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And here I was, thinking about himagain.
Leaning back in my chair, I rubbed my temples to ease the brutal ache pulsing at my temples.
“Focus, Siegler. You’ve got work to do.”
A smooth bell tone sounded as the door opened.
Opening my eyes, I straightened and fixed a smile in place.
It wobbled, then faded as the man came inside, a hesitant smile on his handsome face.
“Hello, Tina.”
Leaning back in my chair, I tapped the pen I’d been holding on the arm of my chair. “Cecil.”
My voice was ice cold.
He stood in the door, looking uneasy and nervous.
He didn’t say a word. After thirty seconds of silence, I finally asked, “What are you doing here?”
Cecil’s handsome face folded into a pained frown. “Ouch. I deserve nothing better, though. I’ve been a total ass to you, haven’t I?”
My reply was to raise my brow.
“Yeah.” He blew out a slow breath and lowered his gaze. His gaze landed on mine again and he held up something I hadn’t noticed—a cardboard drink carrier boasting two coffee cups. He gestured with it as if making a peace offering.
Greed unfurled inside me.
It must have shown on my face, because a hint of humor appeared in Cecil’s eyes. “I thought maybe you could spare me a minute or two if I brought the appropriate bribe. And caffeine in the morning has never been a miss with you.”
“True.” I held out a hand.
He placed the carrier on my desk and removed a cup. After checking the markings on the side, he passed it over. “There you go…three creams, two sugars.”
He remembered. That wasn’t a major surprise. Important dates and that kind of thing. He was good at keeping track of them. On our six-month anniversary, he took me to the restaurant where we had our first date. Romance was never an issue for him.
“Mind if I sit?”
I tipped the paper cup to my lips, relishing the first taste and gestured for him to have a seat, then said, “Go ahead.”
Cecil settled in the chair, hitching up his trousers, then crossing his right ankle over his left knee. He sipped his coffee; his posture relaxed. His eyes were partially veiled by thick lashes. “Hmmm…excellent coffee.”
I couldn’t argue. I took another hit of the life-giving brew, the caffeine already rushing through my veins. I didn’tquitefeel human yet, but there was a hint of relief in sight now. “Thanks for this. I keep forgetting to buy more coffee for the office.”
“No problem.” He offered a half-smile. “Consider it an apology, of sorts.”
“An apology for…?”
Cecil’s gaze fell away. “Well, there’s a lot of shit I need to apologize for. Things between us didn’t end well, did they?” He shot a quick glance my way before returning to ponder his coffee. But he didn’t give me a chance to reply before he continued. “I’m sorry for that. But…specifically, I was talking about how I dropped in on you unannounced the other day. That was a crap thing to do, especially with how we ended. I’m sorry.”
The apology caught me off guard.
“Thanks,” I said, settling on the simplest way to handle it because I wasn’t entirely surewhyhe was here. I pinned him with a direct look and asked, “So, whydidyou come over? And why are you here now…other than to apologize? And bring me coffee, of course.”
He smiled ruefully. “I left the company. Didn’t like the direction they’ve been moving in for the past six months, So I decided it was time for a clean break.”
“And you thought the best place to start over was in Houston?” Dubious, I studied him.