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“That sounds like a challenge.”

“It’s an observation.” His confidence was about to send me into orbit. “You’re too strategic to reject something before you’ve seen it.”

I hated that he was right. I would at least look at the dress before making a decision, if only to understand what message he was trying to send with his selection.

“Fine,” I conceded. “But I reserve the right to refuse once I’ve seen it.”

“Of course. Though I think you’ll find I understand what suits you better than you might expect.”

The flight attendant reappeared before I could reply, offering breakfast and more coffee if we wanted it. I declined even though my stomach was growling because the thought of trying to eat while Cain watched me was too uncomfortable. He did however order some yogurt and fruit.

“We’ll be landing in approximately fifty minutes,” the flight attendant said before leaving us alone once more.

Cain sipped his coffee, studying me over the rim of his cup. “There’s one more thing we should discuss before we arrive.”

“Is it about another boundary you plan to cross?” I asked. The filter I tended to keep when it came to tactically moving through conversations was still on the ground in D.C.

“Nancy reserved the presidential suite at The Pierre for our stay.”

“You mean you’ve reserved a presidential suite for me and another room for yourself,” I said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

“No, I mean I’ve reserved the presidential suite for us. It has multiple bedrooms, not to mention complete privacy from one another, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

I was about to argue with him but if the suite had separate bedrooms, that wouldn’t be terrible. Still, the thought of being in close proximity to Cain for the next day or so made every hair on my body stand up.

“I see,” I managed to say, trying to keep my voice level. “And you didn’t think to mention this before now either?”

“Would it have changed your decision to come?”

I wanted to say yes, but we both knew that would be a lie. The professional and networking opportunity this gala provided outweighed my temporary personal discomfort. “That’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point, Sutton?” Cain said as his eyes locked on mine. “Because from where I sit, you’re looking for reasons to be offended rather than focusing on what is in front of you.”

“The point is consent,” I said after I cleared my throat. “Informed consent. You keep making decisions that affect me without giving me all the information first.”

“Fair enough,” he conceded. “In the future, I’ll be… more forthcoming with details.”

I blinked, thrown off by how quickly he agreed. I’d expected more resistance, but I’ll take the small win. “Thank you,” I said cautiously because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Cain nodded once, then reopened his laptop, effectively dismissing me. I stared at him for a moment longer before pulling out my phone to check my emails and text messages to catch up on the work items I needed to attend to. After all, I knew I wouldn’t have much time to do so if things were going to be as busy as I suspected they would be once we touched down in New York City.

12

SUTTON

The car that met us at Teterboro was identical to the one that had picked me up in D.C. except this time, I had company. Cain settled into the seat beside me, close enough that I caught the scent of his cologne but far enough that we weren’t touching. Of course this attractive and infuriating man would also smell good too. When we pulled off, I made sure to either keep my gaze fixed to my phone or to the scenery outside my window to keep from having to interact with him.

Cain broke the silence between us after a few minutes. “You’re quiet.”

“Just tired,” I replied, though that wasn’t entirely true. I was hyperaware of his presence beside me which felt as if it was draining me. Maybe he was a vampire or something.

“The hotel isn’t terribly far away in this traffic,” he said. “Feel free to rest. Plus you’ll have a few hours to yourself once we get to the hotel too before we need to get ready for the gala.”

“Sounds lovely.” I rolled my eyes, which wasn’t the most mature thing I could have done. However, I gave myself some slack because I was still processing the reality of sharing a suite with him, regardless of how many bedrooms it contained.

Cain’s eyes lingered on me for longer than I would have liked. “You’re angry.”

“Whatever could have given you that impression? Plus, I’m adjusting,” I corrected, finally turning to face him. “This is a lot to take in at once.”