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“Almost from the day that we met.”
I lifted my gaze to his.
“Don’t pretend that we haven’t been attracted from the rip.”
“Oh, I’m sure of that. You’re a handsome man, and I’m not arrogant, but I know that I’m an attractive woman.”
“Beautiful. Gorgeous. Stunning. But it’s not just that. It’s the way your mind works, how you challenge me, and the beauty and endless possibilities that you see in others. That’s what attracts me to you, Giselle.”
I looked up and spotted someone walking in our direction.
“I think we should bring a halt to this conversation.”
“For now, but it’s not over,” he stated.
The man walked up to him and greeted Casimir heartily. Although Casimir introduced the man, I didn’t remember his name after it left Casimir’s lips. The two men talked about something related to the ball, but my thoughts were tied up.
I found myself thinking about all those things that Casimir had mentioned. I knew that I had no right to even fantasize about them, but how attractive and how enticing the most mundane things sounded when he described him. I wanted him to see me do all those things too. I also wanted to see him with his shirt off, sweat coating his body, and his muscles rippling underneath the noonday sun as he cut the grass. And then smell his musky scent when he walked into the kitchen to get a glass of iced tea after he’d finished the job. I wanted to see his Adam’s apple bobbing as he gulped the tea down for refreshment. I wanted to see him lost in thought as he pondered a particularly challenging business dilemma that he needed to resolve.
And that was when I realized that no matter how much I tried to deny him, no matter how far and fast I ran, I would eventually allow him to catch up to me because I wanted him as desperately as he wanted me.
Casimir
“Here’s your order, Mr. Perez,” the florist stated and handed me the large bouquet.
“Thank you, Gayle.”
I accepted the bouquet from her arms and headed out of the tiny shop. Once I secured the flowers in the front seat beside me, I stopped at Soldier’s, picked up my order, and continued my journey.
When I pulled up to the building, I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew that I was taking a risk by doing this, but it was something that I wanted to do. I warned Giselle. So there was no reason that she should be too shocked. I removed the flowers and the food and headed into the building.
I was glad that Imani had left for the day. I’d found that tidbit out by doing a little unintentional stalking. I noticed on a few occasions when Bethany and I had been at the office for a later appointment, Imani would normally be gone by five thirty. On a few other occasions that I had driven by, I would see Giselle’s car outside in the parking lot. I only knew it was her car because one day, she walked out with Bethany and me, and I had seen her get into it.
One day, I jokingly teased Imani that she kept bankers’ hours. She had responded by saying that she was in the door by eight thirty every morning and out by five thirty. She said she was still in school and had a little boy, so she didn’t have time to play around.
I tucked that away for future reference, hoping that it would work in my favor. I assumed that Giselle kept late hours, because she seemed like the workaholic type. I signed in at the guard’s desk before I headed down the hallway and walked past the receptionist’s desk after entering her office.
I tapped lightly at the door and heard her shuffling around inside. I knew that I would catch her off guard because I was certain she wasn’t expecting any patients this late in the evening.
A week had passed since I had seen Giselle at the ball for mental health professionals. I was able to sneak one more dance in with her that night before her friend, Lloyd, pulled her away. I had hoped that she would leave with me that night, but I had no such luck.
I had been dying to see her again. When she pulled the door open, my hunger only grew more. I could see the hesitation in her eyes.
“Oh, I was wondering who was here this late in the evening.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I wasn’t really scared. I know that people have to check in at the security desk and pass through the metal detectors, but I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“I come bearing gifts,” I stated and held the two Soldier’s bags and flowers up for her to see.
She stuck her head out of the door and looked left and right.
“I made sure that I eliminated any witnesses,” I teased.
Giselle smirked at me, tugged my hand to pull me inside, and then closed her door.
“What’s all of this about?”