Synthia tried not to watch Tristan as they sat in on the client meeting. But her body betrayed her, and every thirty seconds or so she’d accidentally meet his gaze and he would wink at her.
Her phone buzzed in her palm and she glanced down at it.
Tristan: Meet me at Griffith Park Observatory tonight.
Synthia: Why?
Tristan: I want to talk to you.
Synthia: You’re not giving me I-want-to-talk-to-you-eyes right now.
She glanced up at him and even though his eyes were trained on Bryan, he grinned. Her phone buzzed again.
Tristan: What eyes am I giving you?
Heat flushed her body. She’d ignore him. How hard could it be really? That way he wouldn’t wink at her and graze his bottom lip with his teeth or make her remember last night. And of course her mind, like her body, was in no mood to behave as a memory of the previous night flashed. After they’d made love, he stayed inside her. She’d felt every pulse, every twitch. He’d held her and kissed her softly, whispering, “I miss you,” in her ear.
Bryan turned to her. “Synthia, will you and Tristan be ready to present this Friday? Bella will be coming into the office. She’s been in Italy for the last two weeks, so this is the best she can do.”
Syn nodded. “I can be ready.”
Tristan nodded, as well. “I’ll be ready too.” Bryan turned his attention to the remainder of the employees and continued discussing quarterly numbers and new client business.
Syn’s phone buzzed again.
Tristan: I was serious when I said we had to talk last night.
Synthia: Not a good idea.
Tristan: Please, I’ll behave.
She smiled and narrowed her eyes at him. His expression of mock innocence didn’t fool her. But she was curious and they did need to talk. He made her reckless and she didn’t want a repeat of last night. Yes, you do. Okay, fair enough, but she didn’t want it under those circumstances again. And the more she ignored him, the more out of control she’d feel. She texted back, Fine, but I’ll meet you there. A shadow crossed over his expression quickly, but it was gone so fast she might have imagined it.
Tristan: Fine. Just as long as you meet me.
* * *
That night, she dressed carefully, since she wasn’t sure of how things would end up with them. Skinny jeans, a silk blouse, and a blazer with boots. The only concession to semidate status she made was to wear her hair down.
He waited for her outside, pacing in front of the entrance. “Am I late?”
Relief chased a grin as he saw her. “No. I guess I was a little early.”
She rolled her shoulders, willing them to relax. “So...what did you want to talk about?”
He leaned into her. “Are we really going to pretend last night didn’t happen?”
She sighed. “I’m not sure what you want from me, Tristan. It feels like you’re playing a game with me and I have to tell you, I don’t know the rules.”
He took her hand. “I’m not playing a game with you. I swear.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t got a clue how to do this, but here it is. I want to be with you.”
She frowned and tried to tug her hand back. “You mean you want an affair.”
Tristan stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. “No. I mean I want to be with you. Yes, I can’t seem to keep my hands off you, but I also want the parts of you where you laugh and you stick your hair in a giant ponytail on top of your head before you sleep, and the part where you fight with me and call me a moron, and the part where you dance when you think no one is watching, and the part of you that lights up when you do something a little dangerous or naughty. I want to be with you. I was kidding myself in Vegas. There’s no compartmentalizing my feelings for you and I was crazy to try.”
Her heart hammered and the blood rushed in her ears. “I don’t know what to say.”
He chuckled and let his head hang. “Okay, let me walk you through it. This is the part where you tell me how you feel. Maybe this was just a Vegas thing for you. Maybe last night was a mistake and you want nothing to do with me.”
“Tristan, I didn’t say that.”
He released her hand. “Then tell me what you’re thinking. I can’t read you. In Vegas it was so easy, but now I can’t make out all the nuances. You have to tell me something. Anything. Tell me it was all a mistake. Tell me you don’t want to see me anymore. Or better yet, tell me you can’t sleep without me next to you either. Tell me you think about me during the day and you spend half your days hoping you’ll run into me. But you have to tell me. I can’t guess.”
“Tristan, I—” She dragged in a breath. “I’m scared.”
He shook his head. “What are you so afraid of, Syn?”
“That you’ll break my heart.” The moment the words were out, she wished she could call them back.
He stepped in front of her and stroked a thumb over her cheek. “I’m not going to hurt you. I wouldn’t do that.”
Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them away rapidly. “I just—I don’t know how to do this.”
“I know.” He drew her into his body, and cradled her cheek in his palm. “All I’m looking for is for you to take a chance on me.”
His voice, his scent, the strength of his body. All those elements combined to weave a spell around her. She wanted him. If she was honest with herself, she’d admit that she always had. But could she do this? Jump in with him? Yeah. Oh yeah.
The alternative, not being with him, sucked. She’d tried that for two weeks and she wasn’t a huge fan. But trust didn’t come easy and he was still Tristan Dawson. “If we do this, how do we do this?” She pointed a finger back and forth between them. “At work? You’ll be insulated from gossip and stuff, but I won’t. Last night was—” She flushed. “Well, you were there, it was pretty awesome, but I’m not that woman. We can’t—”
“I completely agree. It was too risky. We’ll use discretion, and while sneaking around is hot, I’d rather not hide.”
She expelled a breath. “I need to take things slow. I’m not sure I can just jump into a relationship.”
Tristan ran his hands through his hair. “We’ll take it slow. Glacial even. Whatever you want. I just want a chance with you. I’ll take what I can get.”
“Tristan, are you sure you want to do this? With my trust issues and your panty-dropping smile, this isn’t exactly going to be easy. It’s a big step.”
He grinned. “Panty-dropping, huh?” He laughed but sobered quickly. “How about this? We’ll take it one step at a time. Nice and easy. We can start by me taking you on a date. Simple. And we’ll work on the trust thing.”
For the second time in less than a month, Synthia ignored the warning bells of caution. She wanted to be with him. Tugging on his lapels, she kissed him.