Page 67 of A Lot to Unpack
‘I’ll chance it,’ I tell him.
This time, he doesn’t go straight for the lips. He leans in gently, his cold nose brushing my neck. He kisses my skin just once, slow and warm, and I can’t help but tilt towards him.
He pulls back slightly, his breath warm against my cheek.
‘Still no alarms?’ he checks flirtatiously.
I open my mouth to say no – definitely not – but then his phone starts ringing, sounding a lot like an alarm. We both laugh.
‘Seriously?’ he says, pulling it out from his pocket. He frowns. ‘Shit. I’ve got a bunch of missed calls from work.’
‘Call them back,’ I tell him. ‘Make sure everything is okay.’
‘I’ll make it quick,’ he replies.
I only hear his side of the conversation, but it doesn’t sound great.
‘No, no, I’m on my way,’ he says. ‘Tell them to hold tight. I’ll be there in twenty.’
He hangs up and turns to me, wincing slightly.
‘Liberty, I’m so sorry, there’s a crisis, tech problems, they need me,’ he replies. ‘Can we pick up where we left off later? If it wasn’t important…’
‘Sure,’ I tell him.
I’m gutted, because I really, really wanted him to kiss me, but it’s his job, I understand.
‘To be continued?’ he says.
‘To be continued,’ I reply.
‘Let me get us a taxi. I’ll drop you at the hotel, on the way,’ he suggests.
We grab our shoes and head to somewhere a taxi can pick us up.
‘Any alarms now?’ he checks.
I shake my head, smiling.
‘Not a peep,’ I reply – and it’s true.
My ick alarm, my red flag radar, the mental block that usually stops me from moving on – it’s keeping quiet. Maybe it’s broken, maybe it’s confused, or maybe, just maybe, it’s met someone it approves of. Someone it likes. Jordan. And I like him too.
26
I’m not even awake properly when I feel a smile stretch across my face.
Last night was, well, I don’t know what it was, but I loved it. I loved every minute of it, right up until Jordan got called into work but, to be honest with you, that only left me wanting more. If it was a power move, it worked – although I’m pretty sure it was a genuine emergency.
I mean, come on, we almost kissed, and it felt like the kind of moment that only happens in the movies. Or very, very good dreams. We were so close. Like, centimetres – or seconds, depending on how you measure it.
I know I didn’t imagine it, or dream it. I wanted to kiss him and he wanted to kiss me too. That was one hell of a little black dress I picked out.
I roll out of bed, still in a dreamy, hearts-for-eyes haze, and walk over to the door between our rooms. I knock gently. No answer. I try again, louder, but there’s still no reply.
He must have gone to the office already, so it really must be an emergency. Well, I don’t have anything else to do, so I mayas well throw on some clothes and meet him there. Presumably he’ll let me in now, no questions asked.
I throw on an outfit and head to Matcher US HQ with a real spring in my step. I know, it’s not like I’m going to walk through the door and he’s going to pick me up,An Officer and a Gentlemanstyle, or pin me to a desk and have his wicked way with me right then and there – I’m not against it, by the way, but I know that it’s not very likely.
