Page 40 of Unforgettable

The knock on the door makes me jump and Lucia growls. Delgado starts barking and then Lucia chimes in and I stare at them in shock. I haven’t heard them do that yet either.

“Whoa, I didn’t know you had it in you.” I walk to the peephole and Jamison is standing out there, his cheeks bright red.

I groan and Lucia and Delgado amp up their barking. “Okay, girls and boys, that’s enough.”

I pick Delgado up and hold Lucia by the collar as I open the door.

Jamison runs his hand through his hair and it falls back into the messy, sexy, perfect placement it was in before.

The dogs are excited to see him and I can tell he wants to pet them, but I’m still holding onto Lucia and she’s trying to rush toward him and Delgado is squirming in my arms.

“You can come in,” I say, stepping back for him to enter.

“This won’t take long,” he says, his tone different than I’ve ever heard it.

Colder.

He walks in, leaning down to scratch behind Lucia’s ears and the side of her face as she leans into him. I let Delgado down and he skids across the hardwood floor to Jamison’s side and starts that twirling thing he did for me. Jamison smiles down at the dog and dammit, here I go wishing it was me.

I try to school my wistful expression when he turns his focus to me.

“I know our…night together has made this complicated.” His jaw clenches with each pause between his words. “Maybe this…tension…is just how it would’ve been with you no matter who came in here to take it over, or maybe you specifically wantmeto crash and burn, but I’d love it if we could come to some sort of peaceful place for the…less than three months you’re staying on.”

Delgado is still twirling around his feet, and when Jamison leans down and scoops Delgado up, I die. The cuteness factor is so blinding I have to turn away from them.

“But until then, I’m not going anywhere. If you’d like to share what your vision of this place was before…I stepped in and ruined everything, I’ll welcome the input. If not, I suggest you don’t stand in my way.”

His phone buzzes and since he’d set it on my side table while the dogs mauled him, I see what the text says.

Ava

You left Boston?! I hate you, but I also thought we’d have our chance…

“Looks like I’m not the only one who gives you a hard time.”

Fury flashes across his eyes when he sees I’m referring to his phone, and he sets Delgado down and picks up his phone, reading the text.

“I shouldn’t have said that and I shouldn’t have read your text,” I admit under my breath. “I’m not normally this—”

“Tell me this, Scarlett,” he jumps in.

Between here and Grinny’s, he’s turned into cold businessman mode, and for the first time since I met him, I feel the loss of how he looks at me when he’s not flirting or smiling that sexy smile or trying to charm the panties off of me.

My stomach clenches, a pang that physically hurts.

“Would you rather just handle the daily responsibilities you have now, you and Albert? He can be our go-between, if that’s helpful. And I’ll put my focus on implementing the changes as I see fit.”

I’m still so stunned by the difference in him that I’m quiet for too long as he waits for me to respond.

He lifts his eyebrows. “Do you need more time to think about it?” he asks.

“Uh, sure. I mean…no. I-uh, yes, yes, that works. No, that will be…fine.” The disaster just keeps on pouring out of my mouth.

He either pretends not to notice or he really has shut off all feelings toward me as of tonight. He bends down to give the dogs equal attention and when he stands upright again, they’re both panting after him, wanting more.

You and me both, guys.

“Okay, I’ll see you on Monday morning then,” he says.

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