Page 12 of Love.V2 (Occupational Hazards #2)

It had been easy to keep my emotional distance at work.

I was so preoccupied with the feelings and confusion of having him around, I hadn’t realized how much I still wanted Dylan physically.

Him staring at me in the mirrors, amidst the exertion and sweat and my pumping heart, sparked an intense heat that worked its way through my bloodstream, along with a good dose of pheromones .

We’d spent the entire class eyeing each other and pretending not to. I’d nearly dropped a kettlebell on my foot.

“She okay?” Dylan asked, leaning against a sleek black car I’d never seen before. Soft cotton clung to his biceps, plastered to his abs. I wasn’t the only one who’d been working out while we’d been apart.

This doesn’t change anything, I reminded myself. I’d always been attracted to Dylan. It was nothing new. A little more of my resolve crumbled. Or maybe melted was a better word.

I tore my eyes away from a bead of sweat working its way down his neck to look at Lainey’s car as it drove away. “She’s going through a tough breakup right now. Her ex-boyfriend did something pretty crappy, but for the right reasons. I think she’s still on the fence about what to do.”

“Well, you’re an expert on exes doing shitty shit.” I didn’t return his self-deprecating smile. “I don’t know the whole story, but I think she should give him another chance.”

And just like that, we were in risky territory. We weren’t talking about Lainey anymore. Gravel crunched as I shifted my weight under his heavy gaze.

“Dylan…” This wasn’t a good time to talk about us. Not when I wanted to ask him very politely to please take his shirt off.

“I know. But I need you to understand, even if you don’t want to talk to me after this project, even if you need more time, I’ll be here waiting. Call me in a year, Tess, ten years, I’ll say yes.”

A sigh gusted from my lips. I watched as a few cars backed out of their spots and drove away.

“Ten years is a long time to wait around for a conversation,” I argued.

He was being ridiculous and hyperbolic, and I was feeling all hot and steamy.

I needed to go home and take a lukewarm shower and try to think about anything other than him.

He ducked his head to catch my eye again.

“Ten? Fifty? Tell me there’s a chance, no matter how small, and I’ll be waiting by my phone.” His sincerity seared the sensitive, ragged parts of my heart that had once belonged to him. My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I wanted to say yes almost as much as I was terrified to say yes.

Growing up, creating defense mechanisms was a matter of life and death.

I instinctively shied away from the things that hurt me, getting quiet and small, waiting for it to blow over.

Just leave , a voice inside me urged, turn around and escape the pain he’s caused you this week and all the weeks before.

I’d already tried that once, though, and it had just delayed what felt now like an inevitable reckoning.

I was quiet for a few beats too long. Dylan’s shoulders fell.

“You still haven’t told me you’re over me, and it’s the single shred of hope I’ve been holding onto.

” He took a breath, looking up at the sky.

“But if you’re truly done, I’ll get out of your hair and you won’t have to deal with this, with me, again. ”

“That’ll be pretty difficult when you’re my boss.

” It was another sticking point I’d tried not to think too much about.

If I was spinning out with him being around for only a few days, what would happen when we were together every day for the foreseeable future?

Being around him all the time, watching him date and get on with his life, would be more than I could bear.

There was a reason I’d moved so far away.

If Dylan wasn’t living his life with me, then I didn’t want to see it. I’d have to leave .

His gaze collided with mine again. Everything got more serious.

“Not if you don’t want me to. I told you.

Say the word and I’ll leave this city. The company.

All of it.” He clutched at his chest like he was in pain.

Something painful echoed in me, too. “You are always a yes for me, Tess. Always. I know I haven’t done a good job of showing you that in the past. As much as I hate the thought of living without you, I can’t stand the thought of hurting you even more than I already have. ”

I stared at him as if I’d never seen him before; his declaration more impactful than the coffees and food and everything else from the last week.

The Dylan from before would have done anything to keep his job, to get to the next promotion or bonus check.

Had he really been serious about giving up his role at Jinx?

Maybe even his job at Worther? It didn’t quite compute, but the look on his face told me he meant every word.

“How do I know this will last? What if we get back together and after a while it just goes back to the way it was?” Faced with his sincerity, my own deepest fear came bubbling out to the surface.

The real reason I hadn’t given him an answer yet.

Because I couldn’t get hurt again. I’d barely survived the first time.

“Give me some time, Tess.” Dylan lifted his hands between us, pleading. “We’re taking a few months to see if I’m a good fit at Jinx. Let me show you I’m still a good fit for you. A few months to prove I can do this, then if you’re still not convinced…”

His hands fell back to his sides. He didn’t need to speak the rest. If I still had doubts, he’d go back to Nashville and stay as far away from me as possible .

I tried to imagine going back to my life the way it had been before he showed up in Chicago. Driving to the office, returning to my shoebox apartment. Going to the gym. Instead, my brain just kept serving me memories.

Thoughts of us from years ago—dancing in the kitchen, getting tipsy and making love on the couch, holding each other under the covers as rain tapped on the bedroom window—melded with the present.

I could see us in Chicago, holding hands on the Riverwalk.

Exploring the galleries and public art installations.

Going to Jinx together in the morning and coming home to cook dinner.

The memories and maybes clashed until my heart didn’t know which was reality.

But it lifted at the thought of trying again.

I had been so alone before I met him, and lonely ever since I’d left.

I missed him, and the feeling that there was someone in the world who knew me better than anyone else and still chose me.

“Okay.”

My answer was a whisper, a scrap of fluttering gossamer hope, swirling in the air around us.

“Yes?” He sounded desperate, eyes wild.

“Yes.” I nodded, cautious even when my heart beat so hard it felt like it would fly right out of my chest. “After this project is over, let’s talk. Let’s…see what happens.”

He shuddered a breath, and his hands lifted again as if he wanted to hold me, but he stopped short, raking them through his hair instead. “Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Tess. ”

My name sounded like a prayer in his mouth. It echoed the same, urgent rhythm now flooding my veins, every beat of my racing heart pounding out his name. Dyl-an. Dyl-an. Dyl-an.

It raced faster, and I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or anticipation. Or both.