Page 49

Guilt—there it is again.

It’s getting stormy, though not as badly as yesterday. We eat in silence in the living room while rain spatters the exterior walls lightly. When she’s done, she roams the room like she can’t sit still.

“You want some wine?” I ask.

She gives me a sharp glance. “Why? So you can seduce me again?”

“Seduce you? I didn’t put in any work.”

She gives a gasp, not a serious one. “How dare you?”

“Dare I say you want to get laid, too? Loosen up.”

She rolls her eyes, and to my surprise, crosses the room and sinks down in my lap facing me. Light, warm fingertips brush my jaw. Her lids are low and her gaze soft. I run my palms over her bare legs to the hem of her shorts, sliding beneath them until my fingertips brush the edge of her panties. She’s been wearing these tiny little thongs, but today it’s a pair of lace-edged panties that catch on my calloused skin. There’s something so sweet and pretty about her that hits a certain part of my desire and makes me want to spend days in bed with her, peeling back layers, listening to her talk until I find out who she is at her core.

“When you think, you lose the crease between your eyebrows,” she says.

“Oh, I got wrinkles, huh?”

She smiles, flashing her front teeth. There’s a tiny overlap between them, and I like it.

“I mean, you are older than me.”

“But not old.”

She shrugs, then nods. “That’s true.” Her voice gets soft, almost wistful. “Not too old, just right.”

My fingers tighten. I think she likes that there’s a little gap between us, which makes me feel a bit better about it. It’s not something I’m in love with, personally, but I like her enough to tolerate it.

“Did you like when I played for you?” she asks, faltering.

“I did.”

A million thoughts surge through her eyes. “If we ended this…messing around, would you consider me professionally?”

Taken aback, I gather myself. I wasn’t expecting her to be so straightforward.

“It’s hard to answer that with you sitting in my lap,” I say.

She moves, but I grip her hard.

“I didn’t say leave,” I add gruffly.

Her throat bobs and tension crackles. “This can be turned around. I want a chance, same as anybody else.”

“Well, it’s not the same as anyone else.”

She bites the inside of her lip, frowning. “I know.”

“But that’s not unusual. Is it a good thing? Not really, but Coen got top billing in the agency because we’re basically related.”

She’s quiet.

“I don’t sign anyone I don’t think has what it takes, though,” I say finally. “Knowing me already is a foot in the door, but it won’t get you any further than that.”

Her eyes snap up.

“So what would be the right way to go about it?” she asks.