Micah’s face twisted until he looked like he’d been kicked in the gut. I stepped forward and tapped his folder out of the spot where it had been slotted against his body. He let out a gasp and fumbled as the papers inside spilled onto the sidewalk. The women took a few steps back and frowned down at the mess.
“That was an accident!” I bounded around him. “Sorry, Dr. Carrington!” I put my back to the women and winked as they huffed and whispered to each other behind me. I bent and helped him pick up the papers. “Were you on your way to your car?”
“No, the library, actually,” he said, glancing at the nearby glass doors as his cheeks flushed a brilliant pink that made me want to pinch them. His curly brown hair was rumpled, as if maybe he’d run his hand through the strands, and it made my fingers tingle to do the same thing.
“Oh? Me too! And I had a question I wanted to ask you as well.”
“Excuse me, but we were here first.” Sammy’s tone wasn’t nearly as sweet now. She made little shooing motions at me with her hands like I was a puppy that was in her way. “I need to talk to Dr. Carrington now!”
“Oh, yeah, wow. I’m on a really tight schedule tonight, and he’s gonna do that stupid bullshit for younever, so I would say my question is more important. Thanks!” I snagged the last paper on the ground and handed it to him, then shot to my feet and smiled at her.
Sammy huffed, and Tori looked ready to cry, but the third woman giggled at me. She gave the other two anI told you solook.
“Come on, Dr. Carrington. Let’s go!” I snagged his arm and dragged him toward the doors. He allowed me to pull him along and even open a door for him, but once we were in the small entrance hall directly before another set of doors that led into the library, he stopped and shook off my grip.
“You embarrassed me,” he said, still trying to straighten the mess. He gave up and finally just closed the manila folder with papers sticking out every which way.
Surprised, I stared up into his face. His gray eyes were shiny, as if maybe tears were getting ready to sneak down his cheeks. My stomach swooped toward the center of the earth. “I helped you.”
He shook his head and his Adam’s apple bobbed. I felt awful as he pushed up his glasses because he gave me an upset little pout. “I don’t like things that make me look stupid. Or klutzy.”
Crossing my arms, I leaned toward him. “Are you clumsy?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think so.” He didn’t seem to be able to leave the paperwork alone to talk to me. He poked at the papers sticking out without doing anything constructive, as far as I could tell.
“Who told you that you are enough times that you’re worried about it?”
His gaze darted to me as his lips parted, and then he cleared his throat and glanced away again while cringing. “No one.”
“Then what does it matter?”
He scowled down at the messy folder, and I took it from him. He tried to snatch his work back, but I walked through one of the glass doors in front of us, then over to a nearby table across from the check-out desk. He crowded close enough that I could feel his warmth along my side. I carefully sorted the papers into the right direction while he watched before slotting them back into the folder. When everything was neat, I passed it back to him, and he smiled.
“I said, what does it matter?”
He stared at me, and I felt bad as he drew in a deep, shuddery breath. “People willthinkI am.”
“So what? Who cares?”
He shook his head and leaned closer. His bottom lip jutted, and I wanted to tug on it. “Have you ever been embarrassed even once in your very short life? Or is your rock star persona real? Are you that confident everywhere?” His voice pitched low and raised the hair on my arms.
He almost seemed to be accusing me of something, and for some reason I found his irritation funny. I smirked at him. “Yes. It’s very real. But I have been embarrassed.”
He raised his eyebrows at me, almost like he was daring me to continue.
I stepped closer. “Three nights ago, this man with long legs that qualify as a dessert and pretty gray eyes ran from me, so I’m sure it means I’m a terrible kisser.” I rested my hand on my heart. “I was very wounded. Deeply embarrassed.”
He took his glasses off to stare at me before putting them on again. “You were really upset? You think that?”
Shrugging, I grinned at him. “It must be true. That’s what happened.”
His bottom lip trembled and it was all I could see. I wanted to bite that shiny pink flesh so bad I could almost feel the sensation of that soft, sweet skin between my teeth. Excitement curled in my stomach. Fuck, he had a nice mouth.
“You’re not a bad kisser,” he whispered, so quietly I almost lost the words. He glanced around, but no one was near us.
Fighting back a laugh, I tilted my head. “There’s one way I would believe that.”
“How?” he breathed out.
