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Chapter Ten
I’m here. I’m good. Sorry about the delay. I sent the message.
In my mind, I added, I would have replied sooner, but I was lost in the afterglow of your brother fingering me on the plane. That wasn’t going to work so great. It wasn’t as though I intended to keep what was going on with Chase a secret, but Sadie, Lyn, and I shared all sorts of details about our love lives, and this one wasn’t going to be so simple to dive into.
Did Chase already tell her? Probably not, but it was possible.
As long as you’re all right, Lyn wrote.
Was I? I was a little confused, but the adrenaline racing through my veins, and the way my pulse whimpered every time I thought about either man, said I was pretty fucking good. I am. And as soon as I get home, I have to tell you both something. What if Chase did tell Sadie first? It’s a good thing, and I’m not keeping it a secret, so if you hear anything before then, just remember this is a story told better face-to-face.
Yeah, I was that friend who typed the mile-long single text messages.
That’s not fair, Lyn said.
Sadie’s reply was only a second behind. Especially with a lead-in like that.
True. Hearing I had to wait for more info would drive me nuts, but I had to look Sadie in the eye when I told her. I know.
When are you free?Sadie asked.
No clue. Today is going to be nuts.
Facetime us,Lyn said. First thing in the morning tomorrow. We’ll be waiting.
Sounds fair. TTYL
The rest of my day could go that smoothly, and I wouldn’t complain.
I dove into work.
A few minutes later, Luke joined me.
There wasn’t much conversation. Deadlines called, and we both had a long to-do list that had grown even more with this morning’s security breach.
Time ticked away, punctuated by the clack of fingers flying over keyboards.
Was Luke staring at me? I looked up to meet his gaze.
“You’re adorable when you’re focused. Have you ever noticed?” He asked.
How was I supposed to reply to that? The attention was amazing, but it also felt almost like too much. “Have I ever noticed how I look when I’m working? Can’t say I have.”
“I’m pouring on too much, aren’t I?” He scrubbed his face. “It’s been killing me, to keep my distance.”
I should be concentrating on my work, but I couldn’t turn away from this. “Why now? Not-that-I-mind.” I swallowed, trying to gather my thoughts. “But, why now?”
“That kiss the other night undid me. Everything was right in that room.”
“Including the broken code?”
Luke’s smirk was worth the joke. “Maybe not that part. But when I saw you with Chase in the airport, I had to say something. This can’t be a total surprise. I’ve never completely held back.”
Yeah, but thanks to my past, I didn’t trust the little voice in my head telling me, he’s flirting. I still didn’t completely trust it. I shouldn’t be bothered that Luke was laying the attention on so heavily, if I needed a flashing beacon to get me to listen. Then again, I’d seen such bold affection mean bad things in the past. “I wasn’t sure.”
“And now?”
I still wasn’t sure. How fucked up was that? “I’m looking forward to the discovery stage.” And I wanted to change the subject. If I lingered on Luke while I was in the middle of overthinking him, I’d say things I couldn’t take back. “We need to shift the QA schedule on the Groundrim final boss. We have before Sloth City, but the components won’t be ready first.” Work-talk—my trusty conversation fallback.
