Eamon took a step forward as the elevator slowed to a stop. “Forget Sara. She’s gone. Meera is upstairs. She denied that anything happened between the two of you, but she’s a horrible liar. At least try to see where this goes. She’s brave, and she’s sexy as hell. And if you don’t snatch her up, someone else will.”
The door opened, and he stepped outside. I followed, my jaw clenched so tight it ached.
Chapter 14
Meera
Threedaysago,Iwas running for my life. Tonight, I sat in a dimly lit bar, surrounded by warmth and laughter, and people who’d somehow become my friends in the span of a weekend. And all I could think about was the man who wouldn’t even look at me.
Except Graham was looking now.
Probably because he was sitting directly across from me, trapped by the arrangement of chairs and the unspoken rules of group outings. He tried to hide it, his gaze flicking away every time I caught him staring, but I felt the weight of it anyway. His eyes were dark and intense, and something in them had my pulse racing. I hated how it made me feel.
And then there were our legs. Our knees kept brushing under the table. Accident? Maybe. Or maybe not. Even through the layers of fabric, I felt the heat of him. My body reacted like a live wire, and a shiver ran up my spine every time it happened.
I hadn’t expected him to be here, not after days of watching him disappear into his wing of the penthouse, avoiding every group meal, every shared moment. He’d made it clear he wanted distance. But tonight he was here, wedged between Eamon and his brother Grayson. Their giant frames made the chairs and table look positively tiny, even thoughThe Howling Wolfwas a shifter bar and the furniture was already pretty generously sized.
I was pretty sure Shelby and the others had something to do with him being here.
It was strange to have friends. And despite having only known them for such a short time, I felt really comfortable here, like I belonged. But I was also pretty damn sure they were playing matchmaker. They’d scoped me out, found me acceptable, and were now trying to hook me up with the only single man in the family unit.
Graham was the only one left without a mate, and the women had decided it was their personal mission to change that. From what I’d gathered, he’d been avoiding their Friday nighthangouts at the pub and making excuses not to stay for movie night at the penthouse, almost like he didn’t belong.
Which was insane because he totally did. They’d taken it upon themselves to fix that. They weren’t trying to meddle. They were just worried, especially since he’d been a lot grumpier too.
I might have had one too many mimosas yesterday and spilled about the kiss. Just a little. Just enough to make Shelby and Lillian’s eyes light up like they’d won the lottery. To the best of their knowledge, I was the first woman Graham had kissed in a very, very long time. Like, decades. Maybe more.
Now, sitting here with his knee pressed against mine under the table, I wondered if he knew that I knew. And if he could tell by the way I kept fidgeting with my glass.
“I need the bathroom,” Shelby whispered.
“I’ll come with,” I said, needing some space away from his all-encompassing presence just to breathe.
“Me too,” said Emily.
Emily was Griff’s wife and mate, and Griff was the last of the Redrock brothers. They lived in a cottage-style home built right on the roof of the building. I didn’t really believe it until she showed me the pictures earlier. It looked like someone had plucked a cottage straight from a storybook, complete with a thatched roof, a wildflower garden spilling over the edges, and set it down on the rooftop. Talk about country and city living all at once.
We did the stereotypical girl thing, heading to the bathroom in a group. I hadn’t had an experience like this for years, ever since I started dating Karim and stopped going out with my friends.
It felt good. And I almost dreaded this ending, but I knew it had to come to a conclusion eventually. My life was still back in New York.
At least my job offered me a ton of freedom, since I usually booked my own client meetings and set my own hours. Earlier, I’d called the brokerage that I worked for to let them know I’d be unavailable due to some personal problems, and to send any leads to, barf, Jack. Maria, our receptionist, had immediately been strangely understanding.
I’d tried to act completely unsurprised when she said, “Of course, honey. You can take as much time as you need, considering what happened. I’d need time off, too, if that happened to me. Time off and a strong drink.”
I had no idea what she’d meant by “what happened” and couldn’t exactly ask. So I’d just thanked her and hung up.
I’d wanted to figure out what she’d meant, but then Lillian had come by asking if I wanted to hit up the mall and then the plant nursery, and I’d pushed it off. I needed to pick up a few essentials. I didn’t mind borrowing Tansy’s T-shirts and sweatpants. But I needed my own undergarments. I bought several pairs of undies and a bra, hoping it would be enough to get me through however long I had to be here.
They hadn’t found Karim, or some of the other groups who’d been after me, and even though I didn’t have the egg anymore,they wanted to make sure everything was safe before I went home.
Lillian had also convinced me to splurge on a gorgeous red body con dress that I’d never have had the guts to wear before. And I’d managed to convince hernotto buy yet another watering can. She already had several, and could use only one at a time.
Some of the penthouse plants were Eamon’s, but most belonged to Lillian. Between her online shop,Tiger Lily’s Tropicals, and her obsession with aroids, her and Gunnar’s place was a veritable jungle filled top to bottom with greenery. But hey, worse addictions existed.
As for the red dress I’d bought, I was wearing that now, along with a simple, cheap purse I’d picked up since I couldn’t wear my backpack everywhere. I checked myself out in the mirror. I hated to be vain, but I looked like a million bucks, and if Graham wasn’t interested enough to make a move, then that was his loss.
I was rubbing my hand under the super sonic dryer when I heard it.
