Page 53 of Worth the Risk

“I just want to see you happy. By the way, Mia is really nice. I think the three of us should hang out sometime.”

I bristle at the idea of hanging out with a woman whom Austin isn’t currently dating but has dated in the past.

“I don’t know, have they…” I hate that the thought popped into my head and I really hate that I said it out loud.

“Ohhh.” She pauses. “I guess I didn’t think about that. Did you happen to notice anything about her, though? The way she looks?”

“She’s a beautiful blonde with a nice ass and perky boobs.” I know I sound jealous, so I reach for the last of my donut to shove into my mouth before I make it worse.

“Yeah, that’s my point.”

“What’s your point? That’s Austin’s type.” I shrug, wiping my hands and the counter free of the crumbs. She stares at me for several more seconds. “What?”

“She looks just like you.”

I’m more nervous riding the elevator to my office than I was on my first day of law school, my internship, and starting this job combined.

“Morning.” An older gentleman I don’t recognize nods at me briefly when he enters the elevator.

“Good morning.” I smile back, clutching the straps of my bag like I’m hanging on for dear life. The seconds tick by slower than usual, the elevator climbing at what feels like a snail’s pace. Four, five, six… I watch the numbers change one by one, the car lurching to a stop on seven before the doors open.

“Hey, Gary.” Austin’s deep voice fills the small space, his eyes glancing over me like nothing awkward occurred between us over the last few days. Like I didn’t completely leave him hanging after he texted me.

“Hey, Austin, long time no see.” The old man’s face lights up, his hand darting forward to shake Austin’s. “How are my investments doing?” He laughs.

I dig into my pocket to retrieve my phone, hoping there’s something on the screen to distract me as the two men make a few jokes before Gary exits on his floor.

“Good morning, Miss Harrington.” His eyes stay forward, his hands sliding deep into the fitted charcoal suit pants he’s wearing, my favorite pants he wears actually. My head tilts a little as I take an extra second to appreciate the way his ass fills out the pants.

“Are you really trying to hide yourself in your phone?”

“No.” I jump, reminding myself not to sound so defensive. “No, I just wanted to check my schedule for the day.”

“I’d ask if you had a nice weekend but—” He turns to look at me, his lazy smile sending butterflies dancing through my belly. “I heard some asshole fucked it up for you.”

My laugh is one of relief, as if I’ve been holding my breath that he wasn’t going to acknowledge it. “I wouldn’t say it was all bad.”

“I’ve missed hearing that lately, your laugh.” His eyes linger on mine as we ride the final few floors to my office. “I hope I didn’t fuck up more than just your weekend.”

I take a step forward so I’m next to him, about to ask if we can just pretend it never happened, but before I can reply, the doors open and his hand is pressing gently against the small of my back. He walks out of the elevator with me, even though his office is a floor above mine, his hand never pulling away from me till we reach my office door.

“We’re okay,” I say, pausing outside my office.

“Are we?” His eyes study mine, our bodies only a few inches apart. It’s dangerous being this close to him, especially now that it’s not unknown territory.

“Do you want to go to yoga with me tomorrow night? Not as a date.”

Why’d you say that?

He smirks, ignoring my comment. “I would love to go with you, but I actually signed up for cycle class tomorrow night. It’s for a charity event. You pledge so many cents or dollars per mile you ride in the class.”

“Oh, okay. No worries.”

“Do you want to go to that with me? We could do yoga another night? Thursday?”

“Okay, yeah, sure.”

“Great. I’ll send you the link to book your bike in the class. We probably won’t end up by each other, but it’ll be fun.”

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