“You should try the steak strips, Claire.” Jonathan smiled and removed his fingers. “They’re very succulent.”
He IS insane! “I can’t believe you! You are so—I don’t even know what you are! Why would you do that in front of him?”
“Would you prefer if I did it behind him? When he comes back, we can move the table around and try it. Maybe then I won’t have to deal with him eye-fucking you.”
“He was not! He was being extremely polite! Was that the only reason you invited him? So you could further inflate your ego?”
“No, I did that because you lied to me about the directors’ meeting a few weeks ago.” He laughed. “You didn’t think I forgot about that did you?”
I rolled my eyes. “So you’re really not mad about today?”
“Mad? About today? About the guy I told you to get rid of showing up to your office with flowers because he thinks he still has a chance? Or about this same guy kissing you on your lips right in front of me? Which part?”
“I told you it wasn’t—”
“Tell him you’re not interested or I will.” He planted a kiss on my neck and stood up. “I’ll go talk to the chef and see you back at corporate later...Oh and Claire?”
“Yes?”
“I am the jealous type.”
Chapter 12
Claire
“I am the jealous type...” “I am the jealous type...”
I replayed Jonathan’s last words in my head over and over, knowing that if I was sane I would walk away. No, run away. Far away.
I would stop answering his calls and text messages, ignore him in all of our meetings, and act as if we’d never crossed paths. But I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried to resist him, every move he made and every word he said only drew me in deeper.
I’d finally admitted to myself that I liked him. A lot. But I didn’t want to dig myself into a relationship that I knew would never work out for the long term. So, starting this week, I did the only thing I could do to prevent him from getting too close too soon: put a little distance between us.
I went home early on Monday and Tuesday, skipped the directors’ meeting on Wednesday, and on Thursday—after he asked me to meet him in an emergency stairwell, I told him I had a headache.
There was no way I was getting out of our “first real date” tonight though—not that I’d been thinking about canceling it anyway. I’d been looking forward to it all week.
“See you in a few minutes.” Jonathan texted me.
I adjusted my earrings and ran a brush through my hair, checking myself in the mirror. I was wearing my favorite silver strappy heels and a short emerald-green dress that perfectly complemented my eyes. Its soft satin fabric tightly hugged my hips, its V-neckline made my br**sts look a full cup size bigger, and its slimming sleeves fell right below my elbow.
My phone sounded. Jonathan.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Claire. I’m outside your door.”
“I’m coming.” I tossed my phone into my clutch and looked at myself in the mirror one last time before heading downstairs.
You’re just “dating” him, Claire...I know you two agreed to be “exclusive” but it’s not serious and it never will be....You’re just “dating”...
I opened my front door and tried not to gasp once I laid eyes on him. To say that he was “perfect” would be an absolute understatement—an insult. Everything about the way he looked tonight was impeccable, flawless.
He was wearing a tailored black tuxedo and his sleek dark hair was slicked back in smooth waves that I wanted to run my fingers through. His beautiful blue eyes were twinkling against the night, regarding me with glances that made me think he was going to rip my dress off right then and there.
We both lingered in the doorway, staring at one another, not saying a word.
“Are you ready?” He smiled and reached for my hand, leading me down to a waiting limousine. He opened the back door and ushered for me to step inside first.
“We’re ready, Greg.” He hit the button that divided the driver’s section from our section and looked over at me. “Do you honestly expect me to believe that no one at corporate ever asked you out on a date before I did?”
“It’s true...People flirted with me every now and then, but I think the ‘divorcée with two kids’ rumor warded a lot of people off. It’s not like I was the most approachable person either...I wasn’t trying to date anyone.”
“Hmmm...”
“Where are we going?”
“On a date.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m aware that it’s a date. I’m just wondering why I needed to wear a dress and why you’re wearing a tuxedo.”
“You’ll find out.” He moved closer and pressed his lips against mine. “I didn’t see you after work yesterday...”
“I had a headache, remember? I decided to leave early.”
“Are you feeling better now?” He started trailing tender kisses against the base of my neck.
“Yes...” I suppressed a moan. “Much better...”