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“Call in sick,” he said. He was surprised how badly he wanted to her to go with them.
“I can’t do that!” She blinked at him in shock, as if he’d suggested robbing a bank.
“Why not? Is there a rule that you can’t skip a day of work? Will someone die?”
“Of course not, it’s just not allowed.”
“Rules again?” He arched his brow.
“Maybe. Kind of.”
He tried a different tack. “Don’t you want to go?”
“It’s not that. I’m not supposed to.”
“Then maybe that’s all the more reason to go.”
She sat on that for a long moment. Then she said, “I’ve never played hooky in my life.”
“Play it with me.” He put his hand in her hair, massaging the base of her head. “We’ll have fun.”
“Fun.” She said it as if she were trying it to see how it tasted. “They televise the games. What if I’m seen on TV? My boss will know I’m not sick.”
“I’m very good at disguises. It was the only way I could get around in England without being chased by paparazzi. We’ll make one for you. No one will know.”
She frowned. “You aren’t going to dress me in a banana suit, are you?”
He laughed, imagining all of them in banana outfits—a bunch, sitting in the stands. “Is that some sort of latent fantasy I should know about?”
“No.”
He cuddled her to him, holding her thigh high up on his waist, luxuriating in the feel of her naked against him. His cock liked it too, based on the way it was coming to life again. “Should we order food in?”
“And stay?” She bit her lip, a small furrow between her brows. “I’d have to let Lottie know where I am so she doesn’t worry.”
“I think Lottie knows where you are,” he said with a smile. “But we can text them all.”
“The apartment—”
“Is rented for the next two weeks,” he said, running his hand down her spine. “We can get delivery and lay around naked and kiss whenever we want.”
“Kiss,” she drew out reverently. “I like kisses.”
“I know you do.” He pressed one to her temple. “So what do you say?” he asked, surprised by how much he wanted her to say yes.
“I’d like to,” she said finally, nodded. Then she swallowed audibly, her hands tightening on him. “I love you, Jamie.”
He rolled over, taking her under him. Cupping her face, he kissed her. “I love you too,” he said, looking into her summer storm eyes. And then he spent all day showing her just how much.
Fifteen
The more Rachel looked over the Threshold prospectus, the more doubts she had about the project. She leaned over the papers, spread all over her desk, trying to reconcile it with what they’d talked about Friday, but as hard as she tried to piece it together, it still made no sense.
The plans they laid out here called for a complete gutting and rebuilding of Hyde Park. There was no redevelopment. There was no incorporating the neighborhood’s culture into the new growth. Looking at the plans, she couldn’t think of any word for them exceptno.
Yesterday she’d talked things out with Jamie. He seemed to think that Robert was trying to pull the wool over her eyes, but she’d defended the man. This firm had always been pro-Chicago in all the campaigns they took on, and Robert, even though he’d come in from New York, championed that. He wouldn’t encourage taking on a client like this.
Jamie hadn’t said anything when she’d spoken up for Robert, but already she knew him well enough to know he didn’t agree with her.
