Page 26 of Only for the Moment
She cleared her throat. “So…mutual attraction?”
Isaac’s indulgent laugh rankled.
She frowned up at him. “That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to—”
“To what?” He reached out, his long, rough fingers brushing strands of hair from her cheek to tuck behind her ear. “Give in? Indulge? Why not?”
“Because you’ve got work.And I—”
“You have work too. I know. But that’s not what’s holding you back.”
She couldn’t meet his stare any longer. “No? Take a look around, Isaac. There’s not one person in this room that isn’t wondering what’s going on over here.” Probably because they were interested in Isaac, not because of her. But still, discretion was a huge part of her job.
She caught the bottom edge of his frown fromthe corner of her eye. Firm fingers tugged her chin until she had no choice but to meet his eyes once more. “I don’t let other people control what I do or don’t do,” he warned her.
“But I—”
He laid a fingertip on her lips. “I don’t think you do either.”
It was what Vinny had said, too, and both men were right. With anyone else, she wouldn’t have worried about having a relationship with a client.She knew how to be a responsible adult.
“If we’re going to talk about this,” Isaac was saying, “we need to do it honestly. It’s okay to admit you’re scared.”
She opened her mouth to deny it, but looking into his eyes, she couldn’t get the words out—because they were true. She was scared. Very scared, so much so that her heart pounded at just the thought of acknowledging it.
And that pissedher off. She’d never let fear control her. When she’d taken over the reins of her life, she’d promised herself not to hold back, not to be afraid to fall. She had one life, and after living most of it in the confines of rule-riddled boarding schools and empty, boring mansions she wasn’t supposed to leave, she’d wanted a lot more than just to be safe.
But she’d also wanted to be in control.
Sweat trickled down her spine.
“I—”
A sudden roar of noise from across the room jerked her attention to their audience. She shook her head, the motion making her dizzy. “I can’t talk about this here.” Not with all these people looking on. Not with the noise pounding in her head.
Head down, she brushed past Isaac, depositing the water bottle Matt had given her on a small table near the couchas she weaved toward the door. In the background she heard Isaac calling her name, then as she reached the door, Nick shouting for his boss. She didn’t look back to see if Isaac followed her. Her heart wanted him to, but she wasn’t ready. She’d been foolish to think she was. That she’d ever be ready.
The silence of the hallway felt like a tomb compared to the room she’d just left, but she welcomedthe weight of it as she hurried into the elevator. Kennedy sagged against the back wall, sucking in air and forcing back the sting of tears that blurred the numbers on the panel. They lit up one by one, down, down, down, tolling her failure with every floor, and with each ding announcing her descent, anger rose inside her. Really, she should bypass her apartment, head to a bar, and find someone,anyone who would erase those sexy blue eyes from her mind. She wasn’t afraid of that. She’d never had a problem finding a quick, easy release, and she wouldn’t now, with someone she didn’t have to try so hard for, someone who didn’t make her doubt herself. Was tying herself in knots like this really worth it?
The question rang in her head as the elevator slid to a stop at her floor. Her handwent to the panel, hovered…but she didn’t push the button for the lobby. Instead, when the doors slid open, she stepped out, straightened her spine, and walked to her suite. Going out was useless—no one could make her forget Isaac or what he made her feel just being near her; she sure as hell couldn’t forget his kiss. All she could do was wipe every moment of the past half hour from her mind. Therewas nothing wrong with her, nothing to doubt. Sure as hell nothing to be afraid of. If she wasn’t right for a playboy rock star with a rope fetish, well then, so be it.
The door had barely shut behind her as she made a beeline for the freezer, praying the strawberry ice cream waiting there would make everything all right again.
