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He nods, moving in closer to me, his eyes on mine. Fire burns through my body, and I’m a ball of exposed nerves.
He’s close, his head tipped down to mine. I put my face next to his ear and say, “Not on your life. I’ve only just begun.” Then I kiss him on the cheek and slide into the driver’s seat of my van.
His lips curve in a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Fine. Game on, Paige.”
“I still hate you,” I call with a grin.
“I still hate you more,” he says. He steps back to the curb and watches as I pull away, his hands tucked into his pockets. The top few buttons of his shirt are unbuttoned, and his sleeves are rolled up over his delicious forearms. Damn, he looks so good. And he smells good, too. I wanted to bury my nose in his neck and snuggle him. But that would be wildly inappropriate. Right?
I drive away, watching him watch me in my rearview mirror before he heads to his Jeep.
Preston Steele might be a good guy after all, but no matter how good he is, I’m not sure I’ll ever be the one for him. I’m starting to question love just like he does.
11. preston
I Don’t Want to Know
“Paige!What’s going on with the copy machine?” I’ve been trying to figure out where the paper clip is stuck in this stupid machine for twenty minutes now. Every document I print has a paper clip imprinted on it. Ugh. I don’t have time for this. I need to leave for a meeting soon.
Paige comes down the hall with a stoic expression on her face, but I can tell she’s trying not to laugh.
“What? What did you do?” I finally bite out. “I know you did something.”
“I did nothing.” She arches an eyebrow at me. “But I’ll try to fix it. What else did you need?”
Abandoning the copy machine, I head back to my desk—what I feel like is a safe spot—but she’s following me. Her shampoo reminds me of vanilla and almond and has me under a spell this morning.
I snap back to business mode. “I need you to contact my investigator and have them get me all the information they can on this individual.” I slide a folder over to her.
She nods. “Anything else, boss?” The way the word “boss” pops off her smart-mouthed lips makes me want to kiss her until she begs me to stop. I really wanted to kiss her last night, but I wasn’t sure she wanted me to, so I didn’t. Now it’s all I can do to hold it together when I’m around her. She’s got me feeling things I haven’t felt in a long time. I don’t need this right now, but I can’t stop.
“No, smart-mouth.” I stare at her like I want to eat her for lunch instead of the sandwich I’m going to pick up on the way to my meeting. I think she feels it too, because she turns and walks nervously down the hall to her desk. Now it’s my turn to follow her.
“I’ll be back around three. You got Theo?” I grab a bottle of water out of the mini fridge. I hold it up and check to see whether the seal is broken. It is, so I wink at her and put it back and grab another water from the back. Nice try, Paige.
“Of course I do.” She looks guilty as she leans over to pet Theo, who now lies by her desk. I am no longer his favorite human. Paige is. And honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“I’ll be back.” I look over my shoulder, but she’s already busy at her computer, her bright red hair cascading down her shoulders in waves over her bright green patterned dress. She’s wearing black heels, and she looks like she stepped out of the sixties. It’s totally her. Every day, I look forward to seeing what she’ll say and wear. And I just like being with her. This is getting harder and harder. In more ways than one.
* * *
Exhausted from my meeting, I pull open the door to our office.
“Wait!” I hear from across the street. I turn around to see Paige heading over with two coffees and a small brown paper bag.
I hold the door, and she ducks under my arm. Theo and Pancake scurry along behind her.
“Did you take them into the bakery with you?” I ask in disbelief.
“Of course I did. I can’t just leave them here by themselves.” She looks at me like I’m an idiot.
I stare at her in shock. “And Allie is okay with you bringing a dog and a raccoon into her bakery?”
“Allie makes homemade treats for them,” she says with a grin. “And the town loves them. Theo and Pancake are becoming local celebrities. People are even asking to take pictures with them.”
“So weird,” I mutter.
“Here,” she says, handing me a stack of papers.
