“The writing is really good,” I said, taking immediate offense.
He laughed and my heart ached at the wonderful sound. I hugged him tighter, wishing I knew the first thing about what he would need. I glanced at my iPad and a niggle of curiosity burned through me. I knew I didn’t have a chance in hell of being mean to Z, but I could read about these things he was into. At the very least, maybe it would let me know if someone was doing the wrong things with him.
“You remind me a lot of Fluttershy, actually. With a bit of Rarity mixed in. Sweet and shiny.”
He groaned and swatted at me and that degraded into me tickling him until he couldn’t breathe. I decided to forget about Wayne and everything else. “Watch an episode with me?”
He groaned. “Okay, fine. Why not?”
* * *
Unable to stop myself, I glanced across the middle of the long white table at Z. We were in what most people at the office referred to as the Marigold conference room, mainly because Mansfield’s wife was an herbologist, and she’d done the interior design when he first opened up shop. True to its namesake theme, there were detailed gold-framed paintings of marigolds hung on the walls. The furniture was yellow and a mustard orange, even the wet bar tucked in the far corner.
Opposite my seat, Z bowed his head in concentration and went through a document with a pink highlighter. Beside him, Olivia, who often worked with us, did the same. She wore a strappy white summer dress and had her sunglasses on top of her blonde head as if she couldn’t wait to run out the front door. Attractive and curvy, she frequently had a lot of eyes on her when we had office meetings. Her purse was in her lap rather than draped or tossed somewhere, so I was waiting for her to announce her departure soon. She stopped to frown and highlight a line on the document she held. I was the only one not hard at work right now, though. I stifled a sigh. All week things had been strained between me and Zayden, and maybe it was because I kept asking Z if he was still going on his date with Wayne.
I couldn’tlet it go.
I was being annoying about the fucking date and it sounded like I didn’t want him to go—because I didn’t. But I couldn’t seem to think about anything else. So, last night I’d locked myself in my room despite the fact we’d had plans to go out to a barbecue contest in one of the parks down by the lakefront. He’d ended up staying home because he hated to drive by himself in the city, and I’d felt like a jackass for ruining his night. I’d searched for Daddy-kink stuff, but all I’d found were more videos that made me seriously worry about his safety.
This morning we hadn’t really talked to each other, again because I was having too much trouble keeping my mouth shut. I stared at Z, and Olivia glanced up and smiled at him.
“Are you ready for your date tonight? He’s meeting you here, right?” she asked.
I startled and dropped my blue highlighter, then scrambled to pick it back up again.
“Sure,” Z murmured. “I’m not expecting much.” He didn’t look at her, simply focused on the paper in his hand, completely unlike himself.
“Why not?” I demanded.
He turned pink from the tip of his nose all the way to his ears, and I closed my eyes before forcing them open again.
Olivia hummed. “Yeah, why not?”
“Things haven’t been great lately. Six guys in seven months is a pretty bad track record, and Wayne will be man number two for this month. I’m feeling like…. Well, you know, what is wrong with me, Liv?”
“There is nothing wrong with you,” Olivia said sharply, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“I agree,” I said.
Finally Z glanced up, and I felt like I was standing in sunshine after weeks of rain. He gave me a sad smile and leaned toward me. “You know there is.”
“That’s not something wrong. That’s something special you need, not a problem. You always need more attention than some other person might.” Clearing my throat, I tugged at my tie. Olivia’s eyebrows flew high, and she rested her chin on her palm like she was watching a tennis match.
He sighed and dropped his head.
“I didn’t mean that as a bad thing,” I whispered.
“High-maintenance?” Olivia sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Me too. It’s a curse.”
I flipped my phone over on the table and tapped the screen until the time flashed. “It’s after five. We need to get these done or we’ll be here all night.”
Olivia jumped to her feet, and I was in no way surprised because she already had her purse on her shoulder. “Kids. I told Cam I’d pick them up today. Sorry, boys.”
“That’s fine,” I said and glanced at Z.
He gave me a guilty smile. “I have to leave now or I’ll be late for my date.”
My stomach dropped all the way to the floor. I could have kicked myself. “You’re leaving from the office, not the house?” I would have known this was happening earlier if I hadn’t been fucking weird last night.Damn it.My heart raced too fast.
