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She finally snaps out of the breathless haze she was in. “What was I supposed to say? It was a one-night stand. We fucked. We had fun.” I press my lips to her skin, and she shudders. “It didn’t mean anything.”
And that has my head popping back up. Staring down into her eyes, I watch her struggle with her composure right in front of me.
“You sure about that?”
“Yes...” she says, but I hear no confidence behind it.
“Hmm... okay.” I take a step back and watch her sigh with her whole body, but then she squints at me. “If you say so.” Spinning around, I head for her door, but her voice stops me before I get to the exit.
“Maddox?”
I twist my head to face her. “Yeah?”
“This has to stay between us. You haven’t told anyone, have you?”
“No.”Except for my cousin, Leslie, but Penelope doesn’t need to know that right now. “But I understand. Don’t worry, our secret is safe.”
“I’m serious,” she continues, walking toward me now on unsteady legs. But damn, the woman can fake confidence.
If I wasn’t so hyperaware of how her body moves and I didn’t possess an uncanny ability to read her, I’d think she’s found her certainty again. But I can tell she’s still rattled.
“This is my job. If word got out that we—”
I hold my hand up to stop her. “I get it, Penelope. We’re good.”
Her shoulders drop, and she half smiles. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Yup. See you soon. Have a good rest of your day.”
I reach for the handle and exit her office, heading back to Liam and Charles, hoping the two of them have ironed out the details of our contract without punching each other so I can get home and rest before I report to the practice facilities tomorrow for my workout.
I also need to do some thinking, because this thing between Penelope and me isn’t over. It just got a lot more complicated, but it’s definitelynotover.
And I need to figure out a way to make sure she knows it, too, without either of us losing our jobs.
Chapter5
Penelope
“Is Noelle coming?” Charlotte asks Amelia and me as we sit at our table at Frankie’s.
“When I was texting with her last night, she said she was,” Amelia answers. “But I also told her to see how she felt this morning and that if she didn’t want to come, we would understand.”
Just as I go to say something, a figure to my left has me looking up. And there she is—our friend who’d realized her first implantation failed when she got her period a few days ago.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
She rolls her eyes at me and then plops down in the chair to my left. “Hey.”
Amelia and Charlotte share a look before Charlotte slides a fresh mimosa across the table to her. “The good news is you can still drink champagne with us for another month.”
“Ha. Yeah. Thanks.”
Slinging my arm around her shoulder, I pull her into me. “I’m sorry, babe. Truly. I know you wanted this.”
She sighs and then takes a sip of her drink as her eyes well. “I did, but I also knew that there was a possibility it wouldn’t work on the first try.” Wiping under her eyes, she stares at the table in front of her. “My doctor told me not to get my hopes up, but I did, and now I’m just reminding myself that there’s always next month.”
“Yes, there is. And the month after that. It’s gonna happen, Noelle. I can feel it.”
