“Sure thing, Ryan, but leave the door open at least three inches.” Her eyes darted between Ryan and Elissa, and she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at her older cousin.
“Trinity, we’re not teenagers anymore. I’m helping Ms. Wright with the file boxes Val and I put together last week.”
“Sure you are, cuz. Sure.”
“Whatever.” He led her through the open office and into the hall. Trinity’s soft laugh followed them. He glanced back. “Do you work with your family, Ms. Wright?”
The color had risen in her cheeks again, painting them a lovely pink. Her skin was so responsive. He’d love…Nope, keep your brain out of the gutter.
“Oh, God, no,” Elissa said with a chuckle. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother and sister and my parents, but we’d be at each other’s throats if we had to work together.”
Her smile returned. He needed it to stay.
“Then count yourself lucky.” He gave her the full DeMarco smile. “This way.”
He continued past the break room and to the file room where he’d spent a good chunk of last week. The boxes were on a table right next to the door, which Ryan left open. More than three inches.
“This is everything?”
“As far as I know. If anything is missing, I’m only a phone call away.”
He kept the smile plastered on his face. Now wasn’t a bad time to find out if she was ignoring him or just hadn’t seen the phone number. Half the office was at lunch, and the hall was empty. He grabbed the first box and placed it on the cart.
“I’m sorry?—”
“About that phone?—”
They spoke at the same time. Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of pink, highlighting her freckles. Fuck him. He loved this look for her.
“Please, ladies first,” he said gruffly.
“What makes you think I’m a lady?” She was downright red now.
He wasn’t gonna touch that with a ten-foot pole. “Fine, I’ll go first. I’m sorry I gave you my number unsolicited. I felt a connection during the break and didn’t want to lose the chance to talk to you again. I’ll keep this professional whether you call or not. Promise.”
She wouldn’t meet his eyes. Shit. Oh well, win some, lose some.
“I tried,” she said in a quiet voice. She cleared her throat and finally met his gaze. “I must have deleted ten messages in the last week. I-I have this little tendency to overthink things, and, well, it was turned up to eleven this week.”
Oh. A small spark of hope took root in his soul.
“I get it. My problem is the exact opposite. ADHD usually has me leaping, then looking. One of the reasons why I said what I said at the Sandpiper. Most of the time, I live to regret my mistakes.”
“So far, you’ve lived to regret all your mistakes, I think.”
“True.”
She laughed and leaned back against the filing cabinet she stood next to and looked him up and down.
“Okay, I have a question I’ve been dying to ask. You don’t have to tell me, but who, exactly, were you expecting to meet that day? You’d obviously forgotten her name.”
“Someone my mother was trying to set up with my brother. He wanted Mom off his case, and I wanted to do anything to appease my parents other than work here, so I agreed to take her out.”
“Did you try again?”
“No. I texted and said she didn’t want to date an asshole like me.”
She tapped a finger on her lips as her smile widened. “Do you know how I described you to my friend?”
