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“It’s good to see you, Kat. I missed—”Oh, Christ, what am I saying?“I missed sharing the treats last week. I was way too full after having a dozen donuts by myself,” I improvised. Swallowing hard, I let go of her and took a step back, trying to put some distance between us.
“I missed…the treats, too.” The pink flush on her cheeks all but ended me. I couldn’t care less about the donuts and the coffee, and she knew.
We stared at each other for a long moment.
“Have a seat. Uhm, did you have a good time with your family?”
She set her bag on the little meeting table by the windows, and launched into a quick summary of her week in the south. Her mother and twin sisters sounded lovely, as did the idea of lounging by the seaside.
“I’ve never been to Brighton before,” I told her while I got the coffees and donuts from my desk.
Kat stared at the setup, then let out a huff. “You got us thermal mugs? Damn it, Roy. I’m going to have to step up my game next time.” She lightly slapped her hand to my forearm.
I inhaled sharply in anticipation of more pain when she came close to the bruises Abbie had left there. Her touch hadn’t hurt me, but muscle memory fucked me over.
Her eyes narrowed on me for a moment. “Did you hurt your arm? Sorry if that—”
“No, it’s fine,” I interrupted, hastily taking a swig of my coffee and promptly burnt my tongue on it. “Shit.” I stood and downed the entire water bottle on my desk in one gulp. “Gonna get us some more.”
I wove my way through the stacks of boxes my team were about to sort into the shelves, grabbed four water bottles from the fridge, and slowly walked back to my office.
Breathe, Roy. It’s Kat.
“All right, let’s get down to business.”
For a moment I thought she was going to press the matter, insisting on talking about what happened.
“Okay, let me show you the mocks first.”
We alternated between bursts of brainstorming like crazy, and times when we were both quietly typing away, and I was shocked when I next checked my watch and saw that three hours had passed.
Kat had abandoned her blazer at some point, I realised when she flung her arms up and stretched with a groan. The way her top tightened over her breasts was instantlymirrored by my stupid-ass cock perking up and filling out against the buttons of my jeans.
“How about a break? We’ve been at this for hours,” I suggested, stealthily dripping my hand under the table to adjust myself, a move desperately needed when the tiniest smirk flitted over her lips.
Oh baby, if I could, we’d be at it for hours, I promise.
“Have a look at this first, okay?” Pushing her laptop screen to face me, she leaned in. The heart note of her perfume had dissipated over time, leaving only the faint trace of vanilla behind to add to her own unique scent that filled my nostrils.
“What am I seeing?”
Damn it.My voice sounded raspy again but I suppressed the urge to clear my throat.No need to draw more attention to it, Roy.
She walked me through the beta version of our shop. “I don’t like it, but I can’t say why. I was hoping you’d help me fix it.”
“I see what you mean.” I wasn’t looking at the screen; my eyes were trained firmly on hers. “Think we’ll need outside feedback here? I can go get the others.”
Kat nodded, then slowly turned her head.
Damn, she caught me staring at her like an idiot.
Tearing my focus away, I jumped to my feet and strode to the door, asking my team to join us.
Get some chaperones in here.
Declan, Hugh, and Neda filed in and settled around my little conference table, leaving the seat beside Kat free for me.
“You explain.” She folded her arms before her chest, her slender fingers coming to rest on the smooth skin stretching over her biceps.
