“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean, Genevieve?” His words echo in the staircase, so much so that I worry they might have heard him three floors up and down.
“You know exactly what I meant. Stop being so damn stubborn!” I shout back.
When he grabs the handle of the door, a different kind of emotion sets in. Panic. I’m not letting him leave when we’re in the middle of this mess. “Don’t you dare open that door, Jacob!” I warn.
His hand freezes, and I let out a relieved breath. Gathering my thoughts for a couple of seconds, I try to express what I’m feeling.
“I understand that you find my attitude problematic, and I’m so sorry for offending you. But you know I have issues that I’m working on, Jake. I’ve made so much progress in the past few weeks, and I’m getting there, but I can’t dismiss a decade of not feeling good enough with a snap of my fingers. Yes, I care what people think. I’m trying not to, but it’s hard.”
My eyes are teary, and I feel like I’m losing it. I’m so scared that he’ll resent me even though I can’t help it. His face conveys some remorse and a pinch of shock as he finally sympathizes with what I’m going through.
“But I wasn’t ready for you to stumble into my workplace and expose our relationship to everyone like this. Maybe you didn’t realize the kind of office this is, and how those assholes think we are better than the rest of the world. But it’s so stupid because you’re the best man I have ever encountered, and not a single one of them is a quarter as wonderful as you. I love you exactly the way you are, so it’s not fair to say I’m ashamed of you just because I would rather they didn’t end up spreading nasty gossip about us.”
When I dare to look up again, he isn’t as grave as he was moments before. Instead, he’s grinning like an idiot, his gaze all soft as he stares down at me. Is he not taking me seriously? Does he think I’m joking or being too much? That brings back my anger at once.
“What?!” I snap, vexed.
“You just said you love me.”
My eyes go round with bewilderment as I try to think back on what I said.Oh, right.
This is something I’ve barely admitted to myself yet, but now that I have, it’s like the most obvious of truths. I’m madly in love with Jake, even though I refused to acknowledge those feelings because everything has been happening so fast. But even our calls have fed this warm sensation that glows from within whenever I hear his voice or think of him.
I am inarguably in love with Jacob Daniel Clarke.
Still in the heat of our fight, I defensively say, “Well, you don’t deserve it, so I take it back.”
“You can’t take it back. It’s already out there.” It’s irritating how joyful he looks.
“Watch me do it anyway, you stubborn assho—”
My words are cut short by his insistent lips. I’m stunned and a little whiplashed as he kisses me. My hands are still up in surprise by my sides when he pulls away. The earlier mood has changed, replaced with something longing and sensual. I don’t want to fight anymore. Not when he looks at me with so much tenderness.
“It’s been true for a while, you know?” I softly confess. “But the moment should have been romantic instead of right after I made you feel lesser than you deserve—like I’m trying to buy your forgiveness with it.”
And I’m upset again, a solitary tear rolling down my cheek. This serves as a sour reminder that despite how well we work together, we’re not compatible in so many ways. His world and mine are too different.
His gentle and tattooed hands, which I’ve missed so much, rise between us and grasp the sides of my face with all the tenderness in the world. His thumb wipes away the salty drop as he makes me look up into his green eyes.
“I love you, red,” he professes with intensity. My heart flutters hectically, swelling against my ribs. “And it’s been true for me for a while too.”
The tension vanishes until all that’s left is him and me, wrapped in a cocoon of want, need, and love. Jake loves me, and I’m officially the luckiest person in the world.
We move in unison to kiss, eager and impatient. Shivers travel throughout my whole body when our lips meet, half from the long separation and half from the love declarations.
Who would have ever thought this would be our outcome?
I can still remember with perfect precision the moment I first saw him entering the bar of The Plaza—so dashing and uniquely him. He’s the one who convinced me to stick around and find out what could become of us. I owe it all to him. Everything.
“I love you,” I repeat into our kiss, flooded by a wave of elation, gratitude, and raw adoration. “I love you so much.”
“And I love you, red. Every fucking part of you, from your witty mind and clever tongue to the last freckle on your skin.”
We get a little lost in it, overwhelmed by a desire to manifest all those feelings physically, but also eagerly getting reacquainted after nearly a week apart. His hands are fondling my behind and pulling me into his erection, and mine are locked in his hair to keep him close.
When a few chatting people pass right outside the door, I’m reminded that anyone could come in. And as much as I want to keep devouring him, I can’t let someone find us like this. That could lead to repercussions.
