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I shook myself out of my daze. "Sorry, really. Just have a lot on my mind I guess." I reached across the table to squeeze his hand. Time to snap out of it.
After dinner, we came back to my place. As I poured us some wine, Austin came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Why don't we take this to the bedroom?" he murmured against my skin.
He started nuzzling my neck and turned me around to kiss him. I kissed him back a little more enthusiastically than I usually did.
And I quickly realized it was because I was trying to feel something.
I was trying for a hint of the feelings Dylan had given me years ago. And the feelings that reared up when I saw him at the meeting.
But I felt nothing remotely close. I couldn’t get into it with Austin when I had Dylan on my mind. I pulled away and gently removed his hands from my waist.
"Actually, I should probably get some rest," I said.
Austin's face fell. "What? I didn’t get to see you the whole week."
I avoided his hurt puppydog eyes, feeling guilty. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just been a long day and I'm exhausted. Raincheck?"
Austin folded his arms across his chest.
"Is this because of what I said about your outfit earlier?" he asked.
"No, it has nothing to do with that," I said shortly.
It had actually gotten on my nerves. Dylan would’ve told me I looked hot and spun me around. It was suddenly, painfully obvious, that he wasn’t Dylan.
"I'm just tired, that's all."
Austin's face softened. "Are you feeling ok? Maybe you’re coming down with something.”
“I’m fine, just need some sleep I think.”
“Okay, you must have had a long day. You get your beauty rest." He kissed me again.
I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him softly. "Thanks. I promise to make it up to you this weekend, okay?"
After Austin left, I decided to call it an early night.
I laid in bed ready to sleep when a text buzzed on my phone. It was Dylan suggesting that he show me around Deft Rock later in the week so I could see the place and be better able to help promote it.
A dinner meeting and tour, he called it.
It made sense from a business standpoint. But I knew it was more than that.
I’d have to make sure it was a team meeting and not just the two of us. I quickly set up a formal invite with Beth, Chelsea, and Maddie.
Maddie was my partner in crime at the office. She and I became close after working on our first project together. She was in charge of the visual side of the marketing campaigns. She was brilliant.
I wasn’t looking forward to working on the Deft Rock account with Beth, another manager at the agency.
She was smart and good at what she did, and also my biggest competition. We didn’t always see eye to eye and tried to stay out of each other’s way. Working on a project together was going to make that hard.
We were the same age, twenty-seven, and had the same years of experience. Needless to say, we were both gunning for the upper management position that was opening up in a few months.
This was my chance at getting that promotion. And I wanted it so badly I could taste it. I’d have to stay focused on the job and it was going to be hard with Dylan being the client.
One thing was clear. My feelings for Dylan would have to remain in the past.
