by Liz Bower
Alex slipped his glasses back on and pulled out a folder from his tray. “Why don’t you go get the documentation you have and we can go through it together.”
As I left Alex’s office to grab the file, I kept my gaze lowered, not wanting to see the curious faces. Hurrying back to his office, I was grateful to spend the rest of the day there, away from the gossip and the questioning looks.
***
When I got home that day, I was exhausted. Most of the day had been spent working with Alex, and it was intense. Thankfully it had kept my mind off Marco and given me no more time to wonder if us sleeping together was a mistake. But the panic that had shot through me when I thought Gabi was going to find us wasn’t a good sign. And I hated keeping things from her.
I closed the front door behind me and wandered into the living room, my gaze automatically drawn to the sofa. When I saw that it was empty, I felt ridiculous at the disappointment of Marco not being there waiting for me. But then, I was distracted by Gabi coming down the stairs.
“Hi. Have you got any plans for tonight?”
With a shake of my head, I glanced back towards the sofa. What I thought might be my after-work plan was nowhere to be seen.
Gabi crossed the room and linked my arm through hers.
“How do you feel about a girls’ night out? It’s been ages since it’s just been the two of us. Marco is always hanging around nowadays.”
It sounded better than waiting and wondering where Marco was. Or, if he did show up, how awkward it might be. We couldn’t talk about what had happened with Gabi around. “Sure, sounds great.”
“Yay! Go get ready,” Gabi said, pushing me towards the stairs.
As I climbed the stairs, I heard Marco arrive home. I wasn’t sure how things stood between us, but at least girls’ night would be a distraction from thinking about it.
Forty-five minutes later, I was ready, and Gabi was impatiently waiting for me.
“About bloody time. But wow, you’re going to be fighting the boys off tonight.”
I had gone a bit overboard, but I wanted to look good. For myself, no other reason. I had my killer heels on with a pair of faded jeans that hugged my thighs and butt. A scarlet corset-style top made my boobs look bigger than they actually were. My hair was loose and straight. I’d gone heavy on the eye make-up too, which was unusual for me.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Marco’s scowl at Gabi’s words. A little thrill ran through me at his reaction, but I just shrugged. “Girls’ night, remember? No boys.”
His scowl disappeared, only to appear on Gabi’s face. “What if they want to buy us drinks?”
“Gabi. It’s girls’ night. That means just us, okay?”
She raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Let’s go. Don’t wait up, bro.”
“Just don’t wake me up when you both stagger back in drunk. Or maybe I’ll just take your bed, Gabi. You probably won’t make it upstairs anyway.”
“Don’t you dare,” she said over her shoulder, then slammed the door behind us.
***
As Gabi made her way back to the bar, I watched her stumble and thought maybe this should be our last drink. Looking around the bar, I realised how busy it had become. I leaned out of the booth to get a better view and saw a man quickly turn and walk away. As I stared after him, I could have sworn it was Dan. It might’ve been, since I didn’t even know if he lived in Gartdale or not. Didn’t know that much about him at all.
“What you doing?” Gabi asked as she sloshed our drinks across the table.
“Nothing. I thought I saw Dan, that’s all.”
“You haven’t mentioned him in a while. I didn’t think you were interested in him anymore.”
I wasn’t sure what I felt about Dan anymore. As far as he knew, I was in a relationship. I still found him attractive, but seriously doubted anything was going to happen between us. And then there was Marco … “No, I’m not. So I guess it doesn’t matter if it was him or not.”
“Exactly,” Gabi said, raising her glass to toast. “To the end of a shitty week. To being single and—ooh, don’t look now but that guy at the bar is eyeing you up.”
“Good toast. One of your best, I think,” I said before giving in to my laughter. “Seriously though, Gabi, don’t encourage him. And I—”
“You’ve met someone else, haven’t you!”
