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This time, reality wasn’t so much a gentle slip as it was a slap in the face.
Every muscle locked as the implications of what just happened crashed over me.
I’d just kissed a client. Not only a client, but someone whose inheritance I was one-fifths in charge of thanks to some stupid fucking will I’d never asked to participate in.
Dread curdled in my gut.
Xavier must’ve picked up on my mood shift because his shoulders tensed to match mine. “Sloane—”
“I have to go.” I grabbed my purse, which had fallen to the ground sometime during our kiss. “We’ll discuss your business plan later.”
I spun around and scrambled out of the library before he had a chance to respond.
The thunder of my pulse followed me all the way downstairs, out the door, and across the grounds to Valhalla’s gated entrance.
I’d just told my friends Xavier wasn’t my type, and then I’d gone and donethat.What the hell was I thinking?
I hadn’t been thinking. That was the problem. I’d let my hormones take the wheel, and they’d driven me straight to Stupidville.
“It’s the dry spell,” I said aloud. Either that, or Isabella had acquired a magical ability to manifest anything she said into reality. Normally, I’d be terrified—she read way too much dinosaur erotica to safely possess such a power—but I would rather deal with that than consider the remaining explanation.
I, Sloane Kensington, was attracted to Xavier Castillo.
No, not just attracted to, butliked. Enough to forget my strict rules about not getting involved with clients. Enough to let him kiss me and to kiss himback.
I groaned and pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes.
I’m so fucked.
CHAPTER19
Xavier
Kissing Sloane had been a mistake. Not because I regretted doing it, but because once I did it, I couldn’t imaginenotdoing it again.
It’d been a week since the library, and I still couldn’t get her out of my mind. The warmth of her skin, the softness of her lips, the way her curves fit against my body like they were made for me. She’d smelled like fresh snow and lavender and tasted like heaven, and I couldn’t even pass by a damn bakery without remembering how sweet her mouth had been against mine.
I had a ton of important business meetings lined up over the next two weeks, but our kiss had taken my focus hostage.
The physical attraction had been there since we met, but besides lighthearted flirting, I never made a move before Valhalla. I told myself I didn’t want to complicate our relationship or fuck up the terms of my allowance, when in reality, a part of me suspected that giving in to that attraction would spell the end for me.
Then we’d started working together and I’d discovered the layers beneath her rigid exterior. The intelligence. The conviction. The fierce loyalty to those she cared about. And I no longer suspected butknew, especially after that kiss, that Sloane Kensington was it. Just like that.
The only problem was I doubted she felt the same way, and even if shedidfeel the same way, her defenses were so locked down she’d never admit it.
“Are you listening to me?” She dragged my thoughts away from their brooding and back to the task at hand.
“Of course.” I flashed an easy smile that was more muscle memory than emotion.
We were at her office in Midtown. It was our first time meeting in person since the library, and Sloane had jumped right into business like our kiss never happened.
I’d expected it, but it prickled nonetheless. “What did I just say?” She crossed her arms.
“I need to get the ball rolling on licenses, location and staffing. I should meet with Dante. I have a preliminary phone interview withMode de Vieabout this new venture, and as a courtesy, the chairwoman of Castillo Group’s board has sent me a shortlist of CEO candidates.” A genuine grin peeked out at her frown. “Do I get a gold medal?”
“For doing the bare minimum? No.” She tapped her tablet. “Okay, let’s go over the PR strategy for the grand opening. I realize this may be putting the cart before the horse, but if everything goes smoothly, the event is in six months. People’s calendars are probably already booked, but I’ll make it work. We want a curated group of influencers and tastemakers in attendance, and if you insist on bringing your friends, youneedto get them under control. I don’t want to see Tilly Denman stealing gift bags again.” “Is it really a party if Tilly isn’t her usual kleptomaniac self?”
I yawned, already bored. I would rather bury myself in logistics than publicity. “We’ve been at this for hours. Let’s have lunch.”
