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“How would things change if he told you that he loved you? Like, what would you do if he stormed out of his office right now and proclaimed his sober, undying love for you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I would consider staying?”
Her lips pursed. “But why? You got an amazing offer in Los Angeles.”
“Yeah, but I guess maybe there’s only one real reason that I’m leaving…” My hand dropped to my stomach, which was still easily concealed but not for much longer. If I didn’t want Eli to know about it, there was no way that I could hang around. I might’ve been keeping it a secret, but I wasn’t going to come up with some elaborate lie as to who the father was.
Zena tugged at my arm and pulled me into a hug. “It’s all going to work out the way it’s supposed to, I just know it.”
I nodded, leaning into her embrace. “God, I’m going to miss you.”
“Yeah, right back at ya. I’ll have to start watching soap operas or something to fill the hole you’re leaving in my life with all your juicy drama.”
Laughter bubbled up from my chest. “My life is not a soap opera.”
“If you say so,” she teased, pulling away and picking up her bag. “I’m going to go ahead and head home though. As much as I would love to stay and just talk your ear off, there’s no way my husband is going to remember that we have this premiere tonight if I don’t get there to remind him.”
“Right,” I said, as the sound of a door opening caught our attention. “I didn’t think he was still here…”
“Well, here’s your chance for that conversation,” Zena quipped, spinning around and heading toward the door like she was on a mission. “Best of luck to you.” She winked at me as she slipped out.
My eyes drifted to where I expected Eli to emerge from, and sure enough, a few seconds later his tall, broad frame appeared. He was well put together for the day, with a dark gray suit and his hair freshly trimmed and styled. The stubble on his jaw was just enough to make my thighs tighten with excitement, wishing they were being tickled by it.
Eli scanned the empty office and I braced as his eyes made it to me, half expecting to get in trouble for being here late…
But instead, he kind of smiled and walked toward me.
What do I say—It’s okay that you drunkenly said you love me? Or does he even know he said those things?
My heart jumped, realizing that it was as though the drunken speech had just happened, since time had passed but neither of us had really dealt with it.
“Olivia,” he greeted me, instantly leaning against the desk like the hunk that he was. “I see that you’re packing your things.”
“Yeah…I, uh, move Monday morning—well, the movers will be here.” My mouth felt dry. “Not here, though. At my apartment. Moving. My stuff.”
He raised an eyebrow at me, but nodded like I hadn’t just sounded like an idiot. “So you fly back to LA on Monday?”
I sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I was trying to say, sorry.”
His eyes dropped to the box on the desk. “You really didn’t have much here, did you?”
“Mmm, not really.” The contents of my small box were definitely pathetic in nature, mostly just office supplies and my nameplate that I’d ordered online. “That’s okay though.”
“You know you could’ve stayed, right?” His fingers ran along the surface of my desk, and something about the slow movement caused me to catch my breath. My mind was filling with images of those fingers repeating that same motion on my skin.
“I think it’s just best if I don’t stay.” I was losing my confidence in my tone, but that was only because of the moistening fabric between my legs. My body was working against me, but I kept my face emotionless—I thought so, anyway.
Eli was quiet for a few moments, shifting his stance. He seemed…nervous. “I think that we should talk about what happened a few nights ago.”
“You mean, you showing up at my place, right?” I wanted to facepalm for how blonde I was sounding, but I mean, my hair was blonde so… “It’s all fine. You showed up, you crashed on my couch, and there’s really nothing else to discuss.”
He shook his head. “Stop trying to minimize what happened. I know what I said when I showed up there. Granted, I didn’t know until I had left, but I do know what I told you, mostly.”
I folded my arms across my chest, for some reason the admittance stinging. “So you remember promising to make me breakfast in the morning then?”
“What?” Eli’s face contorted with confusion. “I don’t remember that one.”
“Right.”
