“Thank you.” She exhales a long breath against my chest, her arms encircling my waist. “Thank you for everything this morning.”
I pull back and give her a quick kiss. “You’re welcome. How did it go?”
“I feel good about it. Everyone seemed to respond well to my answers, and it was very conversational, so I was able to relax a bit once we got going.”
“Fantastic.” I drop my forehead to hers and run my fingers into her hair.
“Jamila took your spot on the panel,” she says. “And she didn’t glare and grumble like certain other people.” She laughs, poking a finger into my chest. “She actually smiled instead of being a pest the entire time.”
“But did you crash into her car on the way in?” I tease, wrapping her hand in mine as we walk toward the stairs.
“No, actually. I only run into people who—”
Millie jerks to a stop on the landing, her blank stare targeted on Kyle ascending the stairs. He’s dressed in a light gray suit and red tie as he strolls up the steps, cold eyes on Millie the entire time.
Her hand shakes slightly before she drops it from mine.
As he reaches the landing, his gaze leers over her like she’s a piece of gum he’s stepped on. “Guess it’s my turn,” he says, curling an eyebrow at us.
Stinging pain lances through my heart. I fell for his act. I opened the door for him to come back into her life. The man who spent years abusing the woman I love is now digging away at all the hard work she’s put in.
Fuck. Iloveher, yet I did this to her.
My skin vibrates with rage as I put my hand on Millie’s lower back to encourage her to keep going, but she doesn’t move. She seems to steel her spine, pulling her shoulders back and lifting her chin.
I slide my hand up higher, and Kyle’s attention swings to me. “Is this your new plaything?” He chuckles darkly, looking at where my arm disappears behind her back. “This must be how you got a second interview. You fucked your way into it?”
Millie flinches, and a pounding fills my ears. Hot adrenalinerushes through my body, and my hands shake with the need to punch that arrogant fucking smirk off his face.
But as I step forward to respond, Millie beats me to it. “Do not speak to me.” Her voice is more lethal than I’ve ever heard.
“Aw, come on, I was having fun.” A malicious grin contorts his lips.
A growl rumbles out of my throat, predatory and protective. “She said don’t speak to her.”
He laughs coldly. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want when I’m her boss.”
Millie straightens and takes a step toward him, looking every bit the warrior I hope she sees herself as. “Get thefuckout of our way, Kyle. I won’t take this from you anymore.” She shoves a finger into his chest, and it’s enough to make him lose his balance and shift back. Millie steals the step from him and gets right in his space again. “Get out of my museum.”
A sinister laugh creeps from him, the sound loud in the staircase. “Is this your museum?” He tilts his head to look around. “We’ll see about that.”
“Let’s go,” I say, putting my hand on her waist and pulling her toward me. A breath rushes out of me when she shifts her feet so we can move down the stairs beside him.
“You should probably get my desk ready,” he snarls from behind us.
On the bottom step, she plants her feet, turns to face him, and spits her next words with venom. “I regret every day I spent with you, and I refuse to waste even one more thinking about you.”
With that, she grabs my hand and walks toward the museum entrance. She keeps her footsteps steady until we reach my car.
When she swings into the passenger side, she slams the door behind her and seems to deflate into the seat.
My throat feels tight with helplessness as I get in the car. I turn and take her fidgeting hands in mine. “Millie—”
“I can’t do it right now,” she mumbles, eyes on the parked cars out the windshield.
I nod, turning the key until the engine roars to life. “Okay, what sounds good for lunch?”
“I want to go home,” she says robotically.