“Not really.” Technically I hadn’t met Marco because I’d already known him. I wasn’t sure how much to tell Gabi. “Well, we kissed.” And then some, but I didn’t think she would want to hear that. I had no idea how she was going to take this, but I couldn’t keep the fact that I’d kissed her brother from her any longer. There was always the chance if she took it badly that she wouldn’t remember in the morning anyway.
“Oh my God, who? Who is it?” Gabi bounced up and down on the bench seat like a dog waiting for a ball to be thrown.
“Marco.”
Gabi’s eyes widened as she stared at me, and the noise of the bar became deafening.
“What, my Marco? Well, not my Marco. You know what I mean.”
“Yes, your brother.”
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I can’t believe it.”
I thought that was Gabi taking the news well, but I never knew sometimes. She giggled and took another slurp of her drink. Definitely the last one for her.
Gabi slipped down on the seat, leaned in towards me and then looked behind her. As we were sat in a booth, the only thing she would have seen was the back cushion, so I wasn’t sure what she was looking for.
“Sshhh,” Gabi slurred. She lifted a finger, missed her mouth and ended up smacking it against her nose. “I never told you this, but I think he likes you. Oh my God. When you get married, we’ll be sisters-in-law. How cool would that be?”
“Okay, calm down, Gabi. It was … one kiss. You’re getting way ahead of yourself.” I took a long sip of my own drink, trying to get my head around what Gabi meant by Marco liking me. Gabi might’ve been drunk, but I still believed she was telling me the truth.
“But you like him, right?”
I must have hesitated for too long because Gabi leaned away from my shoulder to push herself up into my face.
“Don’t hurt him, Jo. He had enough shit to deal with from Lily. If you’re not sure, if you don’t like him like that, then don’t mess him around.”
And that was why I’d been worried about telling her the truth. If it had been anyone except Marco, she’d have been telling me not to get hurt. “It was just a kiss, Gabi.” Well, it wasn’t, but she didn’t need to know that right then.
She squinted one eye shut at me as the other widened. I thought she was trying to raise an eyebrow at my words in warning, but she looked comical, and I couldn’t help laughing.
“It’s not funny, Jo. What if it wasn’t just a kiss to Marco? Did you think of that?”
I stopped laughing at the idea of Marco really being interested in me—as in for more than just a quick fumble on the sofa—but I shook my head. Unless Gabi knew something I didn’t?
She slumped back against the cushion of the booth and took another sip of her drink.
“Just talk to him, Jo. Be honest with him. After Lily, the least he deserves is honesty.”
I stared into the bottom of my glass as though the answers might be floating around in there. “I will,” I said. “I will.”
The noise of the bar surrounded us as we fell silent, the murmur of nearby conversations, the clinking of glasses, and chairs scraping across the wooden floors. The smell of alcohol and too many sweaty bodies crammed together was overwhelming. I didn’t want to talk about me any longer. Or Marco.
Turning to Gabi, I asked, “So how’s work going?” I had thought that would be a safe topic, but she let out a groan. “Did something happen?”
Gabi slid her gaze over to me, then briefly closed her eyes. “I kissed Scott.”
What? When? She’d kept that quiet. I pulled my knee up onto the be
nch seat, twisting so I could look at her. “As in Scott from the office?”
Gabi nodded.
“And?”
She let out a snort. “And nothing. When I tried to talk to him about it at work, he shushed me and then glanced around the office like I had just confessed to plagiarism. He told me to forget about it, that we had both been drunk, and then he stalked off.”
I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. “I’m sorry. I know how much you liked him.”
Gabi shrugged. “Obviously more than he likes me. I thought he was different, you know?”
I nodded but couldn’t help thinking of Marco. Was he different? The Marco I had come to know recently was definitely different from the Marco I thought I’d known. But how different? I was still having trouble believing he might be interested in me.
