Page 22 of His Until Christmas

It slumps again just as quickly.

Rex:I didn’t hear from you, so I’ve gone ahead and switched shifts with Reece. Be gentle with him. Had a hell of a weekend down here.

I huff out a sigh and lower my phone to find Sebastian squinting across the table.

“What’s wrong?” He leans over to feel my forehead, scattering toast crumbs and slopping chocolatey milk from his cereal bowl in the process. “You not feeling well? Want me to call in sick for you at the office?”

“No. I’m fine. And I’m not working out of the office today. I’m working from Rex’s place.”

He squints again. “Well, if you aren’t sick, someone must have peed in your Coco Pops this morning. Who was it?”

“No one, but thank you very much for that charming visual.” I push my own breakfast away, unable to face solid food. I also can’t face the liquid version Patrick slides in front of me. I’m not sure anything so green as this smoothie belongs on a breakfast table. Or in my stomach. I’d much rather chug a Red Bull, but Patrick has weaned me off them, saying he wants me to be fit and well forever, which only confirms what he chalks as today’s affirmation.

I am loved.

I love him too, so I do my best to sip around lumps of protein powder.

My stomach still churns at what a weekend of silence has left me convinced of.

Work is going to be so awkward.

It’s my own fault for doing exactly what I always told myself I wouldn’t, even if Reece wasn’t technically my boss when things got a tiny bit out of control between us. And I didn’t actually bang him, did I? But truthfully, we did come closer to that than I have before throwing a frog back.

Closer?

You virtually humped him on a hairy sofa.

Sebastian squints at me some more. “Has someone at the bank been giving you a hard time about working from Rex’s place?”

“No. I’ve worked from there plenty of times before.” I practically lived in Kensington when he first set up the foundation. “There’s nothing for anyone at the bank to give me a hard time about. Technically, they don’t employ me.”

This smoothie isn’t getting any easier to swallow, so I get busy clearing breakfast debris with a damp cloth. “I work for Rex.” I correct myself just as quickly. “I mean, I’m Reece’s.”

I don’t mean to omit the wordspersonal assistantfrom that description. It’s impossible to ignore how it sounds like a complete sentence.

I’m Reece’s.

I don’t need a thesaurus to mentally add what I think next.

And I’m embarrassed.

That’s the long and the short of what I’ve replayed more times than I ever watched a video of me on YouTube. I am embarrassed about a slide-show of moments that have graced my bedroom ceiling since late on Friday.

Me spinning on marble tile is only one example. I cackled like a loon at getting dizzy, didn’t I? Then I stuck my tongue down his throat and climbed him. Don’t even get me started on how he’d had to make sure I didn’t walk into a restaurant with my fly down.

My throat heats, and Sebastian must notice colour creeping upwards. “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

Not even Patrick in his undies distracts him, and that’s a whole lot of near-naked Trelawney mid-yoga flow, so I guess Sebastian won’t quit until he gets an answer. “I didn’t sleep well, that’s all.”

I catch a glimpse of sympathy from Patrick between the spread of his downward-dog legs. “You got first-day-of-school nerves, babe?”

“Hardly.” I’m twenty-four, not an infant.Although…

This feelingisreminiscent of walking into a classroom after putting on an unthinking show in the playground. I feel as exposed now, so covering my face is instinctive, which is a mistake when holding a crumb-covered cloth, but I do have to admit this. “Actually, yes. I am a little bit anxious.”

“Anxious? Why?” For once, it’s Sebastian who wipes crumbs instead of being the cause of their distribution. He brushes them away with gentle fingers, no lint roller needed.

Usually, Patrick is king of any cuddling that happens in this kitchen. This morning, a social-justice warrior wraps me up and won’t let me go. “If it helps, Reece is nervous as well. He must be. He keeps asking about you.”

---