Chapter 16
Mia
I stood in the reception area waiting for Derek to arrive. I’d been waiting for fifteen minutes and ready for forty-five. And he wasn’t even late. I was just over organized and ready early. And nervous. And shitting myself. And regretting saying yes. And freaking out. And ready to cancel. Desperate for something to keep my anxious fingers busy, so far, I’d dusted the window sills, tossed out any magazine older than three weeks, and flicked through those which made the cut, tidied the reception counter, organized the files, and placed a stationery order. Not to mention the hundred and one pep talks I’d given myself. Kenz had offered to wait with me, but after listening to her babble for five minutes about completely useless and honestly downright frightening first date disasters, I shooed her out the door as quick as I could. I’d texted Josie, hoping for a chat, but she hadn’t replied. It struck me as odd, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized Josie and I hadn’t spoken for a couple of days now…which for normal people wouldn’t be all that long, but for us that was like a lifetime. We usually went only hours. Two days meant we were in a fight. Five meant it was war. This was weird. Shaking the feeling off, I looked at the time again, there was still eight minutes until Derek was due.
“Fuck!” I growled to myself, running my hands through my hair.
“Hope that wasn’t at me,” a deep, husky voice replied, and I spun on my heel so quickly I nearly ended up on my ass in a pot plant I’d been aggressively yanking leaves from.
With Derek’s hand on my elbow steadying my balance, I could feel the warmth seeping into my skin, and it did all sorts of silly things to my insides. Feeling my cheeks burn, I pressed my trembling hands against my chest, willing my heartbeat to steady while I sucked in few deep breaths.
“You’re early,” I admonished, trying to redirect. There was no need for him to know I’d been waiting for what felt like forever.
“You’re gorgeous.”
His eyes never once left mine. I wanted to hide. I wasn’t used to someone looking at me the way Derek was looking at me right now. Like he wanted to kiss me. But not just kiss me either. He looked like he wanted to devour me. And I didn’t know if I had the strength to stop him. Damn hormones. Some days being female sucked ass.
Stepping out of his grip, I made my way behind the counter to grab my purse. Well, at least that was my excuse. The truth was I needed some space. Just for a minute. I needed to breathe and just get my stupid body under control. Derek was standing there looking like sex on legs and I needed to get my stupid girly shit together…or at least try to. He was wearing dark denim jeans that fit him like they were made for him. Tight in all the right places and suggestive in others. His white button down shirt was crisp and clean with the sleeves rolled up his forearms, revealing the muscles I knew were there. What surprised me though was the zing of envy that gushed through my body at the sight of a single strand of long brown hair across his wide chest. I shouldn’t be jealous. I had no reason to be and no right, but I’d be damned if I wasn’t.
“These are for you.” Derek smiled, handing over a small bunch of the tiniest white daisies I’d ever seen. They were beautiful. These tiny, delicate little flowers, wrapped with navy paper and white bow dwarfed by his gigantic hand.
“Th-thank you.” I heard my voice falter and I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. We hadn’t even made it out the door and I’d already almost fallen on my face, stuttered, and completely embarrassed myself. I was a walking disaster. This night could only get worse from here.
Tilting his head to the side, I could see Derek evaluating me and I was regretting my choice of outfit. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’d gone to Zoe for help and she’d offered her opinion. So here I stood, a in a cute sky blue summer dress that ended just above my knees, a light white cardigan wrapped around my shoulders, and a pair of brown suede boots. My hair was mussed up like normal, but I’d actually taken the time to add some product to it so it didn’t end up falling flat the second I stepped outside.
“You ready to head out?”
“Yep. Let’s do it.”
Grabbing my purse, I punched in the alarm code and yanked the door closed behind me. There was no turning back now. When Derek’s huge hand settled in the centre of my back, as he led me towards the truck I expected my senses to be on high alert. Instead I felt weird. Safe almost. It wasn’t something I was used to. It was kind of intimidating. He held the door open and helped me up before scooting around the other side and sliding in.
“So…where we going?” I asked nervously, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in my dress.
“Why? Nervous?”
I glanced over at him. He had a playful smirk on his lips and his eyes were alight with mischief. I didn’t want to lie to Derek. In the short time I’d known him, he’d never lied to me, never once given me any reason to want to. He’d never made me feel uncomfortable or threatened. I wasn’t about to start now.
Sighing heavily, I slumped forward, resting my elbows on my knees, sucking in deep breaths. “Yeah, I really am.”
“Oh…thank fuck!”
My head shot up so quickly I heard it snap.
Looking at Derek, I saw his shoulders droop and knew there was more to come, so I bit my lip and willed the words racing through my head to shut up. “Me too.”
And with that we both laughed.
Hard.
I laughed so hard my sides ached.
When the tears stopped rolling down my cheeks and I wiped them away with the back of my hand, I rested my hands back in my lap, I felt Derek reach over and take one of mine in his own, and I couldn’t help the giddy sensation that flooded my body.
“Mia, we don’t have to be anything other than us. Let’s just have fun and see where we end up. I have zero expectations here.”
I stole a glance at him. Thankfully we were stopped at the lights. He caught my gaze and I saw nothing but honesty reflected in his eyes. He meant it. Every single word. And I believed him,
“Sounds good,” I agreed readily, surprising us both.
