Page 52 of Love and Cherish

Why did she sound so ridiculous? She couldn’t form a single thought with Cherish looking like she did. It’s just a crush. Haylee grimaced. It was more than a crush at this point, but she still wasn’t ready to admit that to herself.

“What about the speech?” Cherish popped out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe. She dragged her gaze down and then up Haylee’s body, making her shiver in response. Was Cherish checking her out?

Weren’t they mad at each other still?

“That you forgot it?” Why did Haylee insist on asking that like it was a question? It wasn’t. That was exactly what Febe had told her.

Cherish’s face pinched. “I didn’t forget it. It’s right there on the kitchen table.”

“Then why did Ms. Aarts tell me that you forgot…” Haylee trailed off as the realization dawned on her. She bit her cheek and shook her head. “Never mind. I’m here now, so I guess that means we can ride together.”

“Are you still going?”

Haylee’s jaw dropped. “Why would you say that?”

“Because all week you’ve made snide little comments about how you may or may not be going. I thought we had an agreement, Haylee.” Cherish put her hands on her hips, looking at Haylee full-on. “You help me with this and keep Ms. Aarts on track, and I help you pitch your idea to her.”

Tightening, Haylee stilled. What was she supposed to say to that? That had been the original bet, but she had been pretty sure that Cherish wouldn’t follow through. “That was the bet.”

“So, why weren’t you planning on coming tonight?”

Haylee cringed at Cherish’s innuendo. But there was no way Cherish had done that on purpose. She wasn’t subtle enough to understand that on a good day, and this definitely wasn’t a good day for either of them. “That’s a long story.”

“Try me.” Cherish planted herself against the wall, daring Haylee to share.

Haylee hated this. She hated feeling like she was the center of that gaze, like she was one step behind whatever was going through Cherish’s mind, and that she didn’t understand anything. Haylee was left completely in the dark, and she hated it. “You know what, I’m just going to go.”

“Haylee.” Cherish wrapped her fingers around Haylee’s upper arm, stopping her.

Heat seared through Haylee at the touch. She dropped her gaze to Cherish’s fingers, expecting her to let go, but she didn’t. Haylee trailed her gaze up and over Cherish’s arm to her chest and the tops of her breasts, to the smooth lines of her neck. Cherish swallowed hard, her pulse racing. Haylee could see it. When Haylee looked at Cherish’s lips, they quivered.

“Why weren’t you coming tonight?”

“I’m not built for this job. We both know that.”

Cherish took a step closer, but she didn’t move her hand from Haylee’s arm. One more step and Cherish lifted her chin to look directly in Haylee’s gaze, meeting her eyes. Her breath was hot as it fluttered across Haylee’s cheeks and lips.

“Will you ever see yourself as worthy?”

“Worthy of what?” Haylee was mesmerized. And she was pretty sure that even if Cherish did speak, she wasn’t going to hear the answer.

“Anything.” Cherish’s voice came out a whisper, and her hand moved from Haylee’s shoulder across her collar bone.

“What are you doing?” Haylee held her breath, not sure which way she wanted Cherish to answer. Did she want to have sex? Absolutely. Was this the time for it? Absolutely not.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all week, Haylee.” Cherish moved in even closer. The soft scent of her perfume wafted into Haylee’s senses. It was never something strong, and Haylee always had to be standing in close proximity in order to receive the full force of it, but today it was intoxicating.

“It’s hard not to think about the pain in your ass.”

“You’re hardly that.” Cherish brushed her fingers over Haylee’s lips. “When you kissed me in the office the other day, I almost let you take me.”

Haylee dragged in a shuddering breath. “You said you weren’t ready.”

“I wasn’t.”

Did that mean she was now? Haylee was confused. Cherish was hot and cold, that was for sure, and this wasn’t helping her figure anything out in terms of where they stood. “What are you doing?”

Cherish blew out a breath, the smile that had been ghosting on her lips moments prior was now gone. “I don’t know.”

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