AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He laughs outright, a hand coming down onto his stomach. I pick the knife up and point it at him.
“I’ll remember this when it’s you who…”
“Yes? Finish your sentence,” he goads. “When it’s me who what?” His shit-eating grin grows even wider when I set my jaw and don’t answer. “Yeah, you’re in deep, even I can tell that much off a five minute conversation with you. Have you told her how you feel yet?”
“None of your business. Tell me why she called you.”
“Isn’t it obvious? She wanted me to hire you,” he says, crossing his arms and leaning back against the counter behind him. “I am, by the way, you’re excellent. She was right to send you my way.”
“She arranged this?” I ask, bewildered. I’d been so focused on his admitted interest in her that I hadn’t even processed the other thing he said.
“Yeah. She called and swore up and down that I’d be making a mistake if I didn’t hire you. Wouldn’t get off the phone until I agreed and then swore me to secrecy.” He pauses again. “To be clear, I wouldn’t have agreed to meet you, let alone spent the last few hours here watching you work, if I didn’t actually think you had talent. Your portfolio speaks for itself, that’s why you’re here. She just put it in front of me.”
Warmth fills my chest at the realization. Just as I helped her with her passion, she’s helping with mine.
Sneaky girl.
As much as she likes to pretend she has no feelings involved in this, this little clandestine maneuver proves the contrary.
???
Chapter 35
Nera
Iget out of my car and circle around the back to the boot. I’m bent over it, gathering the items I bought into my arms when someone reaches in from behind me, startling me. I recognize the warm body before I’ve even turned around.
“What’s all this?” Tristan asks, grabbing the items from my arms, the bag from my shoulder and closing the boot with his elbow.
I look around self-consciously as we head towards his apartment. I’m always afraid of being spotted by someone. His place is just off campus but close enough that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that other students would be walking by.
He sets the bags down on his small kitchen table and I start taking things out.
“Are those flowers?” He asks. He places a hand on my waist and leans over, dropping a kiss on my lips. “Also, hi. Missed you today.”
“It’s only been eight hours,” is my answer instead of admitting that I’ve thought about him almost incessantly since I last saw him.
“And I missed you from that first minute.”
My skin heats happily in response. He’s so good with his words.
I take a vase out and walk over to the kitchen sink, filling it with water and starting the flower arrangement.
“I bought a few decorative things. It’s really not much, just a few small pieces to make your place feel a bit more like home.” I turn and show him the finished bouquet. “I hope you don’t mind.”
He peers into the bag and my breath catches in my throat when he pulls out a couple rolled up posters. He unravels them and looks at them quietly.
“Where did you buy these?”
“I, um, I designed them and then got them printed.”
His head snaps to the side to look at me.
“What?”
“Yeah.” After practice, I’d curled up in my chair with my iPad and I’d drawn. Inspiration had flowed and after a few strokes I’d gotten caught up in what I was doing. Before I knew it, I’d created a couple abstract post-modern graphics that I thought would look good on his walls. “If you don’t like them, that’s okay. You don’t have to hang them up or anything, I just wanted to give them to you.”
He wraps his hand around my nape and pulls me into him, curling me up against his side.
