Page 51 of The Grump I Loathe

“Stop staring at me,” she complained.

“I’m not.” I pulled out my phone, sending off an email, still trying to lock down the best distribution deal for LockMill. Knowing she was going out shouldn’t have bothered me this much. I looked up at her, unable to help myself.

“You’re doing it again!” she said. “Knock it off. It’s giving me goosebumps.”

My pulse skipped. How did she know? “I’m not staring at you.”

“You are,” she said. “I can feel it. And don’t roll your eyes.”

That got a smile out of me. She glanced back over her shoulder, her lips quirking as she caught my eye. God, she was beautiful. She turned back around, and I scrubbed a hand over my face. What the hell was I doing? I climbed out of the chair and, like a hook had caught me around the middle, found myself walking into her cubicle.

“This is worse,” she said. “Now you’re hovering.”

“I’m supervising.”

Eddie huffed. “Sure you are. If anyone needs to be supervised, it’s Mr. Cheesers because he’s suckered the whole office into giving him treats, me included. At this rate, we’ll have to put him on a diet before the game launches.”

I could hear the undertone of annoyance, but I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to get closer to her. I’d tried not to think about the kiss.It was reckless, dangerous to Grace and the company, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to regret it either.

And now that we were alone together…now that I was close enough to smell the vanilla in her body lotion…now that there was nothing to stop me from remembering the sugary ice of her lips as I’d held her face to mine…“You spelled that wrong,” I said, pointing out a typo.

Eddie brushed my hand away from her screen. “Yes, thank you, Lord LockMill. That’s what spell check is for.”

“There’s one there, too,” I said, leaning over her shoulder, pointing out another typo with my other hand.

Eddie playfully went to nip at my finger. “Move it or lose it, boss.”

She tipped her head back to look up at me, leaning against my chest. My gaze drifted down the long expanse of neck on display. I wanted to run my hand down it and feel her pulse flicker against my fingers.

Warning bells sounded in my head as tightness coiled in my chest. Eddie made me want to break the rules.

Her sly little smiles. The way she caught her lower lip with her teeth. The spark in her eyes when she forced me to participate in one of herfunideas. I shouldn’t like it as much as I did.

Her eyebrows arched. “Any more unsolicited feedback?”

“Are you sure you want to know?” I murmured, catching a highlighted piece of her hair between my fingers.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Her phone buzzed with an alarm, both of our eyes drawn to it. 6:25 p.m. If she was going to make this date, she had to leave now, and I couldn’t stop her without crossing a line.

“Connor?”

“You should probably get going,” I said, taking a deliberate step back. “Especially if you still need time to get ready.”

She locked her computer, twisted around in her chair, and frowned at me. “Ready? I’m showing up like this.”

“You’re going on a date in work clothes?” That surprised me considering how much she hated wearing them in the first place.

“A date?” Eddie laughed as she stood and started collecting her bag and jacket. “Um, no. I’m going to Alannah’s under-ten gymnastics competition. Why would you think I’m going on a date?”

“Max might have heard you saying something about making reservations,” I mumbled.

“Sure, but that wasn’t for me—that was for Leigh, since I’m setting her up with a friend of mine.” She paused her packing, lifting an accusatory finger. “Wait, is this why you kept me late tonight?”

My jaw ticked. Yes, because I was being a jealous fool? “Would that be so horrible?”

Eddie opened her mouth, her words stalling as another alarm buzzed on her phone. 6:30 p.m. She jammed the rest of her things in her bag, throwing it over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in my direction. “If it makes me late for Alannah, then yes.”