AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The glow of the evening sun and the soft light filtering down the hallway from Avery’s office are the only thing going on in Jones & Beck tonight. The floor is empty and eerily quiet, so silent I can hear the swift strokes of Avery’s fingers on his keyboard.
Part of me considers turning around and making a run for it down those stairs I was just hating on in my head, but if I can hear him working on his keyboard, that means he definitely heard me and Wyatt. He knows I’m here. Running and hiding seems futile at this point, and I’m wondering if that feeling is indicative of more than just this night together.
So I inch my way down the hallway at a ridiculously slow pace. When I reach his door, my fingers curl over the frame and I peep inside.
Ugh. Fucking ugh.
Those glasses. I swear to God, you think the man can’t possibly get any more attractive, and then he throws on those dark-framed reading glasses and my heart drops right out of my vagina, slithering its way across the hardwood floors to him. Probably not the best visual, but an accurate picture nonetheless.
Avery’s eyes are trained on his computer screen, his fingers—though I can’t see them—flying over the keyboard at a wild pace. How does that impress me? I don’t know, but it does. Fast typer? Apparently that makes me wanna drop my panties. It’s a new one, even for me.
His suit jacket is nowhere to be seen and his crisp white shirt is unbuttoned at the neck, his light blue tie hanging loosely.
“You gonna come in or watch me from the doorway?” he asks without lifting his gaze.
I falter for a moment before I tell him to shut up and stroll into his office, slinging my bag down and collapsing onto the couch, crossing one leg over the other, as well as my arms. I glance up to find him watching me with his stupidly adorable little side smile. I look away and pretend to be interested in his office décor, as if it’s my first time seeing it. It’s not.
My hands glide over the cool leather cushions. I’ve never felt anything so soft in my life. It’s like butter. I bet it was more expensive than my rent.
“Is it satisfactory?”
“Huh?” Our eyes meet, and the air is knocked from lungs. He’s so handsome, it hurts.
Avery inclines his head toward where I’m sitting, brown eyes shining with mirth. “The couch. Is it to your liking? You’re really feeling it up over there.”
“Feels like butter,” I muse, sweeping my hands over it again. “Speaking of butter.” I flop over onto my belly, kicking my heels off and swinging my legs in the air. “Got any popcorn for me?”
His brows rise. “Speaking of butter, got any popcorn?”
“Yeah. Leather, butter, popcorn. You see the connection, don’t you?”
He laughs softly and pulls open a drawer. He looks at it, maybe a little too thoughtfully, one finger tapping on the edge of his desk while he chews his bottom lip, and then closes it. “Nope. Sorry. Fresh out of popcorn.”
I pout, clutching a fluffy throw pillow to my chest, burying my cheek in it. “Any other snacks?”
“None. Did you not eat?” Could he not look at me like that over the rim of his glasses?
I shake my head. “Just a giant iced coffee.” The effects are finally starting to wear off and I’m slowly coming down from my caffeine high. All I can think about is food, which means we need to get this over with so I can go home and devour the Lucky Charms cereal in my pantry. I say it’s for Vivi, but…it’s for me.
“Well, that’s sure to tide your hunger over,” he retorts, tone laced with sarcasm.
Sitting up, I pull my bag onto my lap and pull out my trusty binder, organized to a ridiculously obsessive-compulsive level. Projects at work are the only thing I’m this anal about organizing, and I don’t know why. Maybe it just brings me a sense of calm to be able to control one area of my life without much push-back.
“’Kay. Let’s get to work.” I flip open the cover, running my finger down the color-coded tabs until I land on the bright yellow tab. Yellow for sunshine, sunshine for patio. Everything makes sense in my head.
My mouth opens with a sound of revelation as my head slowly rises. “Purple for patio. That woulda made so much more sense.”
Avery’s quizzical gaze lands on me. “I’m not even gonna ask,” he murmurs, before unplugging his MacBook and sinking down beside me. His arm and thigh brush up against mine with annoying zing that makes my skin sizzle. He flashes me a crooked grin. “Hi.”
“Must you sit this close?” I’m distracted by that tiny dimple in his chin, right underneath the light dusting of scruff on his jaw. My teeth skim my lower lip without my permission.
“I must.”
My brows inch up. “You must?”
He leans forward and brushes his lips against mine. “Must.”
Trying so desperately to smother my smile, I dive right into the work before us. We go over Dex’s hopes for the space and Avery shows me three different plans from the contractor, with three drastically different price points. He also shows me the email from Dex saying to let me choose.
