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Thankfully she climbed the staircase with little support, while we hovered behind, waiting to catch her. Once she was safe inside her tiny studio apartment, we tucked her into bed and returned to the car, driving on in silence.
“I like that hat on you,” I said, staring a little longer than I usually let myself. “It’s cute.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but he remained focused on the road. “Cute?”
“Mmmhmm.” Unfortunately, I wanted to rip it off and run my fingers through his hair. Down girl.
“How much have you had to drink tonight?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
I turned my gaze out the window. “Too much. Waaay too much.”
As he parked the car outside my apartment building, he leapt out and opened the door for me.
I chuckled. “You’re such a fucking gentleman,” I said, refusing to take his hand as I jumped from the car onto the sidewalk.
Grayson shadowed me to the entrance. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It is a bad thing,” I muttered, entering the security code into the keypad. It made me want to take him upstairs. “I’m not having sex with you.” Did I just say that out loud?
The door unlocked, but Grayson’s hand slid over mine preventing me from turning the handle. Every hair on my body stood to attention as he lowered his mouth to my ear. “I never mentioned sex.”
I whirled around and peered up into eyes that were entirely too close to mine. My core ached and it pissed me off. “You don’t have to. I just have to look at you and…sex.”
The corner of his mouth rose. “You’re drunk,” he said, running his thumb down my cheek. “I wouldn’t take advantage of you like that.”
I refused to meet his gaze. “What if I wanted you to?”
“Josie, I want you in every non-gentlemanly way, but not like this.”
“Whatever,” I grumbled. “It’s not like I’ll remember tomorrow anyway.”
Grabbing both sides of my hoodie, he drew me closer. “Then I guess this won’t hurt.” He pressed his lips to mine and my mouth parted instantly, wanting more, needing more, but he didn’t comply. “Goodnight, Josie,” he whispered, before dropping his hands. “I’ll see you Monday.”
As he strode back to his car, I blinked away tears before stumbling through the entrance door. Savouring his taste on my lips, I climbed the stairs, wondering if he would wait for my apartment to light up before driving away.
Hesitating over the light switch, I walked into my bedroom and peeked out the window. My heart warmed at the sight of him sitting in his idling car. As his gaze travelled up to my window, I leant down and turned on my bedside lamp. I’m so fucked.
***
23
Once the invitations were sent out, Melanie managed to get word of my exhibition to every newspaper, A-list celebrity, and blogger in New York. We worked through lunch breaks and after hours on every aspect of the event, until every job on Melanie’s extensive list was checked off.
“How’s it going?” Grayson asked, pulling me out of my creative zone.
I’d stayed back to finish some editing, before I headed out for drinks. My show was only a week away. “After this, I’ll only have one piece left to work on.”
“Thanks for including Mel in your exhibition. I haven’t seen her this excited about anything in a long time.”
My eyes darted across the hall into Melanie’s office.
He followed my gaze. “She left early.”
“She’s been an amazing help,” I said, rotating my chair towards him. “She’s definitely not as bad as I thought she was going to be.”
Grayson’s smile was tight. “We all have our demons.”
“How’s she going…with everything?”
