AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why would I be kidding? You wanted to do this yourself, right? You better get to it before your pretty little date starts to suspect you aren’t as interested in her as you pretend.” I shouldn’t have added that last bit, but I couldn’t help myself even if it was jealous and petty of me.
His mouth dropped open, and he stood, bracing his hands on my desk and leaning forward. I simply stared up at him, trying my best not to let him faze me.
“You mean to tell me that you—you, the absolute control freak—aren’t going to lift a finger to make sure I don’t screw up this date?” He shook his head in disbelief.
Control freak?Anger surged in my chest, and I pushed to my feet as well, leaning forward and getting in his face. “Why should I bother? You said you had it under control. It’s not like you take anything about this Contention seriously anyway.”
He ground his teeth together, his eyes blue fire. “Why should youbother? How about because it’s your job? You’re the one with such extreme OCD that you can’t leave anything alone, and you expect me to believe you don’t care how this date goes down?”
He had me there because I couldn’t leave it alone. Ididhave a backup plan ready to pull out at any moment. But I wouldn’t let him know that, especially when he was being so rude.
“Don’t pretend you actually care what Reagan thinks.” In my frustration, I unintentionally gave him exactly what he wanted—the name of the woman he had planned this date for. I could see it in the flash in his eyes, which only served to make my blood boil. I lashed out with, “You literally don’t care about anything.”
He jerked back as if I’d slapped him. “I do care, and if you’d been paying attention to anything other than this precious little Contention of yours, you might have noticed.”
My chest rose and fell rapidly, my heart racing, though I couldn’t be sure if it was from anger or what he was hinting at.Don’t be stupid, I told myself.He doesn’t mean you.
I stood up straight and crossed my arms, lifting my chin and staring down my nose at him. “Looks like you have a date to get to, Garrett. Tick tock.”
He huffed out a breath, his eyes narrowed and jaw ticking, but he didn’t say anything else as he shook his head and turned, stalking out of my office and slamming the door behind him.
I sank into my chair, my breathing shallow and skin burning. I’d never seen him so worked up before—at least not about something that didn’t have to do with the pack and his job. I had to admit that it was kind of hot.
He’d been so soft and gentle both times he’d kissed me, but now, I could imagine just how passionate he might be under the right circumstances, and I liked it way more than I should have.
“Damn it,” I said to the empty office, running a hand over my face. It was warm to the touch, and I tried my best to banish the image of Garrett in the throes of passion, his eyes blazing like they had just now—only with desire instead of anger.
“Pull it together,” I muttered, trying to get back to work, but it was a lost cause. Maybe a cold shower was in order.
I went to my suite, but no sooner had I arrived when a knock sounded on the door. My breath caught, and I had the irrational thought that maybe it was Garrett. But when I opened the door, one of my assistants stood there.
“Oh, hey, Amber. Can I help you?”
“Garrett sent me to tell you that he has a romantic dinner planned on the northern rooftop. He wanted me to be sure you knew that he’d decided on a dinner by moonlight and candles.”
I barely caught myself before rolling my eyes. Why did he feel the need to give me those details? I sighed. “I suppose I should go make sure he has everything he needs.”
He’d been right. I couldn’t leave it alone. I wanted everything to go well for him, even if I also wanted to strangle him at the moment.
I quickly changed into tailored, cream-colored wide-leg pants, a matching cropped top, and a sleeveless cable-knit sweater. Then, I brushed my hair, and touched up my mascara before heading up the stairwell that led to the roof.
Not many people ever came up here. Had Garrett planned it that way so he and Reagan could have privacy? The thought made my chest uncomfortably tight. When I opened the door onto the roof, I sucked in a breath. It looked beautiful.
The moon was nearly full, casting silvery light down onto the white tablecloth decorated simply with pillar candles. All along the rooftop, tiny votives flickered, the candlelight giving the space a magical, otherworldly feel.
Garrett turned, and I had to take a steadying breath at the sight of him. Still, my knees felt a little weak. He was wearing black dress pants and a white shirt he’d left open at the collar. His sleeves were rolled up like before. His golden waves were combed back from his head, and his jawline seemed even sharper than usual. His eyes were shadowed in the semi-dark, but I could practically feel them roving over me.
He walked toward me in silence, stopping a foot away. “Does my work meet your impossible standards?” The corner of his mouth tipped upward, but there was no humor in the smile.
“I was just coming to see if you needed anything,” I managed to say.
His gaze sharpened, his eyes boring into me, and the air between us shifted, electrified. I was afraid to move, afraid anything I did would shatter the moment, even though my anger simmered right beneath the surface. From the look on his face, so did his.
“I think I’ve got it covered. Looks like I give a fuck after all.”
“Garrett…” The urge to reach out and touch him, to make this tension between us go away so we could get back to the easy friendship we’d developed, was strong. I couldn’t do that, though. It was probably for the best that this barrier had been erected.
He cocked his head to one side. “Yes?”