And I didn’t know how I felt about that.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
He stood at the vending machine and tried not to look over to her desk, but it was like trying not to breathe. But then he regretted it because Alex was with her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders as she stared up at him. He clenched his fist instead of smashing it into the wall like he wanted to do. The sight of Alex’s hands on her made his flesh crawl. Made him want to drag Alex off her and take her away from everyone so he could keep her safe.
Amy’s fingers curled around his forearm, but he shook her off. As he dragged his gaze from Alex, he saw Amy’s lips twist as her hand dropped away, but he didn’t care. He glanced back to Alex just in time to see him drop his arm from around her shoulders. But instead of relief, anger flared as Alex’s hand brushed down her back so he could lead her towards his office.
“Do you have any plans for the weekend?” Amy asked. He grabbed his coffee from the machine and strode away from Amy and the others milling around waiting for their drinks. At the bottom of the stairs, he paused with one foot resting on the first step. Alex’s blinds were closed, shutting out whatever they were doing in there. He leaned a hip against the handrail and raked his free hand through his hair.
He had thought if he made her happy, gave her what she wanted, that she would look at him differently. Look at him the way she used to. But she didn’t seem happy, even with Carol out of the office. And he’d done that for her. She’d said Carol was causing problems that she was having to deal with. It had seemed simple—get rid of Carol, and that would make her happy.
But she never did what he expected anymore. It was like he didn’t know her, or she’d changed so much over the years that she wasn’t the same person.
He hadn’t expected the police to show up though. The threats made weren’t about anyone in the office, and he didn’t think Carol would even take it seriously. But he hadn’t seen her around the office for a while.
Maybe if I told her what I did—that I did it for her—she might realise how I feel about her. She might realise how she really feels about me.
He would give her the world if she would only let him.
But instead, she had turned to Alex.
Slowly he climbed the stairs, each step taking him farther away from where she was hiding away with Alex. Each step made his fists clench a little tighter, until his nails were digging into the flesh of his palms. Carol being out of the picture wasn’t supposed to drive her into Alex’s arms. Alex was a married man, for fuck’s sake. And what about her boyfriend? He’d seen her with him the other day, the pretty boy.
He sank into his chair and set the coffee down on his desk, burying his hands in his hair, elbows propped up on the desktop. He lifted his head to stare across the office blankly.
Maybe it wasn’t Carol who was the problem. Maybe it was Alex who needed reminding that he had a wife. Yes, Alex needed to know the score, and he would gladly be the one to tell him.
Then he needed to find a way to get rid of the boyfriend. Pretty boy clearly didn’t care about her. If the guy did, she would be happy, and then he wouldn’t need to do these things for her. He knew he could make her happy. Had done before.
Decision made, the tightness in his chest eased and he swivelled his chair towards the computer. He woke the screen and pulled up the testing log sheet for the latest software release they were working on.
The last thought he had before losing himself in work was that Alex needed to be taught to keep his hands to himself.
Especially when it came to her.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I woke with a groan, shutting my eyes against the sunlight pouring through the curtains. My head throbbed as I rolled over and a rush of blood pulsed through my ears. I hoped Gabi felt ten times worse than I did because I blamed her for buying the last round of drinks.
Our conversation from the previous night played through my head, and I let out a loud sigh. What was I going to do about Marco? We needed to talk, but I needed to get rid of the hangover first.
After paracetamol and two cups of strong coffee, I was feeling a little more human. The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Where is everyone?
I found Marco sprawled out on the sofa, one arm hanging off the side, and wondered how I hadn’t noticed him when I’d walked by him into the kitchen. The sheets were pooled at his waist, revealing the dark hair smattered across his chest. He had his head buried in a pillow, and his messy hair obscured his face. He let out a soft snore and the word ‘adorable’ sprang to mind. I had the urge to lay my head on his chest and snuggle into his side.
With a sigh, I pushed my hair behind my ears. Was Gabi right? Could Marco be interested in something more? With me?
Ever since he’d moved in, he had been different. Nice, attentive even. And there was no denying the attraction between us. I’d even grown to trust him.
