Page 68 of Until August

I noticed. “It happens. But once you walk through that door, you leave all your personal shit outside. It has no place in a kitchen.”

“Yeah, I know.” He turned to go, but I stopped him with my words. “If you ever wanna talk, I’m a good listener.”

“Thanks, man. I’m good.”

Seven long hours later, when the night ended, I finally got to talk to Nicola. Even though we’d worked closely together, it felt like she was putting distance between us. Giving me the cold shoulder. Which made me think that what happened in her office had been a huge mistake. One that should not, under any circumstances, be repeated.

Although the other part of my brain, the one ruled by my dick, felt the opposite. It might have been quick and dirty, but sex with Nicola was fucking intense.

“You want to tell me what’s going on with you?” I said when we stopped next to her Jeep under the dim glow of a streetlight.

We’d never gotten the chance to talk about what happened in her office because she took off. If we were going to work together, we couldn’t just let it go and pretend everything was fine when clearly it wasn’t.

She leaned against the door and folded her arms over her chest. “I just…” She let out a breath and averted her gaze.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to mask my impatience. “You just what?”

“I don’t know how to act or what to think.” She met my eyes directly. “You’re the first man I’ve been with since….”

Her husband. “And you feel guilty,” I finished.

She laughed a little, not a merry sound, and looked up at the sky. “I don’t know. I don’t feel as guilty as I thought I would. As I probably should.” Her eyes lowered, and I could see the uncertainty on her face like she was trying to make sense of this but couldn’t. “And that makes me feel like a horrible person.”

“You’re not a horrible person. Not even close.”

She sighed and lowered her arms, clasping her hands in front of her. “Luca said he saw you with Sasha.”

There it was. Was she jealous? “Yeah. Some guy on a skateboard cut right in front of her. I just happened to be walking past at the time… I was going to check on you,” I admitted.

“Oh God. Is she okay?”

This time she sounded as if she genuinely cared. “Yeah, she’s fine. The baby’s fine. But her husband is away, and I just wanted to make sure someone was there for her.”

“Of course.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry I acted so weird earlier. My emotions were all over the place, and when I heard you were with Sasha, I wasn’t sure what to think.”

That explained a lot. I was relieved to know this was more about my being with Sasha than her thinking sex had been a mistake. “Look, this is uncharted territory for me too. I’m not really sure how we’re supposed to be acting.” I pushed my hand through my hair and blew out a breath. “I haven’t been with anyone since Sasha.”

“You haven’t?”

“Nope.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip. “I got the impression that you’d been with other girls.”

“Even if I had been, you wouldn’t care. You told me so yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “I lied.”

I laughed. “I know.”

She smacked my arm. So physical, this girl. “I don’twantto care.”

“Pretty sure we’ve both made that clear.”

“What now?” She looked at me like I had all the answers. But I was too tired to think straight.

I stifled a yawn. “Bed. To sleep,” I added when her brows shot up. “Separately.”

She sagged against the car door like it had just hit her how tired she was. “It’s been a rough couple of days, hasn’t it?”