I wanted to stop her, tell her to stay, but I just nodded. She was so much smarter than I was.
“When I get back, all you have to say is, ‘thanks for the feedback, I’ll think about it,’ and I’ll never bring it up again. We’ll forget I even said anything about Aidan.”
I wanted to tell her how great I thought she was in that moment, to give me a graceful out, but I found my throat wouldn’t work.
She was at the door, opened it and turned her head to say, “The book isreallygood on its own, Billy. No one will be disappointed in it.”
She left, shutting the door behind her, and I spent what turned out to be the next hour going through her notes.
When she stepped back into the room, my arrogant asshole was nowhere to be seen, and instead I didn’t know what to tell Syd first: that I loved her, or that I thought she should seriously consider becoming an editor, her notes being that good.
But instead of either of those things, I just led her to the couch, sitting first, then pulling her onto my lap so that she straddled my hips and I could look into those gorgeous brown eyes and say, “Thank you,” in a soft whisper.
When I felt her body relax, when she was certain I wasn’t going to throw a hissy fit, I then added, “Now. Let’s see about those pegs and holes, shall we?”
I flipped her down on the couch and all thoughts of Aidan Colly left me as I slid my body over hers.
Chapter25
Syd
We sleepily woketo find that Saturday morning had turned into Saturday evening, the office nearly dark, with just the soft glow of twilight leaking in between the slats of the closed blinds behind us.
It was mid-March and the days were getting longer, but from the number of times the old heating unit in Billy’s office went on, I guessed it was quite cold outside.
I had my back to Billy’s chest, one of his arms under my head and sticking out over the edge of the couch. His other hand drew lazy circles on my hip. The plaid blanket below us had a freshly-washed scent and I realized that he’d taken both of the blankets to his apartment and washed them recently.
The sweetness of that gesture warmed my heart and I burrowed in deeper to his chest, rubbing my cheek against the rough hair of his forearm.
“Thanks for doing what you did today,” he whispered.
“The blow job?” I teased. “It was nothing. Especially considering how long you were down—”
“The notes, smart-ass,” he said, gently smacking my ass with his hand. Which he then quickly soothed.
“Ohhhh.That. No problem.”
“Seriously, thanks.”
“Thanks for not freaking out,” I said, most of the teasing gone from my voice.
“You certainly know how to…manage me,” he said. Part of me loved that thought—that I knew him so well now, that I knew when to give him space. When to push, when to pull. It made me feel…safe to know I knew him at that level. And it was not lost on me that I hadn’t exactly let him know me on that level.
As if he’d read my mind, he said in a lazy voice, “I get that you don’t like talking much about your life before Bribury…”
I should have felt panic, put up some shields or something. But I was in Billy’s arms and felt like, for once, I could be completely honest. That I didn’t have to pretend to fit in with all the other girls at this school.
He had chosen me. Not one of them.
“Yeah?” I said, trying to convey openness.
“And tell me to shut up if you want…”
“Okay…”
“But you know so much about me, and I just want to get—”
“Billy, what?” I said, giving him a tiny jab with my elbow, which he greeted with an over exaggerated “ooomph.”
