Page 36 of Inevitable

“You must think I’m so old,” I teased, even though she made me feel young. “First, ‘WAP.’ Now this.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hardly. I just know he’s never been a fan either.”

I nodded, but I didn’t want to talk about Ian, let alone think about him. Because every time I did, I felt like a bad friend. I’d kept my relationship with Sumner professional—well, mostly professional—but my thoughts were a different story altogether.

“Here we are,” I said as we arrived at a bar.

I pulled open the door and followed her inside, guiding her over to an empty table with my hand on her lower back. A waiter served us quickly, and when she wrapped her hand around the stem of the glass, I could easily envision her small fingers wrapped around my cock. Her lips sucking, swallowing me down.

Stop. Just stop.I breathed through my nose.

It was wrong. She was off-limits for so many reasons, it wasn’t even funny. Too bad my body hadn’t gotten the memo. Every time we were in a room together, I was attuned to her. I often knew when she entered a space before turning to confirm it. She had this energy, this presence, that called to me, luring me in like a siren. It was almost too powerful to ignore.

I craved her touch. I wanted to protect her. And I knew I should avoid her, but I wasn’t even sure if I could.

“Wait.” I grabbed her drink, sliding it away from her. “Are you sure you should be drinking?” I was mostly teasing, but still, my concern lingered. It had only been this morning that she’d had a meltdown on our flight, a side effect of the meds she’d taken. Meds that hadn’t been prescribed to her. Topped off with the whiskey I’d convinced her to drink.

She glared at me. “You promised we’d never speak ofthat,” she ground out, “again.”

I had promised never to speak of it, but that didn’t mean I’d stopped thinking of it. Far from it. I’d spent most of the afternoon thinking about that moment on the plane. I’d thought about it during the drive. In the shower.Especiallyin the shower, even though I’d been sure to shut down those thoughts quickly.

If I were a younger man…

“Jonathan.” She stared at me expectantly.

“What?” I shrugged. “I’m not the one who mentioned it.”

She leaned back in her chair. “You alluded to it.”

“So, the drink?” I stared at her pointedly.

“I’m sure the pill is out of my system by now. I’ve felt fine all evening—great, actually.”

“Me too,” I said, a wistful note to my voice. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this light. This carefree.

“So, would you please stop worrying?” She stole the glass back, the liquid sloshing in the process.

“I can’t help worrying about you, Sumner. I always have, and I always will.”

She dipped her head, and I wondered what she was thinking. How she saw me. As a father figure? A family friend? Her annoying and overprotective boss? Something else?

“Anything else you were hoping to do while we were here?” I bumped her shoulder with mine.

“I haven’t given it much thought. I assumed there wouldn’t be much time for sight-seeing.”

“Probably not,” I admitted. Tonight’s plans had been outside the norm. Typically, I’d be catching up on emails, preparing for meetings, checking in with the LA office. But I’d pushed all that aside to be with her. I tried not to dwell on my reasons for doing so. “But if you could go anywhere in New York City, where would you go? Would it be the Bow Bridge or the Staten Island Ferry?” I asked, recalling our conversation from the flight.

“I can’t believe I forgot about The Met.”

“I’ve heard it’s amazing.”

Her jaw dropped. “You’ve never been?”

“Whenever I come to New York, I’m usually too busy working to be a tourist.”

“What about vacations? Do you ever take time off?”

I considered it. Frowned. “Honestly, I’m not sure the last time I took a vacation.”