Page 23 of Beyond Question

Fuck me.

I scrub my free hand over my jaw. No, really, who the hell have I become?

This woman has me by the fucking balls.

When my brain kicks back into gear, I begin moving toward her, following the sound of her voice until I stop in the doorway of her office. The door is open, but she doesn’t look up from the papers in her hands, and I use this moment to drink her in.

It’s been less than a week, but I swear she’s even more gorgeous than I remember.

Her silver hair is twisted into something messy and unkempt atop her head, with strands falling down to frame her face. Her glasses are a black and white checkered print today and I can’t find the pop of color she’s infused into her outfit but I know it’s there because it’s always there.

My mind wanders to where it might be, and because I’m a man and somewhat of a pig, I imagine it’s in the lace of her bra, the silk of her panties, maybe a pale lavender, or, no, a deep cobalt blue that would pull out the darker specks of blue in her eyes—

“Mr. Wilder.”

I look up and she pins me with those blue eyes I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. I didn’t even hear her end her call, and I have a feeling she may have said my name more than once.

“Wherever those thoughts were heading,” she says, the slight breathlessness in her voice telling me she knows exactly where my thoughts were headed, “stop it.”

She tugs at the collar of her black blouse and I smile, then pull my lip between my teeth and tilt my head. “You’re blushing.”

“You just undressed me with your eyes, Mr. Wilder.”

“Can you blame me?” I shrug. “And you know you can call me Travis.”

“I’ll do no such thing.”

With a sigh, I say, “I see we’ve regressed back to being strangers.”

“We’ve always been strangers; playing a few baby shower games didn’t change that.”

“A few baby shower games?” I raise my eyebrow. We spent hours together, but whatever. She wants to play this game? Fine. We both know how much I love games. Stepping into her office, I hold up a bag.

Paige’s eyes narrow. “What’s that?”

“As if you can’t smell them already.” I set the churros down and grin proudly. “I brought you dessert.”

Her lips twitch, that smile trying so hard to break free. “I haven’t even had lunch yet.”

I chuckle as I sit down across from her. “A beautiful woman once told me that life is short and we should eat dessert first.”

“Wise woman.”

“Wise. Beautiful.” I shrug, then lean forward. I hold her gaze and drop the charming smile as I say, “And absolutely unforgettable, Paige.”

Her breath catches and her cheeks turn rosy. “Travis, please.”

“It’s just a bag of churros, Paige, not an engagement ring.”

She breathes deeply, no doubt drawing that delicious cinnamon magic into her lungs, then she licks her lips and gives a curt nod. “In that case, thank you. I’m starving.”

We sit in silence as I pull the contents out of the bag and set the dipping sauces up between us, then I stand and slip my blazer off, biting back a satisfied smile when Paige’s eyes watch each motion of my hands as they roll up each sleeve of my shirt.

When I sit down again, the spell breaks, and she gives her head a quick, subtle shake, then she looks between me and the churros pointedly. “You’re staying?”

“Ouch.” I place my hand over my chest and pretend to be stricken. “If I leave, so do the churros.”

Paige’s eyes narrow. “Fine. Suit yourself. But I have work to do.”

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