Page 97 of Love You
Darcy darted a look around the lobby. “Shush. We’re done with that, remember?”
“Nope. Can’t say I do.” He sauntered toward the men’s locker room, arrogance in every step.
She went to her desk and sifted through time cards, making sure no one had screwed up her payroll system. TJ used to do it but as soon as he’d figured out that she could accomplish the work in half the time, he’d shunted the duty to her. Even after a promotion, she suspected she’d still be doing it, which was fine because she liked it. Darcy listened to voice mail and jotted down messages. Potential clients calling with questions about GA’s programs and packages. Most of the pertinent information was already on the website but some wanted to talk to a human. She could understand that.
Twenty minutes later, Win stood by her desk, impatiently tapping his toe. His hair was damp and he had on fresh clothes. He smelled good, like soap and sunshine. “You don’t need to do that.”
“Five more minutes.” She blew out a breath. Only a few days since she’d been gone and everything was already in disarray.
She managed to get the mess into some semblance of order, grabbed her purse, and walked with Win over to Old Glory. They were approaching July but it felt more like August, hotter than a furnace. As soon as they got a table, Darcy checked her phone to see if there were any updates on Nana. Her parents promised to call if she took a turn for the worse.
“Anything?” Win asked.
“Nope. No news is good news.” She would call after lunch just to make sure. “How’s it been here?”
“Busy. And I missed the hell out of you.” He leaned across the table and pecked her on the lips.
“What was that for?”
“Nothing.” He sat back with a self-satisfying grin. “I’d kiss you for real but we’re in public.”
She arched a brow. “We talked about this, remember? No more kissing.”
“Because of Madison? That’s just bullshit and you know it.”
It wasn’t because of Madison. Win had dropped Madison to rush to Darcy’s side when Nana went to the hospital, probably losing a lucrative account for his family’s business in the process. He’d been the only person in her life besides Nana to ever put her first. If she hadn’t already fallen for him that would’ve clinched it. “I told you from the beginning that you and I were strictly temporary.”
“Yeah, that was stupid so I overruled it. We’re still doing this.”
“You don’t get to decide,” she said.
“But you do?”
A server came to the table and they ordered. Darcy scanned the restaurant to see if anyone had overheard them. The other diners seemed oblivious to the conversation, immersed in their own or their eyes pinned to the two flat screens in the bar.
When the waiter left Win persisted. “I like you, you like me, what’s the problem?”
The problem was she liked him too much. And according to the physics of love, one person always got the short end of the stick and that person was always her. “It takes more than like to sustain a relationship.”
He held her gaze. “The truth is I’m crazy about you and I think you’re crazy about me.”
He got the last part of that right. She wasn’t buying the first part. Win was bored and she was his new playmate. “Right.” She folded her arms over her chest, defying him to prove it.
“You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just don’t think it’ll last, given your revolving door policy. Besides, I’m not your type. Britney is, even though she was Looney Tunes. And she and I don’t exactly truck in the same circle. You’re larger than life, while most of the time no one knows I exist. You dazzle while I fade into the background, which is fine. I don’t need to be the center of attention.” Though she wanted to be recognized for her accomplishments. But that was enough, she didn’t have to be the star of her own reality show. Whereas a spotlight followed Win wherever he went. “Women vie for your attention while I . . . Let’s put it this way, no one is banging down my door to pose in a cheesecake calendar.”
Win rolled his eyes. “Emphasis on cheese. Wow, I’m that shallow to you, huh?”
“Pretty much,” she lied, because he was much deeper than anyone knew. But he was a sportsman who loved a challenge. An impossible mountain to climb, an extreme backcountry slope to ski, a big wave to ride, and an unwilling woman to conquer. But after laying herself bare she wanted to save a little face so she accused him of being superficial.
Their food came and they ate in stony silence. He picked up the check after a brief tug-of-war over the bill and they shuffled out, still not talking to each other. They got to GA and she was about to go inside when he steered her to his Jeep.
“What are you doing, kidnapping me?”
“We’re going somewhere private where I can talk some sense into you.”
“I’ve got stuff to do, Win. I have to check in with my grandmother.”
