“Aelin, what?—”
“Please don’t, Ryan.” Aelin turned her back on him. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine.”
She waved a hand over her shoulder. “It’s nothing anyone else can help with, and I promise it won’t affect our plans today.”
Ryan knew he shouldn’t, but the urge to reach out and touch her was all-consuming. He gave in and put a hand on her shoulder. As soon as he made contact, Aelin spun toward him, burying her head in his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.
She felt exactly as he’d imagined. He didn’t realize he’d imagined it until her hands pressed against his lower back and the top of her head nestled beneath his chin. That was where she fit. Exactly right.
He rubbed his hand over her back, parts of him noticing instantly that she wasn’t wearing a bra. He reeled that thought back in only to be slammed with the scent of coconut in her hair.
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t think about the fact that he was supposed to be heading downtown. He didn’t think about what Amaya would think if she rounded the corner and saw him holding another woman like that.
No part of his rational brain fired. He only knew that it felt right to have her there. She was hurting. So many people in his life were hurting. The idea that he could alleviate it for even a few seconds made him feel invincible.
“Clark’s trying to sell the house.” Aelin sniffed, her breathing beginning to return to normal.
Ryan swallowed. “Can he do that?”
She nodded against his chest, then pushed back, her cheeks flushed. They stained an even deeper pink when she saw the dark spots on his lavender-collared shirt. “Shit, I’m so sorry.” Aelin hunted for a tissue, but Ryan stopped her.
“They’ll dry. I still have to drive into work. It’s fine.”
Aelin wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy. “I’m sorry. I found out last night, and I didn’t sleep much.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Take a nap today.”
She bit her lower lip and nodded. “Yeah. I might have time this afternoon.” She finally looked up and met his eyes. “Thank you.”
“No problem. I can’t imagine.”
Aelin sighed. “Yeah. I think you probably can.” Her eyes flickered to the floor, then back to his. “Anyway . . .”
Ryan nodded. “Sorry. I’ll—have a good day. I mean, not a good day, but . . . you know what I mean.”
Aelin’s mouth quirked at the corner. “I will.”
Ryan left, pulled out of the driveway, and drove straight to his office on fourth. He didn’t stop for Tim’s like he’d planned, which was fine. They had coffee in the office, and while it wasn’t exactly good, it would deliver caffeine to his bloodstream.
He parked in the garage under the building, then swiped his key card and walked into the lobby. Somehow he managed to step out of the elevator on the fifth floor just a few minutes after seven. He waved to the security guard and headed to his desk, flipping on the light switch.
The hum of the fluorescent lights filled the room, and Ryan sat down, pulling up his email. He had a list of things to do a mile long for the contamination mitigation, and he started going down the list.
He'd spent the last few nights poring over their contracts with the city, trying to find a loophole that would let them off the hook, but it was airtight. They were responsible for the cleanup,and that meant more work for him and more money lost for Apex. He knew which one Marc would be most concerned with.
Ryan pulled up the latest report and started reading through it, his mind already spinning with ideas.
He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't hear the door open. "You look like you just got neutered."
Ryan looked up to see Chris standing in the doorway. “Couldn’t finish it. Balls were too big for the incision.”
Chris snorted. “Hockey camp starts today, eh?”
“If Marc doesn’t rip me a new one by three.” Ryan took a drink of his tepid coffee.
“Get in line on that one. Your asshole will probably stay intact until at least Wednesday.”
