Page 37 of Between Desire and Denial
“Guilty,” Esme admitted, laughing. And then she flipped her long, straight hair like she’d done years ago when she was going to share some gossip. “Dad came home from the board meeting in a tizzy, saying you two weren’t really living together or dating. Guess I’ll have to report back that you are.”
That was when Dimitri came to stand beside me, his big arm wrapping around me to pull me close. “Really dating. Really living together. And really enjoying it too.” He took histime looking down at me and then rearranged the flower in my hair before he kissed my temple softly. The gesture was so intimate that I felt myself melting into his touch so much that I purposefully steeled my emotions and stiffened in his hold.
“Daddy, I thought Olive Bee wasyourgirl who ran away?” Franny bounced in front of us, her hands clasped.
Jameson looked at me, his icy blue eyes serious all of a sudden. “The girl whogotaway, Franny. Not ran away.”
I bit my lip at his admission. At one point, I would have wanted to hear that, but now I was standing there with Dimitri by my side, trying to ignore the pull between us.
“She’s back now. Next door. So, why does he get her?” She pointed at Dimitri. “Don’t you get her back?”
Jameson scooped her up and bounced Franny on his hip. “Maybe I’ll be given the chance to steal Olive away for a lunch or two, huh Dimitri?”
“It’s Mr. Hardy, Jameson.” Dimitri corrected him and I felt his body tighten next to mine. The tension in the room suddenly shifted, crackling between the two men. When I looked up at Dimitri, his stare was cold and hard as he held Jameson’s gaze. “And I’ll be clear now so there’s no misunderstanding, I don’t let anyone steal my girl away from me for anything.”
“Not even for a favorable vote from the board?” Jameson pushed him, raising an eyebrow.
“You could offer me this whole place on a platter and I wouldn’t want it without my Honeybee.”
The silence stretched after his response. He’d said it so definitely. Like I meant something to him all of a sudden.
And I think he would have kept up the act all night had Jameson not chuckled and stepped back toward the door. “We’ll see, huh? Either way, me and my girl Olive need to catch up.”
“She’s no one’s girl but mine now. It’s best you remember that.”
Jameson didn’t say anything else as Franny yelled bye. Esme wide-eyed me, pulling me in for a hug and to whisper, “Awkward. They both want you.”
After she left, Dimitri turned to me and said, “We’re going to have to work on your public displays of affection.”
“Why’s that?” I leaned against the countertop, looking at the pizza box instead of him.
He stepped close suddenly, and I felt him everywhere. It was like I couldn’t escape how my body responded to his, how his touch ignited a fire in me that I couldn’t put out. “Because you’re stiff even when I kiss your head in front of your friends, Olive. Or is that because Jameson isn’t just a friend?”
He caged me against the counter, and I licked my lips while I looked up at what seemed to be burning jealousy in his bright-green eyes. “Dimitri, Jamesonisjust a friend.” Why did I have to defend myself?
“Really? How long ago was that crush you had on him? Because I’m convinced his crush for you is still going strong.”
“He likes any single girl within a two-mile radius,” I chuckled and patted Dimitri’s chest.
Jameson had always been a womanizer, but we’d gotten along fine through the years. He had his own issues to deal with, but having a family who put their burdens on their children gave us something in common and made him an ally. It’s what we bonded over.
“You’renotsingle. You’re mine. Do I need to remind you of that?” Dimitri growled. “Maybe I need to go to lunch with you two.”
“Well, considering you’re not going to be here much, you’ll probably miss out. Right?” Why did I throw that out like I wanted him to be around?
“All the more reason for me to establish that boundary right away.”
“What boundary?”
“That he can like every other woman in a two-mile radius, but he can’t likemywoman.”
I laughed at that. “Get real. Even if Jameson and I quietly see each other, it’ll be no skin off your back. He’d be discreet. Believe me, he’s probably hooked up with half the women in this community and none of them know it.”
“You’d hook up with him?”
I scoffed because this conversation didn’t matter. “Dimitri, my sex life is close to nil right now. I left Rufford, slept with you only to learn what I’ve been missing out on, and now I have to spend a stressful who knows how long in my hometown while working on finding a career. If I want to destress with someone, I will.”
“Or you can destress with me.” His forehead fell to mine as he cut me off with that soft statement, and my stomach dipped at the thought. He continued on. “We are supposed to be together.”