Marco rolled over towards me, so I dashed back into the kitchen. Probably not a good idea to be caught ogling him while he was asleep. That was just a bit creepy.
A full English was needed, I decided, pulling out bacon and eggs from the fridge. I was just scrambling the eggs when I heard movement behind me.
“God, that smells good. Please tell me you made enough for me?”
I glanced over my shoulder to be greeted by Marco in nothing except his boxers. I’d seen it all before, but for some reason, I blushed at the sight that morning. So I turned back to the eggs and said, “Yep. Grab a seat. It’ll be ready soon.”
I leaned over the table to place his food in front of him, and his gaze dropped from my chest to the plate.
“So, how was your night out with Gabi?”
I let my hair fall across my face as I dropped my chin to my chest and a blush spread over my cheeks. “Gabi got drunk.” I heard the clunk of cutlery against the table as Marco adjusted his knife.
As I turned away, he said, “And what about you?”
I busied myself plating up my own breakfast, then took a seat across from him. “Yeah, I had a few too many as well.” I glanced up, straight into his intense gaze and the hard set of his jaw.
“Is that all you did?”
Thankfully Gabi stumbled into the kitchen at that moment, and I nodded in answer to Marco. “Your breakfast’s keeping warm in the oven and the paracetamol are already out.”
She let out a groan as she poured herself a coffee. “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver. And I’m never drinking again.”
I swallowed my mouthful of bacon and snorted. “Yeah, you say that every time.”
She grabbed her plate from the oven and joined us at the dining table with a not-so-subtle look from me to Marco. God, please don’t let her say anything about last night. I dropped my head down over my plate and ate as quickly as I could.
“I take it you had a good night, then, Gabi?”
“Mmhmm,” she mumbled around a mouthful of breakfast. “It’s a shame it was girls’ night because Jo definitely had an admirer at the bar.”
I glared at Gabi open-mouthed. What was she playing at? Marco was focused on the table when I glanced his way, but his knuckles were white from the grip he had on his knife
and fork. Gabi smiled sweetly at me and I shook my head. As I rose from the table, my chair scraped loudly across the kitchen floor. “I’m gonna go jump in the shower.”
With that, I left the kitchen without a backwards glance. That wasn’t embarrassing in the slightest. I could hear the murmur of their voices as I ran up the stairs and wondered what was being said.
In my bedroom, I sat on the rumpled covers and drew my knees up to my chin. A knock on the door startled me and I rose to answer it.
“Can I come in?”
I stepped back and pulled the door open farther with me. He glanced around my room, and I leaned against the door to close it, my hands splayed against the cool wood, anchoring me. He turned full circle until he was facing me again, his pale eyes twinkling, and I wondered if I was in on the joke or not.
His chest was still bare, and I couldn’t stop myself from staring at his muscles. As my gaze drifted to the waistband of his boxers, my brain finally engaged. I flicked my eyes back to his and held them.
“Gabi said she was just trying to wind me up because apparently, I need to make it clear how I feel about you.”
I stared at him as my heart kicked up a gear, waiting for him to make it clear.
“Talk to me, Jo.”
“You know this would be much easier to discuss if you actually put some clothes on,” I said as I glanced over at him.
He tried to suppress his smile. “Is my body distracting you?”
“Don’t be an arse.”
“I’m not. I’ll even admit that the fact that I can see your nipples through that top is highly distracting.”
I gasped and crossed my arms over my chest, noticing he couldn’t help but smile that time. He stepped closer, pressing me back against the door.
“I wasn’t complaining about the distraction,” he murmured against my throat.
Slowly he kissed his way up my throat, across my jaw, and to the side of my mouth. When he flicked his tongue across my lips, I parted them on a sigh. His tongue met mine, and I felt him harden against my hip. He freed his hand from my hair and traced along my collarbone, slowly making his way south to the distraction that had started this.
