Page 108 of Shark’s Pride

And what had I done? Turned on the megabitch superpowers and iced him out.

So wonderfully mature, Abbigail.

So…was all this really that cut-and-dried? Were we just having an argument and said things we didn’t mean? And if that was the case, now what? What sort of hornet’s nest would I be walking into when I brought him his lunch this afternoon?

“Okay, okay. Bring it down a notch,” Rio said, even though I hadn’t said a word. Not out loud, at least. I’d been lost in my own thoughts for the past six minutes, at least.

“Huh?” I finally answered, ever so intelligently.

“I see what you’re doing to yourself over there,” she mused with a little grin on her lips. “You’re not going to do yourself any good by raking yourself over the coals for whatever you said or did last night. Just go there today with his lunch, apologize, be sweet, and promise some sex. Boom, done.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. The woman had a way of making things seem so simple. It was a real gift she had. No matter what the situation, my sister-in-law just cut through all the extraneous crap and got to the heart of the issue.

For once, I hoped like hell she was on to something.

Of all the days I wanted the route to downtown to take as long as possible, it flowed shockingly smoothly. Traffic seemed light on all the usually congested streets, parking was effortless to find in front of every building, and even the elevators were ready and open for my arrival, practically goading me with their eager responses to the call buttons.

In short, the inevitable arrived sooner than later—and way before I felt emotionally shored up to deal with it. I took deep, fortifying breaths while being whisked to the top floor of Sebastian’s building. They helped. I think. I hoped.

Oh, dear Lord. I was really being ridiculous. That was all there was to it. This was Sebastian. The man I loved. And just like Rio said, he loved me in return.

And what happened yesterday… It was a silly argument that we’d work through now. We’d both apologize for our parts in and then move past the speed bump. That was what couples did…right?

Now if my rioting nerves and clenching belly would get the damn message too.

“Get a grip, Abbi.”

I mumbled it one last time as the doors slid open. After one more fortifying breath, I pushed my delivery cart into the main reception area of Shark Enterprises. I wished the trip were farther, at the end of some grand hallway, but the corporation occupied this whole floor as well as the twenty below it. If every office were laid out horizontally instead of stacked in this building, they’d be the size of a small fiefdom.

As I expected, Terryn sat dutifully at her desk in the main lobby. She regarded me like one of the Beefeaters at Buckingham Palace, guarding the bloody Queen’s jewels.

Except that there was a more precious treasure beyond those double doors.

“You can go right in,” she said without ceremony. Her directness was also an anticipated element. Her strange grin wasn’t. “He’s expecting you.”

“Thanks, Terryn.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

I opened the door and peeked in first. I always made sure Bas wasn’t on a phone call before dragging in my entire cart.

He wasn’t on a call. But of course, he was deeply engrossed in work behind the three large monitors on his desk.

“Hey,” I said quietly, feeling like I was disturbing him anyway. “Hungry?”

“Abbigail.” He said my name on an exhale as if it were the first time he allowed his breath to escape the confines of his powerful chest all day.

I brought my cart inside the door and parked it off to the side. By now, my heart was thundering. My nerves were fraying. I hadn’t been this thoroughly frazzled since the first week of engaging this man on a level deeper than professional.

He stood up behind his desk. Ran an appraising look over me. His blue eyes were darker than usual, probably from lack of sleep.

Bas prowled around to the front of his desk, stroking his unshaven chin with his thumb and forefinger. Had I ever seen him unshaven in this building? He’d never been more arousing to me than in this still, unsure minute.

I desperately needed him to say something.

“Close the door, Abbigail.” He paused a beat. “And lock it.”

Chapter Fourteen