Page 68 of Innocent Intentions

“Are you really giving me my phone back?” I ask, excitement creeping into my tone.

“Yes, sweet girl. I think you’ve earned it. There are a fewsafety measuresin place. But besides that, you’re free to do whatever you want with it.”

“Thank you!”

I launch myself into his arms, wrapping around him in pure, unfiltered joy.

He freezes.

And suddenly, I regret it.

I’ve never initiated contact before. Maybe I’ve been reading the signals wrong. Maybe there weren’t any signals. Has it all been in my head?

I start to pull back, but his arms tighten around me.

“Don’t you dare let go.” His voice is low. Gravelly. His grip unrelenting. “I just don’t want to spill scalding coffee on you.”

A moment passes, and I feel it. His deep, long inhale.

Did he just sniff me?

And why does that make the butterflies in my stomach flutter?

Because you love him being obsessed with you.

I loosen my grip slightly, prepared to step away, but he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he pulls me tighter.

“Just a little longer.” He murmurs.

I giggle.

Giggle.

This man has me giggling. Who even am I?

Eventually, we break apart before my coffee can get cold. Matty lingers for another moment before brushing a kiss on topof my head. Then he excuses himself, mentioning he’ll be in his home office all day and to come to him if I need anything.

And just like that, I’m alone with my phone.

***

I’m sitting in the kitchen with Dotty, sipping coffee, scrolling through my inbox. I have hundreds of unread emails. Most of them are junk. I’m sorting through them, deleting those and reading the important ones, when one catches my attention.

An audiobook contract.

Oh my God.

I completely forgot.

My stomach plummets. The author I agreed to narrate for has emailed several times. The most recent one was yesterday, reminding me of the deadline in four weeks.

I need to startyesterday.

Thankfully, she assumes I’ve been busy recording, which explains my silence.

If I back out of this project, it’ll ruin my reputation in the romance audiobook community. I love narrating these books. If I could do it full-time, I would. And I refuse to let her down.

“Dear girl, what has you white as a ghost?” Dotty asks, concerned.

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