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“It’s okay,” I say, and I actually mean it. Maybe all I needed was to be taken by surprise to overcome my fears.
“Really?” He looks at me, surprised.
“I’m still here, aren’t I?” I laugh. I don’t know that I’d want to do that again, but I got back in the water, and that’s an accomplishment in itself.
“Well, yeah.” Daniel chuckles. He has water dripping down his sculpted chest in a way that’s begging me to reach out for a taste.
A few seagulls squawk overhead, and I look at the sky again. The sun is bright and shining in the sky overhead, a few clouds in the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day out. Part of me wondered if we should make a day of it. I mean, who were we going to run into, anyway? Seaside wasn’tthatsmall.
“What are you thinking?” Daniel pulls me into him.
“Let’s make a beach day today. We can work on my fears, maybe not so obviously, and just spend the day together?”
“Yeah?” He smiles at me, surprised.
“Yeah, I think it would be fun.” I smile back. We had brought enough sunblock and water to last, and we could always take a walk along the boardwalk for lunch.
“I’m happy with whatever you want to do, babe, as long as you’re in these arms.” He kisses the top of my head and a warmth runs through me.Is this what falling in love feels like?
ChapterTen
One of the great things about my jobs is the breaks between extensive projects. The last few weeks were the comedown of a major business deal that allowed us to catch up on the busywork paperwork. It was the stuff we could get done in a normal 9-5 and not have to worry about staying late to prep for a client.
The downfall was we started with a new client this week. Which meant my time with Holly was becoming incredibly scarce. I’ve already had to cancel dinner plans with her twice this week and with her finals coming up, timing was not on our side.
“Can I see you tonight?” Holly asks from the other end of the phone.
“I’m sorry. I won’t be leaving anytime soon. There’s a proposal I have to finish and then get started on things for tomorrow.” I sigh. I hated not seeing her. I especially hated going so long without her in my arms.
“Okay, good luck.” I can tell she’s disappointed, but she’s understanding. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent hours on the phone attempting to console the girl I was seeing because she didn’t understand my commitments to work.
“I’ll call you later to say goodnight.” I whisper.
“Okay,” we both pause before saying goodbye. It was weird saying goodbye to someone you were dating but hadn’t saidI love youtoo yet. It’s like we were both unsure of how to end a phone call anymore.
“That your lil girlfriend?” Rachel teases from the door.
“What do you want?” I ignore her question. I would not engage with any of her obvious attempts to rile me.
“It’s nice you found someone who understands your job comes first, isn’t it?” Rachel wasn’t one to give up too easily.
“Do you need something, Rachel?” I ask again.
“Carl asked if you had the proposal ready yet.” She rolls her eyes and sits in the chair across from me.
“I’ll have it done in the next hour. I need to double-check the numbers.”
“Okay, do you need any help?” She leans forward in an attempt I’m sure to show me her cleavage, but I don’t bother looking down. The only woman’s cleavage I’m interested in is Holly’s.
“Nope. Got it from here, thanks.” I say sharply.
Rachel huffs and leaves the room with her heels stomping. Lately, she was going through more and more attempts at trying to get my attention. She’s made excuses to ask for my help on things I know she knows how to do, stayed late when she didn’t need to, and wear more and more revealing outfits. There wasn’t exactly a dress code after hours, but she’d unbutton her shirt or hike up her skirt in some attempt to get me back.
It was Louis who brought it up to me on one of the rare nights he stayed late. Shocked at all her blatant attempts at seducing me and how immune to it I was. He only came to one conclusion.
“You’re in love.” He had chuckled.
“What?” I looked at him like he had three heads.
