Page 54 of Consumed By You

After a fleeting look of shock at our collision, he smiles. “Miss.”

“Hi, Dimitri. I have—I need—I’m leaving now,” I stutter awkwardly, tripping over myself as I stumble out of the shop. What I didn’t realize right away was that there was a huge possibility he wasn’t alone.

I stare straight into the black limousine, paling when I spot Benjamin through the tinted windows.

Time didn’t change anything. He’s still the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.

He glances my way, double-taking when his eyes lock on mine.

I clutch the dry cleaning bag and hurry away from the vehicle, swerving through the crowds of noisy pedestrians.

“Darcy!” he calls out behind me, but I pick up the pace, sprinting now.

Keep moving, Darcy.Keep moving.

He pulls me to a stop, spinning me around.

He regards me with astonishment, his breath short from running after me.

“Itisyou.”

“Leave me alone.” I turn away from him, but he pulls me right back.

“Stop,” he growls. “Darcy, I need to talk to you. Give me ten minutes.”

I’ve imagined so many times what I would do if I saw him again. It was always between kissing him or hitting him. I’m leaning toward the second option right now.

“Mr. Scott, I’m sorry but I have some place to be.” I emphasize his name, hoping he remembers his insistence on me calling him by his last name. I’m glad to catch the moment when his gaze falters with shame.

“Please,” he says, backing up. “Ten minutes.”

How dare he ask me to do anything for him?

I’m still frozen in place when Benjamin walks up to Dimitri by the car and tells him we are going to the coffee shop across the street.

“Come,” Benjamin murmurs when he gets back to me, pressing a telling hand to my back.

***

I wrap my frozen hands around the coffee cup, staring down into the liquid. Across the table from me, Benjamin hasn’t spoken yet but I can feel his piercing green eyes on me.

When I find the courage to look up at him, I don’t like what I see. His brows are furrowed. He’s assessing me carefully.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

He shrugs. “You look different, that’s all.”

“Is that a bad thing? I happen to like the way I look.” I scowl, feeling extremely defensive.

“No, it’s not a bad thing.”

“Why am I here? What else could we possibly have to talk about?” I press after an awkward minute of silence.

“I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you that day in my office. I feel badly about the way I handled the situation.”

Apologize? He wants to apologize? I let that soak in, realizing I have no desire to fall into another trap of his and then my chair screeches as I rise abruptly.

“All right.”