Page 30 of Sweet Redemption

Our eyes lock, and I can’t look away, no matter how much I wish I could.

Teagan says something I don’t quite catch as I fight for control of my entire nervous system. The one that seems to malfunction around this man. Pain and happiness and heartbreak and hope swirl together like a vortex of emotions. Emotions I try to force back down into the box they need to stay buried in.

Compartmentalization for the win.

“Langley?” Leo turns to Rafe, less than thrilled to see him here, and I force myself back into the moment. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Why do you care?” I ask Leo, more than a little freaked-out by the way my body is trying to slide into fight-or-flight mode.

Looks like fight might be winning.

Rafe steps into my side and slings an arm around my shoulder.

One I immediately shrug off.

Nope. Not doing that.

“Just taking my friend out to lunch.” The dumbass grins. “Why? You worried your team is looking to replace you, Sinclair?”

“With you?” Leo laughs. “Hardly.”

“You okay, Serena?” Teagan whispers, and I tear my eyes from Hendrix.

This is not me.

I’m stronger than this.

I think . . .

After a few moments of stupid male posturing, I finally manage to move. “I’m fine. Just starving.” I step behind my desk and grab my purse. “Did you need something, Leo?”

There.

That sounded professional and not at all like I’m about to completely lose my shit. Which I am. Again.

“Nah.” His smile finally reaches his eyes. “I was just showing Hendrix where the offices are. Max wanted to talk to him.”

Of course, he did.

“Well, it looks like you found them.” I shut down my computer and look at Rafe. “Are you ready to go?”

“Lead the way, little Kingston.”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” I growl with absolutely no force behind it as I wait for everyone to clear out of my office, ignoring the weight of the stare that still lingers.

“Yeah well”—Rafe holds his hand out for me to go first—“I told you no.”

We move beyond my door, and I pull it closed behind us as both Sinclair brothers and Teagan crowd my space.

“Are you two seeing each other?”

Hendrix’s words are clipped and cold.

Like he has any right to ask them.

I take a small breath, steady my hands, and point to Dad’s office. “Dad’s office is right there.”

Rafe places his palm against the small of my back, and I’m surprisingly grateful for the extra support, even if his hand on my body feels wrong.