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“Sean.” He’s facing me, sleeves rolled up, both his tattooed arms resting on the armrests and trapping me in place so I can’t run away.
“This thing between us isn’t over,” he rumbles darkly. “I don’t want it to be, and I know you don’t want it to be either. What we have is special, and it has been since the beginning. We might have been able to fool ourselves once upon a time that it wasn’t, but you and I both know that’s a load of bullshit. We know we’re special, Jess. You know that and I know that.”
I stand up, forcing him to back away. “Sean, please. Not right now.”
He stands tall, his eyes a thundercloud of emotions. “Is it still about the phone call? The ridiculous fax? Because it’s not what it sounded or looked like, and I cannot believe you’re going to throw away something special over BS like that.”
“Maybe BS to you! But no, Sean. It’s not just about that, it’s everything up until this point. You say there’s more here, and I’m not denying that.”
His shoulders drop. “Then what’s the problem?”
“It’s too damn complicated.”
“Then let me make it easy for you.”
He cups the back of my neck and pulls me forward into a kiss.
At first, I anticipate a forceful kiss, but to my surprise, it’s gentle—soft, tender, and absolutely wonderful, filled with so much warmth I want to cry. I want to kiss him back so badly, but I can’t. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”
“And you think it’s easy for me?” he rumbles against my lips. “Jess, I love you. I’m in love with you. So fucking much.”
My stomach clenches and my heart skips a beat when the words come out of his mouth.
That’s not what I was expecting him to say.
“What?”
He cups my cheeks. “I love you. More than anything. More than life. More than I could ever put into words. And I know you love me too, baby.”
Deep down, I know it’s what I was hoping for, but didn’t dare let myself think that it was a real possibility. Yet even though it makes me elated to hear him say those three words, it only increases the terror.
Shaking my head, I say, “Even more of a reason to keep our personal and professional lives separate. Love and business don’t mix, Sean.”
“They seemed to mix pretty fucking well over the last month. We’re great together, Jess. We’re dynamite. And if you’re worried about Blackwood, don’t be.” He strokes my cheeks softly. “I want you to trust me. There’s a board meeting scheduled for tomorrow, and I’m determined to set things right, if that’s the last thing I do. In fact…”
He opens the envelope I gave him earlier and pulls out the paperwork. To my amazement, he rips the packet in half, tossing the papers onto the floor. He does the same to the fax.
I stand there in shock.
“See? You’re not pulling away that easy,” he rumbles.
My mind is so blown that I don’t hear the tell-tale squeak of Pippin’s cage until it’s too late. Sean notices it first, glancing past me and pointing. I spin around just in time to see a flutter of wings move past the balcony doors. The little guy somehow managed to open the door himself.
“Pippin, no!” I rush over with Sean right behind me.
I’m fully prepared just to see Pippin fluttering over the ledge with his clipped wings and down to the street below, but to my relief, he’s perched on the railing. For half a second, I watch his wings flap up, managing to gain some air and land on the molding of the pillar between our balconies.
“Shit!” Sean says, alarmed.
“I have to get him down. He can’t fly properly, and I don’t want him to fall.”
Quickly, I move toward the ledge, but then I feel a firm hand on my shoulder. Sean has stepped out onto the balcony with me, and he’s glancing up at where Pippin is stuck.
“Let me get him. He’s really high up, and I’m taller.”
“You’re going to have to climb onto the railing.”
He side-eyes me. “I’m aware.”
