Beauty and the Boss (Modern Fairytales #1)(46)
Now wasn’t the time to talk to her about this. He needed to think. To figure out his next move. If it came down to his job or her…he’d be forced to make a choice. But first he wanted to understand why.
“It obviously isn’t nothing. You’re upset.” Maggie followed his line of sight. “What did she say to you?”
“Just the usual.” He squared his shoulders and got his shit together. He was showing his mother that she’d gotten to him, and he couldn’t afford to do that right now. Holding his hand out for hers, he asked, “Ready to go in?”
“Ah, there it is again,” she said softly, without moving.
“There what is?”
“The beast.” She bit the corner of her lip. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, and I won’t pressure you to tell me what she said, but it’s okay to be upset. You can let me see it. Let me in.”
His heart twisted, and he stepped closer to her. Smoothing her hair out of her face, he shook his head. “You said you couldn’t read me.”
“I guess I’m a little better at it.” She rested her hands on his chest and stared up at him, her gray eyes matching the stormy sky above them. “Tell me the truth. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He covered her hands with his and squeezed. “I’ll be fine.”
“Still want to go in?”
He glanced over her head. His mother watched them closely, her shrewd stare not wavering in the slightest. She was even better than he was at hiding his emotions. If he left now, she’d see that she’d rattled him. He refused to give her that satisfaction.
“Yes. Let’s go see the show. I’ve heard it’s excellent.”
She nodded once, not pressuring for more. As they headed for the doors, she asked, “Want me to go say ‘whore’ to her, so you can watch her faint from the vulgar language from her son’s even more vulgar fiancée?”
He blinked down at her. The mental image of Andrew flailing at his mother’s side, fanning her cheeks like a good little son, and everyone else running around like chickens with their heads chopped off, played out in his mind. “I—” He chuckled and then broke into laughter fully, cutting off midsentence. And there was no stopping it once it started.
When he tried, he only laughed harder.
Jesus, what was wrong with him?
When the ostentatious woman in front of him shot him an incredulous look, he clutched his stomach and kept going even though it hurt, and he couldn’t stop. Nothing short of a punch to the face would make him, and even then, he probably wouldn’t quit.
By the time he’d regained control, Maggie had joined him, her musical laughter mixing with his. His mother no longer looked quite so unaffected. She seemed pissed.
“Darling,” he said, swiping his hands across his face. “You’re killing me.”
She smiled, her face lighting up. “It worked.”
“What worked?”
“I made you laugh.” She blew her bangs out of her face with a short puff of breath. “That’s all I wanted.”
“You.” He yanked her into his arms and pulled her into his arms. She gasped, resting her hands on his chest. “You’re amazing. You know that, right?”
She shrugged and scrunched her nose up adorably. “I may have heard that a few times last night…”
“And you’ll hear it again.” He kissed her jaw. “And again.” Her nose this time. “And again.” He kissed her fully on the lips, and she clung to him.
By the time he pulled back, they were both out of breath.
She smiled up at him. This. Right here. This was what he wanted. And come what may, he’d fight to keep her and his job, too. He didn’t want to lose her yet.
Hell, that wasn’t true. He didn’t want to lose her period. Ever. So whatever it took, no matter the cost—well, he guessed he was more like his mother than either one of them suspected.
He would win.
Chapter Fourteen
The second they entered Benjamin’s apartment, he pulled Maggie into his arms and kissed her. He’d already excused William and sent him off, so they were finally alone. After watching the musical with him, her recent choices made perfect sense. All throughout the show, the words the characters sang had echoed pretty much every feeling and conversation they’d had about taking chances on one another, and not being afraid to leap blindly into something that could possibly be everything.
Toward the end, during an emotional song about learning to live without the one you loved, he had glanced over at her, seen the tears streaming down her face, and caught her hand in his. And he hadn’t let go of her for the rest of the musical. It was as if that entire score had been written for her, to teach her a lesson.
And she’d listened.
God, had she listened.
She had a feeling he had, too. He was oddly silent on the way home, as well as throughout dinner at The Monkey Bar, and now he kissed her with an abandon that was unparalleled. As if she was about to slip out of his hands. She felt it, too.
The desperation.
It was real, tangible, and as unavoidable as it was unwanted.
He pressed her back against the door of his apartment, slid his hand up her dress and skimmed his fingers between her thighs. His knuckles brushed against her core, and she groaned, her stomach twisting into a tight knot at his barely-there caress. She undid the buttons of his shirt with shaking fingers, as he cupped her, pressing his palm against her.