Page 6 of Cream
“It takes one second to say yes, darling.”
I heaved a sigh. There went my easy lay. “I think you should take Alain up on his offer. I’m not ready to commit.”
The phone was silent for a heartbeat. “I’m tired of waiting around for you to grow up.”
Growing up wasn’t an issue, and I wasn’t commitment-phobic. But Jamie was single now; he wasn’t going to marry Brian or Liam, and I… Was I a hopeless fool?
“I’m sorry.”
“You will be,” Gary said ominously and ended the call.
The interaction with Gary left a sour taste in my mouth. Why did he have to push? He wasn’t in love with me. Gary wasn’t the romantic type at all. That was one of the things I liked about him. I didn’t have to worry about hurting him.
Except I’d underestimated his ambition. He’d made a calculation and was pleased with the prospect. He deemed me a suitable match, but then I went and ruined his plan. Of course he was pissed, on top of being humiliated.
It was for the best. I’d been ignoring Gary’s annoying traits because I needed a regular outlet for my sexual frustration. Maybe he was right. Maybe I should grow up and start dating people seriously.
But who would want to have a meaningful relationship with a nutcase like me? I was hung up on a guy twenty years my junior, whom I spent hours with on a daily basis. I was basically married to Jamie already, except I wasn’t allowed to touch him.
He was my employee, too young for me, andnot interested. I wouldn’t put him in an awkward position or even endanger his livelihood by propositioning him. He didn’t deserve that.
I should have fired him. Wiped him out of my life for good.
I should have done that during those first few months. God, he’d been only twenty then, and I’d jerked off in the office bathroom to fantasies of him bent over my desk. I’d felt like the most disgusting creep who’d ever crept.
And I’d only gotten worse since, hadn’t I?
As soon as I saw him, the now familiar longing swelled in my chest. He stood on the train station platform, craning his neck. He was looking for me. His face brightened with a sweet smile as he spotted me. He waved.
Was there anyone in the entire wide world more beautiful?
He had this soft, fragile quality about him that made me want to wrap him in a blanket and hold him tight. Then he would give me a mischievous smile, a dimple in his cheek deepening, his large turquoise eyes sparkling, and the alpha in me wanted to bend him over a desk, slap my hand over his sexy mouth, and fuck him so deep his stomach would bulge.
“Mr. Hartley, you’re almost on time.”
“Almost?”
“It’s nine thirty-two.”
“The train is still here.”
“Because it leaves at nine forty-five.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You said nine thirty.”
He blinked innocently. “Did I? I must have misspoken.”
A porter jumped to grab our luggage. I’d booked an entire car, the last one on the train, so we’d have privacy. It had two bedrooms, two en suite bathrooms, and a compact coupé in the front that we’d use as an office. I climbed the steep stairs behind Jamie,notstaring at his ass in his thin slacks.
“This is cozy,” he said as he looked around the front coupé.
“I believe the bedrooms are back there.”
Jamie peeked through one of the open doors. “I call dibs on this one.”
My lips twitched with a smile. I loved how easy and playful he was with me. Jamie had always been impeccably professional when the situation required it. He was also warm and kind and kept me on my toes with his sharp wit.
Finding another Gary wouldn’t help. I needed someone I’d actually like. I’d been comparing everyone I’d met with Jamie, and they fell short.
