“I have to go. It was lovely to meet you.” Snow smiles warmly after a glance at her pager. She stands and fixes me with a satisfied stare. “Bye, Xander.”
“Goodbye, Snow.”
Just you wait.
I can’t punish her the way I ache to, but I will soon.
The moment she gives me the go-ahead, regardless of her test results, I will make her pay.
It’s only after I’ve spent thirty long seconds watching Snow’s ass rock back and forth as she walks away that I notice Thea has fallen quiet.
Glancing at her, her attention is also on Snow and then her eyes flick back to me.
“What was that?” she asks.
“What was what?”
“You were staring after her like a puppy watching the treat bag go back in the cupboard.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were.”
“Thea.”
“Don’t ‘Thea’ me. You like her, don’t you?”
My sister is painfully perceptive to the things I’d rather she ignore. Returning to what’s left of my sandwich, I shake my head. “No.”
“You do. You have a crush!” Her smirk suddenly turns warm and she sighs. “I’m not having a go at you.”
“Sounds like it.”
“No, I’m not. I just… after Claire, I didn’t think that part of you would wake up again.”
Tightness sweeps through my chest and the sandwich turns tasteless in my mouth, so I set it down. “Are you saying I shouldn’t feel things for other people?”
“No! Oh, God, no, it’s not that. I’m saying it’s a good thing. You closed yourself off for so long, I was ready to introduce you to people as my spinster brother.”
“How cruel.”
“But accurate. You like her, don’t you?”
I lift my gaze to meet hers. “No, Thea. I don’t. I just appreciate how kind she’s being to me. Believe it or not, it’s rather lonely working here.”
Thea’s smile fades slightly and she tilts her head, unsure whether she believes me. After a few seconds, she sighs. “Alright. Sorry. You just looked so wistful.”
“You’re seeing things.”
“Maybe. Probably for the best, anyway.”
“Why?” My stomach flips. Did she see something I missed? Does she know something I’ve not noticed?
“You’re up for a scary big promotion, right? There’s no way you can ruin such a huge opportunity with something as dumb as a workplace romance.” She picks up the remains of her sandwich. “That would be career suicide.”
18
SNOW
