For a second, confusion flickered over her features. But he saw the exact moment it clicked into place what she was looking at.
“All these women?” she asked, disbelief coating her words.
“Yeah.”
Her chest rose on a deep inhale as she focused on Jenna. “They’re all beautiful.”
Joel wouldn’t know. The woman beside him took too much of his attention.
But the sadness on her face…fuck, it gutted him.
He stepped in front of her to block her view. “Is this for me?” Without waiting for a response, he slipped the cup from her fingers and sipped the hot liquid. Damn, her coffee was always perfect.
“Well, it is now.”
He curved an arm around her waist. “You wouldn’t share with me if it was yours?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Depends how much I like you on any given day.” She set the croissant onto a side table.
“Considering you’re visiting me at work, I’d say you like me a lot.”
“I tolerate you.”
He chuckled before lowering his mouth to her neck. “There is not one part of that sentence that I believe.” He nipped her skin.
She gasped.
“You know what this thing between you and me feels like?” he whispered.
“A terrible lapse in judgment that I’m really enjoying?”
He laughed again. “No. A relationship.”
She stiffened, then pushed at his chest. He didn’t step back, but he did lift his head.
“We are not in a relationship,” she asserted.
“We’re having sex.” A kiss to her temple. “We’re eating together every night.” A kiss to her cheek. “And every morning, I get to wake up with you in my arms before we shower together. Sometimes, you even bring me coffee and food at work.That’sa relationship, Sunshine.”
A bit of color drained from her face.
“Hey.” He set the coffee down and cupped her cheek. “You’re safe with me. Your heart is safe. Your body. Even that sass you throw my way is safe.”
She swallowed, her chest rising before she said quietly, “I don’t feel safe.” It was probably the most honest she’d ever been with him. It felt like both progress and a huge kick in the gut.
“How can I fix that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe time.”
“Then let’s take our time.”
She nodded, and he was just lowering his head to kiss her when the ringing of his phone cut through the room again.
Goddammit. He checked it and, sure as shit, it was his mother.
He silenced the call and shoved it back into his pocket.
Polly frowned at him. “She calls a lot.”
