I lower my head and press the top of it against his chest.
Hendrix pulls me into a hug and kisses my temple.“Baby, everything is going to be fine.I promise.”
I’m staring at my phone when Hendrix pops into my office that afternoon.
“You okay?”he asks.
I look up.“They still want me to go?”
His brow furrows.“Who wants you to go where?”Then his face relaxes.“Oh, your friends from downstairs want you to go out after work.Kels, you should go.”
I sigh and lean back in my chair.“It’s awkward now.”
“Actually, you could look at it the other way around.According to Beckett, they’ve known for at least a week.No one has looked at you funny.They knew when they invited you in the first place.It’s not a revelation to them.”
I chew on my bottom lip.He’s right.Still… The idea makes me uncomfortable.I need to do this, though.I need to face them.I don’t have a choice.
The truth is, I’m still in shock that any of this is happening.Am I really sleeping with my friend’s dad?Living with him?Working with him?It sounds like a convoluted romance novel.
Hendrix continues across the room until he’s next to me.My breath hitches even before he gently threads his fingers in my hair and angles my head back.I get a bit glassy-eyed when he does that, especially when he’s hovering over me like this.Our dynamic is potent when I’m sitting and he’s standing.
“You should go, baby.As much as I’d love to have you all to myself twenty-four hours a day, it’s not healthy or sustainable.You need friends, people you can do things with.”
I’m so ridiculously enamored with Hendrix that I don’t want to do things with other people.I want to go home with him, sit naked on his island while he chops vegetables between my legs before eating me instead.That’s how rampant my imagination is.
Maybe he’s right.Maybe I would eventually feel the loss of friendships I didn’t maintain.As time goes by, I might wish I had girls I could go out with.I’ll have Maddie, of course, when she gets back from her honeymoon, but it would be nice to have coworkers who liked me.
Do they, though?How can I know what they’re really thinking?Now that I have more information and realize they’ve probably known for at least a week, what does that tell me?Are they asking me to go have drinks because they like me?Or do they think they’d better be nice to the owner’s girlfriend?That sends a chill down my spine.How the hell will I ever know if anyone genuinely likes me?
Hendrix tugs my hair a bit harder.“Kelsey…” he warns.“I don’t like the look on your face.Get out of your head.Go have drinks.I’ll stay here.Text me when you’re done, and I’ll come get you.”
I take a deep breath.This has disaster written all over it.
Hendrix releases my hair, opens my drawer, and hands me my purse.
I stand and take it from him.“I’ll blame you when this goes south.”
“Fair enough.”He gives me a smile and kisses me briefly.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m pushing through the door to the bar.It’s only a block from the office.I’ve been here a few times before, but not since my job description moved me upstairs.
Glancing around, I spot Lara and Marian waving at me from a cluster of high-top tables.Several other people from the thirteenth floor are already here.I hold my head high and make my way toward them.
Marian pulls me in for a quick hug when I reach them.“I’m glad you came.We haven’t seen much of you lately.”
I force a smile, trying to stay strong.
Lara frowns.“You okay?”
I need to clear the elephant out of the room.Pretending it’s not there is madness.We can’t go on like this.If it goes badly, I’ll text Hendrix to come get me.I’ll be disappointed, but I suddenly realize I don’t need their approval.It changes nothing for me.
After fighting my feelings for almost two weeks—longer if I count the two months before Hendrix returned from Germany—it’s time to admit how important he is to me.I can’t give him up.Iwon’t.Nothing else matters.Not my parents or Maddie or my coworkers.I can’t live to please other people.If they won’t support me, they don’t get to be in my life.
I’m in love with Hendrix Kennedy.
Holy shit.
I’m in love.
