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Damon reached across the table and took her hand, marveling at the softness of it. “The only regret I have is wishing I’d done this sooner.”

Chapter

Five

There’s no way Damon had said he wished that he’d asked her out sooner. The very idea was ludicrous. Yet, his gaze was unwavering, and there was no way he was lying to her.

“What?”

Damon looked away, as if her one word question had woken him up to the mistake he’d made by saying it. Because it had to be a mistake. He can’t have meant it. He’d all but kept her at arm’s length from the moment she arrived at Power Security. He’d intimidated her with his stillness and quietness in the interview. Of course, that hadn’t stopped her heart from pounding from the first second she laid eyes on him. Nor had it stopped her crush from developing.

“You know what?” she said loudly and brightly. “Let’s just move on.”

The last thing she wanted was for him to turn around and say he’d made a mistake saying what he had.

Dammit, she should’ve declined this invitation. Tomorrow was going to be so awkward in the office, she wouldn’t be able to look at him.

Fortunately, their food arrived, and Margot grabbed a slice and all but shoved it down her throat. It burned the upper part of her mouth, but she didn’t care. It was worth it to stop herself from saying something else.

The quicker she ate, the quicker she could go home and work out how to deal with Damon when she saw him in the office the next day.

Damon hadn’t touched either pizza. He was sitting back in his chair, nursing his empty beer bottle, staring at her.

Sighing, she put her half-eaten slice down, wiped her face, and drained the rest of her wine. “You look like you want to say something.”

She’d given him an opening to expand on what he’d said, if he wanted to. Or he could tell her something completely different. Like she had tomato sauce on her cheek, or had a bit of basil from the pizza stuck between her teeth.

As nervous as she’d been about having a drink with him, it had disappeared quickly, and was now replaced with annoyance at the way he was still sitting there not talking to her.

Just staring.

The silence stretched between them, and Margot didn’t know what to do. The guys she’d dated in the past had been happy to talk about themselves. Or they’d asked her questions about her life. She’d had lots of fun on those dates, and had even had a relationship or two. She’d hoped that one of them might help squash her crush on Damon, but they hadn’t. In the end, they’d generally parted as friends.

But not once had there ever been such a lull in conversation like what was happening now.

She shook her head. There was no point hanging around if he refused to explain himself or talk to her. Even if it was about the weather, or which local football team had a chance to win the premiership that year.

Margot picked up her soda water and sucked long on the straw. The bubbles danced across her tongue and down her throat. Plastering a smile on her face, she stood. “Well, this has been fun. See you tomorrow.”

She hooked her bag over her shoulder and strode out of the hotel, head held high. She didn’t care that she’d only eaten half a slice of pizza and there was still basically two full pies on the table. She had to get away.

What a disaster this night had turned out to be. She should’ve said no, but shock and delight at the invite had had her accepting before she’d thought about it fully.

On the short drive from the office to the hotel, excitement had fizzed in her belly at the prospect of having a drink with Damon, along with a healthy dose of nerves, because she couldn’t believe he was noticing her.

Now as she put the car in gear, disappointment and embarrassment engulfed her. She’d allowed her crush to give her false hope that maybe Damon wanted to be with her as well.

The only regret I have is wishing I’d done this sooner.

His words echoed in her mind as she looked up in the rearview mirror and saw him standing at the edge of the parking lot, as if he didn’t know whether to yell at her to stop, or to stay there.

She wasn’t going to give him a choice. She put the car into gear and headed for the exit, putting as much distance between them as she could.

“I really should’ve gone straight home,” she muttered into the darkness.

The knock at her door came after she’d been home for over half an hour. After the disaster that was her drinks and dinner with Damon, she’d dumped her purse by the door and made a beeline for her bathroom, where she scrubbed the day’s makeup off, and changed into comfortable sweats and a pink fluffy sweater that made her think of flamingos, before grabbing the tub of chocolate chip ice cream from her freezer.

With her spoon still in her hand, she reached for her phone and checked her doorbell camera. After the incident at Andy and Narelle’s place, she’d spoken to Wilt, who’d installed a security system for her. Her two-bedroom unit was at the bottom of the driveway, and there were three other units in the complex. It was close to work and the perfect size for her. She’d worked hard to pay the mortgage, and was proud every time she checked the balance and saw it going down little by little.