It should’ve been a mistake. I should feel regret, but I don’t. Not the way I should.
I think about the way Zane looked at her. How it wasn’t just sex for him. How it wouldn’t just be sex if it happened again. How easy it would be to say yes to more.
That’s the part that scares me the most.
I hear movement behind me—someone walking into the room—but I don’t turn around. I already know who it is.
Mia.
She doesn’t say anything at first, just hovers near the doorway. I can feel her eyes on me, waiting. I don’t look at her.
“You didn’t sleep,” she says.
“Didn’t need it,” I mutter, clicking through the security feeds, even though I already know there’s nothing new.
Mia doesn’t buy it. She steps closer, and I catch a hint of her scent—something soft, something familiar—and it wrecks me all over again.
She exhales. “Asher?—”
“Don’t.” My voice is rough, edged with something I don’t want to name. I finally look at her, and fuck, that’s a mistake. She’s standing there, arms crossed, her expression unreadable, but her eyes… they still hold last night in them.
She’s still thinking about it.
I clench my fists, trying to anchor myself to something solid, but it’s no use. She’s standing too close, looking at me like she’s waiting for me to admit something I can’t.
So I do what I do best. I shut down.
“Mom, we need you!” Emma calls out.
“You should go,” I say, my voice flat. “Emma’s calling for you.”
Mia’s lips press together, but she doesn’t argue. She just nods, her disappointment like a physical thing in the air between us.
She turns to leave, but turns around at the last second. “You can tell them apart so easily. People can never do that, you know?”
With that, she’s gone.
From my seat in the security room, I hear Emma’s voice filtering in from the kitchen, high-pitched and full of excitement.
“Damon!” Emma chirps. “We were looking for you.”
“What’s up, kiddo?” Damon goes.
I shut my eyes. I was so jealous when I saw him with Mia that day. I thought that if I could just have her once, it could make this ugly feeling in my chest go away. But that’s not the truth. And it gives me all the answers I need to have about her.
I have feelings for her. And the worst part? So do my friend and my boss.
I can’t do this. It’s insane.
Despite myself, I can’t help but tune back into Ella’s babbles. She’s telling Damon some elaborate story about her stuffed bear’s adventures—something about it being a spy bear with laser eyes and a jetpack. Damon plays along, his deep chuckle rolling through the house like it belongs there.
Like he belongs here.
Even though I can’t see them, I can imagine the casual intimacy of it. Him sitting at the table with her, nodding in all the right places, pretending to be fascinated by a child’s imagination—it makes my chest ache in a way I don’t like to examine.
I rub a hand over my face and reach for my phone. A distraction. Something to pull me out of my own head.
The screen lights up. A notification from my inbox that says, “Dubai contract—Final Signature Required.”
