Page 33 of Between Love & Ruin

And I’m slightly glad she doesn’t know it. Because from what I’ve observed about her, and I love observing her, she keeps herself guarded around the people in her life. She has this crystal-clear shell around her that makes it clear she won’t let anyone get too close.

And if she knew the effect she had on people, she would only do it more.

“How long do we have to wait here?”

I glance at my watch. It’s only been thirty minutes since we got here. We have another thirty to wait.

“A little bit more,” I tell him, my brows furrowed. I am pretty sure I could have gotten done with some of my work had Myra not rushed me out of the office.

He grunts and I look at him.

“Why don’t you go grab two cups of coffee and one cup of black coffee for me from that shop?” I point to the small one hidden between two cafes.

He looks at me, and while he rarely gives me attitude, the way he stares at me makes it clear he doesn’t like me very much right now.

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“Then get what you do drink.”

He rolls his eyes before stepping out of the car, and I realize why he probably didn’t want to step out. The heat outside is scorching hot in comparison to the cool environment of the car, and if somebody made me get out of the car for no reason and I had to wait thirty minutes for someone I didn’t know, I probably would get pissed too.

* * *

Roy has officially gone mad.

Because he keeps playing sad, yearning songs on the stereo and keeps giving me a sly smile.

“Will you shut it?”

“But sir,” he says with a smile, and the way he calls me ‘sir’ is more to piss me off than out of respect. He rarely calls me that because of our friendship. “I’m going to fall asleep like this. We’ve been here for an hour now. Let me play some music at least.”

I slam my head against my seat, and I am sure if she doesn’t come out in the next five minutes, I will lose my mind and calm. I should have just gone inside.

“Look who’s here,” he says with a smile in his voice, and I open my eyes and look to where he is pointing. “And she looks pissed.”

And sure enough, an angry-looking Sienna Hayes is stomping her way toward my car. Just as I’m about to get out and open the door for her, like the gentleman that I am, she unlocks it and bolts inside.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Sienna Hayes

Dominic’s eyes widen for a moment before utter confusion takes over his disgustingly handsome face.

It’s so disturbing that I can’t stand him, yet I can’t deny that he looks really good. He has a face that makes it hard to stay mad at him but a personality that makes you want to strangle him.

“What did I do?” he asks innocently, even though everyone in this car knows he is far from innocent.

He is in fact the exact opposite of whatever that word means.

I scoff, getting inside the car to avoid attention and making a scene at the roadside.

“As if you don’t know,” I say, sure that he is bluffing. I know he likes to get on my nerves. That is some kind of professional foreplay for him.

“But I don’t,” he shrugs, confused, and looks at his driver. “Roy, do you know what I did?”

“Nothing I am aware of,” he responds, and I narrow my eyes.

“You have been parked in front of the bookstore, where my event was taking place for the past hour. Like an insolent stalker. Did you think people wouldn’t notice?”