“Let me guess. He wants a big wedding, a minivan, and two point five children too.”
Still, she’d been swayed by all his talk about being attracted to her. What red-blooded woman wouldn’t cave?
His touch had destroyed her common sense. Every hair on her body had stood on end. The earth had rocked under her feet and she knew it had nothing to do with fault lines. If he’d asked her to run away with him in that moment, she would have thrown on her comfiest shoes and torn up the pavement.
Somehow, even as she’d walked toward his admin office, she’d known she wanted to kiss Alex. In fact, she’d fallen asleep the previous night hoping she would once again feel his lips on her skin.
Her phone buzzed again.
Tommy: Dana, please. Just talk to me. There’s something you need to know and I want you to hear it from me.
What did he want? He was driving her around the bend.
She didn’t have a single moment to spare for Tommy. Right now, it was hard enough dealing with Alex.
Don’t wear any panties.
Lord help her tomorrow night.
Alex had the potential to devastate her if she got too close. Dana couldn’t afford that kind of heartache, and especially not now when her heart already seemed made of spider webs. It was fragile, and one breeze could send it spiraling into nothing.
She had to protect herself.
And yet, even as the warning bells sounded in her head, she knew she would go to him. She wanted to see what he would do. She wanted him to touch her and taste her and mark her.
She wanted him, period.
Discretion was the key. She’d already arranged to spend the entire day with Anise and the other ladies, and didn’t want to spend it fielding questions about Alex.
When Dana had stormed out of the Fendi shop, she hadn’t gone far. She’d loitered outside the store, waiting for Anise and the others to finish their shopping.
When Anise had come out of the store, she had walked up to Dana and put up a finger. “What happened between you and Tommy…I want you to know I’m sorry. But I’m not ready to talk to you right now and I hope you’ll respect that.”
Dana hadn’t said a word.
Anise had left with Bea and Jessica in tow. Knowing them, they would urge her sister to relent.
She knew her sister wouldn’t stay mad forever. How could she? They’d pulled the same stunt, after all.
The elevator reached the ground floor and she walked on shaky legs toward the lobby. Bea and Jessica were waiting for her there. They had planned to catch a magic show at the Luxor that evening, although Dana already knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the illusions.
Anise was nowhere in sight.
“She isn’t coming?”
“No,” said Bea. “Give her time. She’ll come around.”
“Yeah,” said Jessica. “I think the emotions are finally catching up to her.”
“Should I go talk to her?”
“No.” Bea shook her head. “She’s okay. I checked on her.”
“So, she’ll talk to you but she won’t talk to me.”
“It’s not that.” Bea rubbed her arm. “Anise is just feeling sorry for herself. She told me she wants you to come out with us tonight.”
“She did?”
