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“So? Maybe I’m sick of being discreet.”
“So, we’re going to the launch party together, then?” she asked playfully.
My arms dropped to my sides, releasing her.
“Charlie…”
I could see the disappointment in her eyes even though she covered it up quickly with a smile.
“I’m obviously kidding,” she said.
“You know there is nothing I want more than to go with you and be the guy that stands by your side.”
“But alas, we’re destined to sneak longing glances across the room,” she teased.
I could see the hurt underneath her playful demeanor. She understood why we must remain a secret, but it didn’t make it any easier on us. I wished so badly things could be different.
Part of me often wondered why they couldn’t. Why not just take my position on the board and pursue other ventures? God knows this job never brought me real happiness. That hadbecome evident ever since I got together with Charlie. But I still struggled with the idea of relinquishing control.
“It’s going to be hell seeing you all dressed up and not being able to touch you,” I said, instead of the thoughts racing through my mind.
“Well, you’ll be the only one who gets to take my dress off at the end of the night.”
A mischievous grin curled on my lips as I leaned in for another kiss.
Chapter Thirty
CHARLIE
“Can you help with this zipper?”I called.
I had contorted myself into an unnatural position as I tried to get the zipper up on my dark green velvet dress.
Lila hurried into my bedroom, already looking stunning in a flowy gold number.
“Coming,” she said, shuffling over to me and sliding the zipper up.
She stepped away and we both evaluated our reflections in my floor-length closet mirror. “We look hot,” Lila confirmed. “What a waste on a work party.”
“You’re telling me,” I mumbled, not even attempting to squash the bitterness I felt that Nathan wasn’t the one zipping up my dress tonight.
“At least you’ve got someone to impress,” she pointed out.
“It’s not like it matters,” I groaned, flinging myself onto my bed.
“Nathan is going to lose his mind when he sees you in that.”
“I’m sure he’ll be able to control himself as usual,” I said, wincing that I still sounded the slightest bit hostile.
“Are you okay?” Lila asked, coming over and sitting next to me on the bed.
Looking at the ceiling, I tried to process my spinning thoughts. “I’m fine. I didn’t mean to come off as resentful. Things with Nathan have been going great.”
“As great as a secret relationship can be,” she finished.
Her words stung. “It’s not forever. I’m going to tell him about my resignation soon. At least that gives us an end date to the whole secrecy thing.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t told him already.”
