Page 53 of Naughty Heart

God, I wanted those words to be the real deal. It seemed impossible it could be true, though. How could Malcolm possibly want me more than he wanted to advance within this company?

I needed to take a few more slow breaths. Then I spent the rest of our lunch date wondering how he intended to prove I was so important to him.

By the time we made it back to Westwood’s, it was safe to say I was still a bundle of nerves and no closer to having any answers. But on the bright side, Malcolm and I were in a better place than we’d been in before we left work for lunch together.

I didn’t feel the same awkward tension while riding in the car with him that I did earlier.

As we walked toward the elevator, my mind took me back to my very first day here. It hadn’t been that long ago, and yet, so much had happened since then.

We made it to the elevator, and while we waited, I glanced over to find Malcolm staring at me, a curious look in his gaze.

“Is something wrong?” I worried.

He shook his head. “I was just thinking about the reason you were late returning to the office a few days ago.”

Confused about—and slightly embarrassed by—why he’d bring this up again, I replied, “Okay. What about it?”

“I’m not afraid.”

Those three words offered little clarification. “What?”

For the first time in far too long, Malcolm’s lips twitched. Having that back felt like being handed a precious gift. The feeling it left me with was so tremendous, I hadn’t even noticed the elevator doors opened.

It wasn’t until Malcolm placed his hand on my elbow and urged me forward that I snapped out of it.

Only after the two of us were alone in the elevator did Malcolm respond. “I’m not afraid of that ridiculous nutcracker.”

I pressed my lips together.

Malcolm went on, chuckling as he did. “I swear, Evelyn, only you could have me feeling such a mix of emotions. I was angry, frustrated, and concerned before that thing arrived, but the minute I saw what you’d purchased for me, those feelings were replaced by amusement, warmth, and longing.”

Longing?

I didn’t know if I could handle where that discussion would lead, so I confessed, “I did it before everything happened. I saw it in the window at a store when I was heading back to the bus, and it made me think of you. After our conversation that morning, I thought it would be a silly, harmless prank.”

Malcolm stepped closer, wrapped his arm around my back, and gave me a squeeze. “I like knowing you saw something that made you think about me.”

My body was buzzing with nerves, feeling him so close and inhaling the masculine scent of him.

His face moved closer to mine. “I like knowing I’m on your mind.”

My lips parted slightly, but my voice had vanished. The trembling in my belly, the result of the anticipation of what Malcolm intended to do, was overwhelming.

Malcolm’s eyes darkened, and his mouth was just inches away from my lips when he whispered, “Because you’re always on my mind, Evelyn.”

He was going to kiss me.

And I didn’t plan to stop him.

In fact, as he moved to close the remaining distance, my eyelids began to droop.

Just when I thought he was going to touch his lips to mine, the elevator came to a halt and dinged.

My body tensed as I took half of a step away the moment the doors slid open.

Thankfully, nobody was waiting on the other side to see Malcolm and me in such a compromising position.

Malcolm swung his arm out in front of his body, urging me to step off the elevator ahead of him.