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“She’s here?”
I nod. “Don’t worry. I’ll work late to finish the report.”
He waves me off, leaving his desk to stand before me. “Can I meet her?”
“What? I-I thought ...” Words fail me. They simply fail me. I can’t even think of anything else to say, so I choose silence instead.
“Introduce me to your sister, Gemma.”
“Okay.” So, we’re doing this.
I wish I could’ve warned Gia to be nice. Her claws are often out to protect me. I breathe deeply before we join her.
And Damon, like the multimillionaire CEO that he is, gracefully takes over. “It’s Gia, right?” My heart melts at the idea that he remembers me mentioning her name during one of our talks.
“Yes, it’s nice tofinallymeet you.” She smiles at him. When her stare finds me, I wordlessly plead with her to play nice.
We all head inside the elevator because Damon has “errands to run.” I wonder what for.
“Congratulations on the baby. When are you due?”
“Oh, thanks.” Gia looks down at her stomach, beaming and rubbing her hand over her winter coat. “I’m due end of June.”
Damon nods, looking ahead, and suddenly I can’t help wondering what he’d be like as a family man.
I zip up my coat as we leave the elevator, and Damon places his hand behind my back. I can’t read his expression. He must remember that we’re at work, because he removes his hand like it burned him.
Walking feels so weird, even with a coat on, because I have no thong underneath my short skirt. Each step creates friction between my legs.
Surprise must mask my features when we head to the lobby and I find Henrik waiting there.
“Sorry I’m late.” He stares at Gia, winking.
I walk up to him to say hello, and he wraps me in a tight hug before spinning me around like he hasn’t seen me in years. I can’t see Damon’s face right now, but I can see Gia’s, and she seems proud of herself for orchestrating this lunch date.
“Ready for lunch, pretty lady?” Henrik looks smug, his eyes daring me not to follow through with this.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “Damon, this is—”
“Henrik,” he interrupts me, offering his hand to Damon. “Nice to meet you.”
“Damon.”
“All right, well, it was really nice to meet you,Damon,” Gia says, and they start walking away.
Now is not the time or the place to explain, so I tell him I’ll see him after lunch.
Besides, he can’t tell me whom to have lunch with. He doesn’t provide me with any details as to who Ms. Sutton is or anything regarding his past. He knows all there is to know about me, and yet when it comes to him, his taciturnity rules all.
Damon tells me to enjoy my lunch, so I follow Henrik and Gia outside to the busy streets of Chicago. Even though it’s past noon, it’s full of people.
“What wasthat?” I ask them.
“Thatwas playing hard to get. Let him choke on this for a while. I’m telling you, Gemma, you can learn a thing or two from me,” says Henrik.
Gia snorts at Henrik’s answer, walking ahead of us. Her patience during pregnancy is slim to none.
Hen wraps his arm around me and we walk, while Gia raves about how hot Damon is. I shut my eyes for a second, wishing I could tell her to stop talking. Henrik’s right here, and it’s not fair to talk that way when he’s loyal to his brother.
