If I Only Knew(34)

Danielle points her finger at me as her anger grows. “You’re an idiot. I’m not jealous, I feel sorry for her.”

“Well, then.” I shrug. “Since you’re perfectly okay with me sleeping with her, could you send her a text letting her know I’ll meet her at my flat?”

Her jaw drops and she twists away from me. “I’m not your assistant, do it your damn self.”

There’s hurt in her voice, and that lets me know everything I suspected. Somewhere in the past few weeks, things have changed. I don’t look at her as the woman who stole my job. I see a strong woman who lost her husband in a dreadful way. She’s sexy, smart, resourceful, and I look forward to seeing her, even if it means I take orders from her.

This is going to be an issue between us if we continue to ignore it. I’m not known for being a patient man, so right now, we’re going to get to the bottom of it.

I make the turn onto her street, and park in her driveway. She makes a move to exit the car, but I grip her wrist. “What if I told you I didn’t want you to message her anyway?” I challenge her. “What if I said I don’t want to meet her, touch her, see her again?”

“Why wouldn’t you? You’re single, she’s . . . not, but clearly that doesn’t faze her.”

“Because.” I pause waiting for her to look at me.

“Because?”

“I don’t want her. Not even a little bit.”

Danielle’s eyes widen a little and her breath hitches. “You don’t?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

I smile at her innocence. “There’s someone else I want, Danielle.”

She shifts, facing me in that fucking dress. Every inch of her is perfect, and this dress left me dying to see it on the floor. I’ve always found her beautiful, but tonight, she’s stunning. I almost lost my mind when I saw her walk out. I couldn’t move, think, talk, and I was never more grateful than I was earlier when Parker had her attention.

I was standing there like a bloody fool with my mouth open.

Now, I’m clearly not thinking as all I want to do is take her face in my hands and kiss her until we can’t breathe.

“Who do you want?” she asks.

“You.”

Danielle’s eyes widen and her breathing hitches as I admit to her what I tried desperately to avoid.

“Milo,” she breathes my name.

“Tell me you weren’t jealous,” I demand.

“I . . . I . . . I’m not going to do this with you,” she tucks her hair behind her ear and looks away.

“Do what?”

“This! You work for me.”

“And?”

“And I can’t complicate things.”

Not a good enough answer.

“I’m not asking about any of that,” I inform her.

Are there countless reasons to walk away? Yes. But right now, I want her to admit she feels what I do.

“Just . . .”

“Tell me you weren’t jealous. Tell me you don’t feel differently about me and this conversation is over. Don’t fucking lie to me, though.”

I want her. Every fucked up part of me wants her. I don’t care about the fact that she’s holding my job. I want to kiss her, get this out of our systems and go back to focusing on what is important—getting my job back. Not spending my days asking Mum to find my old comic books for Parker, or worrying about her husband’s trial.

So, we need to set this aside and go back to the way things were. If she says she doesn’t feel the same about all of this, I’ll walk away. If I’m wrong, we’ll never speak of it again.

However, I know I’m not. I saw it tonight, clear as day. Desire was in every touch we shared.

“It’s too confusing. I don’t know what I’m feeling,” Danielle admits as though she’s confessing to some mortal sin.

I always liked the phrase less talk and more action. I pride myself that I’ve lived by that motto.

Doing what I’ve wanted to do all night, I tenderly take her face in my hands. My thumb brushes against her cheek, and she grips my wrists. “What do you feel now?”

Her eyes meet mine. “You.”

“And what about now?” I ask as I move my face closer to hers.

“Scared.”

“I won’t hurt you,” I promise.

The last thing I want to do with her is cause her more pain than she’s already endured.

Her eyes close for a moment and then her lids slowly lift, revealing her beautiful blue eyes. “What are we doing?”

“What do you want me to do?”

She drops her gaze to my lips and I don’t need her to answer because I already know.

I inch closer, waiting for her to snap out of it and push me away. “Do you want me to kiss you?” I ask as our lips are so close I can feel her breath.





Chapter Sixteen





Danielle





What did he ask?

Were we even talking? I can’t remember because all I feel right now is Milo. He’s everywhere and I can’t think straight.

“Danielle,” he mutters. “What do you want?”

I want him.