Page 94 of Not In The Contract

Devon smiled at me.

My heart lurched and I wanted to kiss her senseless.

I was so far gone.

31. Brunch With Some Zest

Devon

“I’msorry.”Iblinked,slack jawed. “Could you repeat that?”

Alex grinned, her fingers barely slowing in their mad dash across her keyboard.

“I asked if you’d like to accompany me to brunch this morning,” she repeated and I nodded vacantly. “Did you get that?”

“Hm?” I hummed. “Oh, yeah I got that. I thought that you’d asked the wrong person, is all.”

With a quiet chuckle, Alex turned to face me, her eyes drifting to Katya who stood behind me.

“Why would I ask anyone else?” she asked. “Katya has already met them and prefers going to lunch with your friend. My friends have been pestering me about you, and you’ve told me you’d like to meet them.”

“Yeah, but I mean—today issupershort notice, isn’t it?” I chuckled nervously, throwing a half-pleading glance behind me at Katya.

She smiled. “It’s been a while since you’ve met with your friends,” she said to Alex, her eyes flitting to mine briefly. “It’d be nice for you to meet them as well.”

I nodded, anxiety curling in my gut. Katya smiled and excused herself, leaving me alone with Alex.

“Devon, if you’d rather not, I understand,” she said gently, and the queasiness subsided. “We can always do it some other time, or not at all. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

“Well, how am I supposed to say no when you say it like that?” I pouted.

Alex frowned and got to her feet, walking around her desk and sitting on the very edge in front of me. She leaned forward and held my face in one hand, her thumb on my left cheek and her other fingers on my right cheek.

“Like this,” she murmured, gently prying my jaw open to mime the wordno. “See? I don’t want you to feel out of place or uncomfortable. If you want to take a rain check, we can do that, too.”

My face burned at her proximity, and instead of considering her offer, my brain fell into the gutter. I wanted her to kiss me, and I was certain she knew it. She could probably tell from the erratic thrum of my pulse.

“Devon?” she called, releasing me and leaning away.

I gulped in a breath, wondering how long it would take for my body to get used to the wild reaction I had to her.

“Yeah,” I murmured.

“Maybe we should reschedule,” she decided, a fond smile pulling at one corner of her mouth.

“No!” I said. “No, I’d love to meet them. I think I was just caught off guard.”

“Are you sure?” she pressed, and I nodded, my hands squeezed between my thighs to keep from fidgeting. “Okay, then let’s get going.”

“We’re a little late,” Alex warned as we stepped out of the car.

“Sorry.” I winced, but she waved me off. “Wait, are you sure I’m not under-dressed?”

“You’re meeting my friends, not the president, sweetheart.” She giggled, gently pulling my fingers away from the hem of my sweater.

My heart leapt into my throat and silenced anything I might have said. Consciously, I was too busy obsessing over the seemingly innocuous nickname she’d used.

Fuck, was I already blushing?