Page 60 of Prudence
“Yes, and thank you for arranging for me to stay here,” Milly replied, then cleared her throat. “Can I ask how your father’s doing? Nuala told me about the tumour and the scheduled removal. It must be a lot of worry for you all.”
She’d been talking to Nuala? My sister promised she wouldn’t say anything to Milly about the proposal, nor about Dad and her aunt. Then again, neither of my siblings were particular skilled at keeping secrets.
“He’s doing well. I never got a chance to thank you for how you took charge that day. Dad was lucky to have a doctor close by.”
“I’m glad I could help. I hope he’s decided to start taking things a little easier. Your mother’s been wanting him to retire for a while, right?”
I felt my blood pressure spike at her mention of Dad’s retirement, especially since I was presently in the thick of the transition, though it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared it would be. I was handling everything surprisingly well even if I was now the person who had to make all the important decisions for the business. “Yes, he’s not happy about being forced to retire early. My mother, on the other hand, is delighted even though she’s worried about the surgery.”
“Does that mean you’re in charge now?” She glanced around. “Of all this?”
My lips twitched at her wording. “Yes, I’m in charge now.” The statement came out low and husky and perhaps with a hint of double meaning. Maybe I wasn’t entirely in charge of whatwas between us, but I certainly felt like I understood her better, her reasons for always keeping me at a distance. If my theory about her aunt was correct, that was. The very notion that she’d been in love with me but denied herself out of a sense of familial duty made me want to pick her up and crash my mouth to hers. If only she’d told me back then, everything could’ve been so different … and yet, I wouldn’t have Pablo and Gigi, and there was no world in which I’d give them up. Maybe this was how it was meant to be. Maybe we were supposed to spend those years apart before finally coming back to one another.
A light flush stained her cheeks before she went on, “About what happened at the party, before …” she trailed off, but I knew what she was referring to. Not like I hadn’t been replaying it in my head all week. It was the one thing getting me through all the stress, that little bubble of happiness we’d shared, even if it had only lasted for less than a minute. I obsessed over her hitched breaths and that tiny sigh of pleasure she’d made. It was the reason I’d been spending an extra ten minutes in the shower every morning.
I arched an eyebrow. “Before?”
“When we … In Nuala’s old bedroom.”
My expression heated as I motioned to the seat in front of my desk. “Why don’t you sit down?”
I watched as her throat bobbed before she nodded and sat, smoothing her hands over her thighs, then blurted, “I feel like I made a fool of myself.”
Her statement had me rising from my seat as I went around to lean against the front of my desk, gazing down at her. “Why would you feel like that?”
“When I overheard some of your conversation with Paloma, I didn’t expect to feel so overwrought. Obviously, I have absolutely no right to feel any sort of way about what you choose to do with—”
“You haveeveryright,” I said gruffly, and her eyelashes fluttered, a fresh flush rising in her cheeks. My voice was unexpectedly rough, but I really needed her to understand this. It felt like she was revealing a glimpse of her true feelings—that she wanted me like I wanted her, that she felt a similar possessiveness as I did, and it made my pulse thrum. My palms were sweaty as I searched for the right words. I needed to communicate clearly that I didn’t want anyone else, especially not my ex-wife. “There’s nothing even remotely romantic going on between me and Paloma, and there hasn’t been since we divorced five years ago. She and I have been over for a long time.”
“Okay,” she breathed, glancing down at her hands where she had them clasped in her lap. “So, are we …” Her eyes flicked up, breathtakingly blue and curious. “Would you like to …” She was obviously struggling, and I found myself taking both her hands in mine and pulling her up to stand. I turned us so she was leaning against the desk as I moved in closer. My hands moving to her hips, I gently lifted her and placed her on the hard surface, her breath catching on a tiny gasp. Unable to resist, I pressed my palms to her knees, using my fingers to encourage her to open her legs so I could step between her thighs.
Staring into her gorgeous eyes, I ran my hand over a lock of hair that had fallen free and tucked it behind her ear. My cock stirred at the way her pupils dilated when I touched her. “Before we establish what’s going on between us, first, I need you to answer a question.”
Again, she swallowed, and I fought the urge to kiss her, to feel exactly how soft her pink, rosebud mouth felt, to taste her. “Al-all right.”
Staring down at her, I asked, “Why did you really say no to me that day on the beach?”
By the way her gaze flared, it was clear she knew exactly which day on the beach I was referring to. “I don’t understand.”
“Just tell me why, Camille. The real reason.”
“It’s a little complicated.”
“I’m listening.”
She glanced away, and it was at that very moment my assistant decided to knock on my door again before peeking in. Whitney’s faced blanched when she saw our position. “Oh, my apologies, Mr Balfe, but it’s time for your two o’clock meeting.”
“I’ll need a minute.”
“Of course.”
She backed out, and I brought my attention to the woman in front of me. Milly’s expression was full of panic, and it made me wonder if I should back off. Was I pushing her too hard? I couldn’t deny that I wanted something with her now. I wanted to explore the connection we’d always had, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her.
“I should go,” she said, lowering her gaze. “You have a meeting, and I’ll need a little more time to fully explain.”
“Okay, but we’re going to talk about this,” I said, my tone determined as I bent and whispered my lips over hers. A soft, surprised sound escaped her that stirred something needful in my chest.
“All right,” she whispered.
