“Sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“It looks it. And it’s not your job to do that. Not to mention you should have been out of here two hours ago.”
She wouldn’t admit where she’d been or with whom. “I’m leaving now. Just going to bring this down the hall. See, have my purse and everything.”
“See that you do leave. Good Lord, Natalie. Sometimes I think you might work more than me.”
“I doubt it. Have a good night, Hunter.”
She returned the cart and then made a quick dash for her car so she could call Avery and tell her of her weekend plans.
This might be the most excited she’d been in years!
11
WHAT HE WANTED
Arik was pacing in his hotel suite.
He hadn’t seen Natalie since their dinner on Tuesday night.
They had texted and he knew she hadn’t changed her mind.
If she had, he might have hunted her down and tossed her over his shoulder to get her on that helicopter.
Tuesday had been a test of his patience and willpower.
That first kiss she’d given him on the cheek? Yeah, all he wanted to do was yank her closer and down on his lap. Then she’d know what he was really feeling.
That would have added another rule to the contract, he was sure.
But if a simple kiss like that got his dick rushing to march in line, then holding her in his arms on a dance floor or being in the same hotel room with her for two nights was going to be a nightmare.
His phone rang and he rushed to answer it.
It wasn’t Natalie but his mother.
He didn’t want anything to put him in a nasty mood, but if he talked to her now he’d be set for a few more months.
And he’d be seeing Natalie soon and just her presence would improve his psyche.
“Hi, Mother,” he answered.
“Hi, Son,” Erin Brown said. His mother went back to her maiden name after her divorce from his father and never took the names of her other two husbands. Probably too much work to keep changing things.
“Is there a reason you’re calling?”
“Do I need a reason to talk to my son?”
“You normally do. It’s been a few months.”
“It hasn’t been that long.” His mother loved to argue.
“Christmas,” he said.
“Oh. Well, I’m busy and the time gets away from me.”
So he’d been told enough in his life.
