Page 45 of The Mistakes I've Made
“And that’s where you’re wrong,” she insisted. “Love, life…it’s all a game. Sometimes, you win, and sometimes…well, sometimes, you lose. Hard.”
Lunch with Sierra had done more than lift my spirits.
It had put things right between us.
Although I doubted we’d ever be more than just friends from now on, I was more than okay with the outcome and glad to know I hadn’t completely screwed her over in my quest to ruin Leilani.
Speaking of, Sierra had done a good job of giving me a leg up on that front as well. By the time we’d finished our meal, Leilani had seemed to be more than a little distracted, her attention focused more on me and my lunch date than her toothy architect.
The ball was firmly back in my court.
Since Dean had taken this afternoon’s tour, I found myself alone in the office, humming along to no song in particular as I dived into a mountain of paperwork.
That was, until the door slammed wide open.
“What the hell was that?”
That damn voice. It got me every single time.
Standing up, I turned and was struck once again by Leilani’s raw beauty. Even today, dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a long-sleeved blouse to combat the chillier autumn temperatures, she looked stunning.
“Guess I could ask the same question,” I said, trying to play it cool as I shoved my hands in my pockets and casually leaned against my desk.
“What?”
“Well, you see, I thought we had an understanding, you and me.”
“An understanding?” Her shocked face was kind of adorable.
Not that I’d ever tell her that.
Pushing off from the desk, I sauntered toward her, and boy, did she notice. Her gaze worked all the way down my body and back up again as she took a step back and then decided against it, standing tall and defiant.
My grin widened.
“At the lighthouse, I thought we’d reached a compromise. That is what we’re supposed to do, isn’t it? Reach common ground for the sake of the town?”
“That’s not—”
“That’s not what? What you had in mind at all? I noticed.”
She opened her mouth to deny it, but I beat her to it. “How long did you wait to call your hotshot architect after I dropped you off last night? An hour? A couple of minutes? Or did you already have him lined up before I took a chance on you?”
Her face was a mixture of emotions; a tangled web of hurt, followed by confusion and finally, anger.
Oh, yeah. I definitely recognized the anger.
“You know what, Taylor?” she said, taking a step closer.
I could feel the heat from her bronze-colored skin.
“What?” I grinned, matching her step with one of my own.
Our bodies were touching now. Chest-to-chest. Hip-to-hip. The feeling of it was electric, and I felt shock waves all the way down to my toes.
“You…” She struggled for the words as her chest heaved, so flustered and out of breath.
And it was then that I realized…
