.

“I can take any one I want?” I asked her.

“They’re all the same, aren’t they?” she countered.

I nodded.