Page 42 of Only Ever You

“There are only seven years between us. And she’s mine now.”

Her eyes flash with irritation.

But before she can say anything further, I hold up my hand. “Pippa and I are together now. Just so you know. Whatever stunt you were trying to pull is done.” I stand and turn back toward the coffee pick-up.

“Deacon?”

I pause before looking back over my shoulder. “What?”

“I was just trying to protect her. I’ve known you for the past ten years, and?—”

“Pippa’s known me longer than you have. She knows me and she trusts me. What she doesn’t need is someone feeding into her insecurities.”

Mallory flinches as if she’s been hit. “I’m sorry.”

“Apologise to her.” I stalk away, and when my coffee order’s called, I grab the cups and make my way up to my office to see my girl.

My girl.

Now we’re together, nothing and no one will take her away from me.

* * *

It’s midmorning by the time I get to speak with Pippa again after dropping off the coffee earlier. The rest of the morning’s been full of dealing with issues—nothing major, but there are always those pesky little things that crop up, and right now I’ve got my web designer working on a new concept for our website.

When I get back into my office, Pippa’s sitting at her desk. Her expression is strained, and I hate it.

“Are you okay?”

Pippa rubs her temple. “I’m fine.”

Shaking my head, I lean over the other side of her desk, propping myself up on my elbows and studying her. “I know what that means. If it’s about Mallory, I took care of that.”

One of Pippa’s eyebrows dips. “I hope you didn’t get me offside with her. She’s still management.”

Reaching for her hand, I raise it to my lips and brush a kiss over her knuckles. “She was looking out for you. But I made it clear that you’re no one-night-stand for me.”

Her lips wobble, and for a moment I think she’s going to burst into tears.

“Thank you. But it’s not what’s giving me a headache.”

“Oh?”

I scoot around the side of her desk until I’m standing behind her. On her screen is a website full of evening dresses.

She scrambles to place her hands over the monitor, but I reach for them, pulling them down so I can get a better look. “Is this for the release party?”

“Yes,” she mumbles. “I was talking with a couple of the women in product development, and they told me it’s a good excuse to dress up. But I don’t really have anything that works.”

I scan the screen. “Are you ordering online? I’ll pay.”

Pippa shakes her head. “I was going to the store at lunchtime. And you don’t have to pay.”

Leaning my head against hers, I pop a kiss on her temple. “I’ll come with you.”

“Deacon.” She laughs. “Really? You want to come shopping with me?”

I shrug. “You’re my girlfriend. Those dresses are sexy as fuck. You bet I want to see you try them on. I’ll buy every one if I have to.”

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