He grinned. “You know, I’m pretty sure you’re the blueprint for every plastic surgeon in the country.”
She laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“You are just incredible.”
“Stop, seriously.”
“You’re embarrassed of how gorgeous you are?”
“I’m embarrassed for you to say it.”
“Why? It’s just a fact.”
“Like me saying you’re particularly well endowed?” She prompted, gesturing to his nether regions then quickly looking away again.
“I’m not embarrassed by that. It too is fact.”
She laughed. “Whatever I’m feeling, it’s safe to say, you’re the opposite.”
“Do you have time for dinner?”
She blinked.
“I presume you haven’t eaten?”
“I—no, I haven’t.” And she was actually hungry, now that she thought about it. “But I should get home. It would take too long to order in food…”
“I’ve got food.”
She stared at him.
“I thought we might have dinner. So, I ordered it already.”
“Right,” she nodded slowly. In which case, surely it wouldn’t hurt to stay a little while longer? “Sure. I’ll stay for a quick dinner.”
She moved back to the large open plan living area, with the generously proportioned kitchen, dining table and lounges. This table sat four, but she’d have put money on there being another dining room somewhere in this fancy place, large enough to accommodate an elite who’s who of New York. A room with stunning views and chandeliers and probably even a separate servants’ entrance.
She pulled her phone out of her bag and quickly typed a message to her mother. “Running late, I’ll be back in a bit.” It was purposefully vague. She didn’t want to lie to her mother but the only way this fling was going to stay out of Jay’s eyeline was if she kept everyone in the dark about it, even her mother. Besides, her mom would worry. She’d been through too much with Jay, had seen Skye’s life fall apart. The last thing Skye wanted was to worry her all over again. And it wasn’t anyone else’s business, anyway.
This was Skye’s life, Skye’s choice, Skye’s gift to herself.
He walked into the kitchen and to her delight, wrapped his hands around her waist from behind, pulling her back against him then pressing a kiss to the sweep of her neck. She shivered, warmth curling through her.
“I’m glad you came here,” he said, voice husky and low.
“I am too.”
“Do you want to send me your schedule for the next week?” He asked, and even though it was a completely benign request, alarm bells rang.
“Why do you need my schedule?” Her voice was high in pitch. Memories of Jay insisting on being able to access her calendar, her emails, her work roster, turned her blood to ice. It had all happened so incrementally, she hadn’t really noticed at first, but somehow, she’d given her ex the keys to her whole life—and he’d used those keys to run it for her.
“So Alec can collect you after work,” he pointed out, referring to the driver.
Blood began to pump in her veins again, pushing out the ice. “Right,” she nodded slowly. “That makes sense.” But she was still resistant to the idea of giving him too much information. “Or I can just let you know day by day. Things change around, you know.”
“That’s fine too,” he agreed.
No big deal.