But me.
I was completely still.
And the speed of it all was making my heart whack againstmy chest. It was making my goddamn throat dry. Every time I went to take a breath, I couldn’t.
My hands were slick, my head aching.
Even the scent of the buttery béarnaise sauce—a smell I fucking loved—was causing my stomach to churn.
“You need to take over,” I said to Keith.
I didn’t look at him.
But I knew he was behind me and within ear range.
“No problem.” I felt him slip in next to me. “You’re looking a little pale. Everything okay?”
“I’m fucking fine.”
I unbuttoned the top of my chef’s whites as I left the station. I didn’t stop in my office to get my bag. I didn’t even lock the door. I just went through the back of the kitchen, avoiding eye contact with anyone I passed, hoping the air outside would make this stop.
Whatever the fuck this was.
At the end of the hallway, I reached for the door handle that would lead me to the back parking lot. As I started to pull, there was a bit of tension coming from the other side, the momentum moving faster than the strength I’d used to open the door. Just when it was wide enough, someone was walking through at the same time I was trying to leave, and our bodies accidentally collided.
Since mine was far larger, I didn’t move.
But she did.
Her hands went to my chest, her body bouncing against me and starting to fall back.
The moment I caught her, my fingers clenched her waist so she didn’t hit the ground, and that was when she looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes.
Alivia …
Fuck me.
“I’ve got you.”
I didn’t know why I’d announced that—she could tell I wasn’t going to let her fall.
“I know.”
My fingers spread, touching flat planes and hard ribs and gentle curves. And the longer I held on, the more I was taken aback by her smile. It wasn’t soft, like the quiet ones she’d been giving me lately. This was similar to what I’d seen in my hotel suite. Full of imperfect teeth that I found stunning and pouty lips that I wanted pressed against mine.
“Thank you.” She swallowed. “And … hi.”
I couldn’t get enough of that grin.
Or the feel of her under my fingertips.
Or the pomegranate smell that was coming from her.
I wanted more.
I wanted to carry her to my car.
I wanted her naked in my back seat.
