Page 38 of Bedding the Baby Daddy

Rose grinned. “Sorry, I know this isn’t making a ton of sense. Look. I guess I’ll just say that when you know, you know. And all you can do is get out of your own way. People fall out of love all the time. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you sure can’t make yourself un-love somebody. No matter how hard you try. It’s useless. So if you feel it, you might as well show it.”

* * *

Dante leaned back in his desk chair and scraped a hand over his stubble. He held the phone away from his ear for a second, just to get a break from Gio’s voice. He was making sense, but damn if he didn’t annoy the ever-loving crap out of Dante these days.

He’d never had a problem working with Gio in the past, even if the two of them were very different people with very different views on how things should get done. But these days, Dante felt his fuse get shorter and shorter with the man.

Aurora was between them. And as far as Dante could tell, Gio didn’t even know that Aurora was between them. The man didn’t even know that Aurora was pining for him. And Dante was fairly certain she was. She never mentioned him, looked so uncomfortable if he was mentioned, and she’d been coming over to see Dante more and more often. For the hundredth time, Dante cursed himself for ever proposing the idea that she use him to get over Gio.

He’d thought that having Aurora in any way, at any cost, would be better than not having her at all. But lately, knowing that she really wanted Gio was driving him insane. It never affected him when he and Aurora were together. When she was there in front of him, touching him or kissing him, Dante didn’t think twice about it. All he could think was how perfect she was, how much he wanted her. But then later, he’d think back on it. And he’d realize that she’d probably been picturing Gio the entire time they were together. Every time it felt like a poison spreading through his body.

It was almost like he couldn’t get a moment alone with her. There were always three people in the room: Aurora, Dante, and the ghost of Giovanni Esposito.

He fucking hated it. But his only option was to put up with it, or break things off with her.

That was never happening. Not when he could barely stand to go the few days she always made him wait between phone calls. Between hook ups. He never called her, didn’t want to pressure her. And besides, that wasn’t the way their arrangement worked.

He thought back on their weekend together. He was grateful to Michelle being so dang pushy. Because it meant that Aurora had stayed over Saturday night as well. And on Sunday, the three of them had gone to a movie, ordered more food.

But now it was Monday and while he’d gone to bed with Aurora in his arms, he’d woken up completely alone. No phone call. No text. No thanks for the weekend. Nothing. Just like that first night they’d hooked up.

It had pissed him off. And it had meant that he’d argued with Michelle over every little thing and ensured that he’d sent her off to school in just as bad a mood as he was in.

Now it was halfway through Monday and his mood had only worsened. Aurora still hadn’t called or texted and as far as Dante was concerned, all of it was the fault of the man on the other end of the line right now.

“I think we should be able to have the specs on the Peterson project in another week. But it depends on whatever happens on your end,” Gio said. “Are you close to sealing the deal there?”

“Of course I am. What do I look like, an amateur?” Dante snapped and couldn’t help the wave of pleasure he got from being an asshole to Gio.

Gio sighed. “God, you’re touchy these days. No. You aren’t an amateur, Dante. But you have been off your game recently and it’s not ridiculous for me to check in here. Between you and Aurora, I swear, it’s like tiptoeing through mousetraps.”

That had Dante’s ears perking up. “What’s that? Aurora’s been in a bad mood recently?”

Gio was quiet for a minute. “Not a bad mood exactly, but she’s been colder than usual, I guess. I mean, you know her. She’s uber professional. But she’s always been warm with me. And that’s not really there recently. I must have done something to piss her off.”

Music to Dante’s fucking ears. She wasn’t being as warm to Gio as she usually was? What the hell was he supposed to make of that? He figured it could mean one of two things. One, she was just pissed that Gio had found someone else and she was trying to keep herself from getting hurt again. Or two, her more tender feelings were currently being expended somewhere else, or on someone else.

The thought had Dante losing his breath. Suddenly in a much better mood than he’d been in all day, he found himself much less irritated with Gio and much less anxious to end the call.

“Any word from Raphael DePella?” Dante asked, referring to a client that he and Gio had been trying to land for months.

“Yes, actually. Hold on, I’ll forward you the email he sent me from Greece.”

“Greece? He’s still on that fucking vacation?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure he’s in the mood to talk business anytime soon which is a shame because…

Gio’s voice faded away as the door to Dante’s office opened and there was Aurora. One hand on the knob and one hand pulling her messenger bag off and tossing it on the floor. She wore a silky lavender blouse and a cream colored pencil skirt. Her blonde hair was in a long, thick braid over one of her shoulders. And she had a look in her eye that Dante had come to know and love quite a bit.

She’d come here to scratch an itch.

Dante watched, the phone still to his ear, as she closed the door behind her and locked it. He watched as she stepped purposefully across his office, her hips swaying and her eyes heated.

Dante could hear Gio’s voice in his ear, but he couldn’t for the life of him understand a word the man was saying. He made a non committal sound in the back of his throat hoping it sounded like he was still listening.

And then Aurora was standing there, in front of him, looking perfect and untouchable and as gorgeous as always. Dante’s mouth watered. He patted his lap, asking her to climb on, but she shook her head.

Bending down, she clamped a hand onto Dante’s knee and swiveled his chair so that he was facing her. Standing between his legs, Aurora’s eyes burned into his. She kept eye contact as she slowly bent down in front of him, going to her knees.

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