Page 36 of Miss Understood

The last thing I need to do is give a man the power to make my belly spin. Especially my husband.

“Okay, I’ll go,” I say. “But boundaries, remember?”

“I remember,” Jesse says with a smirk that makes me wonder if he sees it as a challenge. “Did we just have a whole conversation without arguing?”

“Yes, Mr. Davis, I think we did.”

Jesse’s hand falls to my knee, and I feel it all the way to my toes. I pull away and bury my body under the blanket just to keep my head on straight. Luckily, he pretends not to notice and takes my soup bowl into the kitchen.

I might have perfected my self-control over the years, especially with Jesse, but right now, it’s slipping. Hating him was easy. But this…

I won’t be that woman. The one who ends up in a knock-down, drag-out divorce. The one who ends up crying and heartbroken. I won’t lose myself over a man. I don’t need another half to feel whole nor true love to feel validated.

So why is it that every day since waking up next to him in that hotel room I despise him a little less and want him a little more? How is it that his smile as he walks back into the room with water in his hand makes me question everything?

13

Luce

Kennedystandsinthedoorway, eyeing Zac as he walks by with a box of my things.

“Girl, you’ve officially lost it. Where is my friend Luce, and what have you done with her?” she asks.

“Second door on the left.” I wave Zac toward the hall, and Kennedy slaps him on the ass as he walks past us. He shoots her a primal grin.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying, this is a mighty fine moving service you’ve got here,” I say, following her line of sight.

“I don’t mind at all,” Kennedy says. “Looking good, babe!” she yells down the hall after Zac.

Not only is Zac one of the richest men in the country, but he’s also not hard on the eyes. Tall, dark hair, and the kind of sharp green stare and easy grin that no doubt got him a lot of play before Kennedy stole his heart.

Kennedy spins back to me and puts a hand on her hip. “But seriously, what’s going on here? One second you say this was all a big mistake, and now you’re moving in? I’ve got whiplash.”

I don’t blame her. Marrying a man and moving in with him contradicts my plan of staying single forever and dominating the corporate world.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what happened,” I tell her as we head toward one of the couches. Jesse’s apartment is annoyingly spectacular. There are gorgeous view of the bay outside a wall of windows. Splashes of color mix with warm copper and brass tones. His spicy scent permeates every surface, mixing up the feelings swishing around in my stomach. It’s another reminder that me moving into his space is just one more way I’m losing my independence.

Kennedy sinks down on the plush cushion next to me.

“We were set on the annulment,” I tell Kennedy, watching her eyes trail Zac and his friend Mark as they move back and forth through the apartment with my boxes. “But that was when we thought what happened in Vegas could stay there. Once Mateo pulled his fun little surprise party prank, everything changed. Colleagues, clients, the whole city made a fuss. And if I walk away now it makes me looks flighty. It’s hard enough to be taken seriously as a woman in my field without adding this to it. Not to mention that Jesse is technically my boss. People are going to think I’m using him. And, while I might enjoy fucking as much as the next person, I don’t ride dick to get ahead.”

Mark comes through the door at that moment and freezes with a box in his arms, eyes widening.

“You get used to it.” Zac laughs as he pushes his friend along, and they move down the hall with another load.

“I get that. I remember going through something similar with Zac. Mixing business and pleasure is messy,” Kennedy says, taking my hand. “But you guys are on a whole other level. I mean, you spent years at each other’s throats. How is this going to work?”

“Fine, I hope. I think,” I tell her as I pull my hair off my shoulders. “We’ve called a truce for the time being. He’s kind of stuck too. Doesn’t want to take the corporate heat for fucking a subordinate. We might not actually be screwing, but people obviously assume.”

“So, no…?” Kennedy wiggles her eyebrows and grins.

“No,” I say flatly.

“Come on, seriously? I mean, if there was ever an excuse to work out that insane sexual tension, this is it. He’s your husband. No one would even question it,” she says.

“I would question it,” I tell Kennedy, and she frowns. “Yes, I admit, the man is fucking hot—and seriously packing below the belt, as I found out in Vegas. Like, no joke, that dick would be a ride I would not forget.”

Mark crosses the room with Zac again, and they both chuckle, but they don’t make eye contact this time.

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