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I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “She’s driving me crazy.”
“You better get over it fast, then,” Ben said, standing. “Look, I’ll pretend like I know nothing, but you’ve got to get it together, Nathan. She can’t be worth your job.”
I ignored him and snuck a glance over at Charlie. She laughed at something Liam said, and it took everything in me not to walk over there and interrupt them.
“I’m leaving,” Ben said. “I can’t be a part of whatever this is.”
“Bye,” I said.
Ben let out a frustrated groan. “You should come with me. This stalkerish behavior is weird and out of character.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You’re impossible.”
He finally departed, leaving me to glower in peace.
Perhaps I was behaving like a jealous boyfriend—or a stalker, really. I had no claim to Charlie and no right to feel any type of way that she was out with someone else right now. But all rational thought had left my mind long ago. I think it was the moment she told me we should pretend nothing happened between the two of us.
Charlie smiled politely and nodded at whatever story Liam was going on about. I took pleasure in the fact that I knew that wasn’t her genuine smile. Instead, her smile now was the same one she broke out in meetings or with the board. It wasn’t the way she smiled at me—the way she used to smile at me.
At that moment she glanced my way. We made eye contact for a brief second before she forced her gaze back to Liam. Good. She felt my presence just like I felt hers.
The way she twirled her hair told me she was anxious. So did the way she actively avoided my eyes.
Ben was right. I should leave.
But to hell with that and to hell with this.
How was I supposed to hide this? To suppress these feelings I’d spent twenty-seven years assuming I’d never feel? My entire life I’d been an emotionless shell of a man, driven by nothing but ambition and logic. Now that I finally wanted more from someone—something real—I owed it to myself to fight for it. Screw logic. Screw being professional. That ship sailed back when I had Charlie pinned beneath me while she called out my name.
I needed her, and I needed to make how I felt abundantly clear. But more importantly, I needed to concentrate on controlling my anger so I didn’t walk over to her table and rip Liam’s hand away from where it rested on top of hers.
Chapter Twenty-Four
CHARLIE
Don’t look.Don’t look. Don’t look.
I repeated the mantra in my head as I tried desperately to focus on whatever mundane office anecdote Liam recited. I nodded my head while he rested his hand on top of mine. While I hoped to feel at least a flutter ofsomethingat the touch, all I noticed was how warm his palm was—sweaty almost. I removed my hand to take a sip of my drink, hoping the retreat wasn’t too obvious. He likely noticed because he glanced down at my other free hand still resting in my lap.
He didn’t seem phased as he kept droning on about something to do with finance and the budget.
My head turned instinctually. I caught a glimpse of Nathan. He remained blatantly staring at me, not seeming to care at all about being noticed. I jerked my head away and cursed myself for failing to ignore him.
Shit. He was really in my head.
What was his deal anyway? First the weirdness at work and now showing up to this restaurant on the same night as my date with Liam? Was it a coincidence? I had tried to remember if we said the name in front of him but I couldn’t. I had been toofocused on my irritation with him to remember exactly what was said.
“And then I showed them my email that I had sent a week back pointing out the exact issue they’re trying to deal with now.” Liam’s face brightened as he continued animatedly telling the story. “Their eyes practically popped out of their heads when they read it. So satisfying.”
“That’s funny,” I said.
I tried to stay engaged in the conversation despite my mind being elsewhere. Liam was a nice guy. He was handsome, friendly, and intelligent. I should be enjoying myself a lot more than I was. But my mind remained fixated on the man whose intense gaze seemed to sear right into the side of my head.
The restof dinner dragged on. Both from the lack of chemistry and the strain it took not to check my peripheral vision to see if a certain someone was still there.
“Want to grab one more drink? There’s a great spot around the corner,” Liam said as he handed his credit card and the check back to the waiter. I had tried to pay half but he wouldn’t hear of it.
