Page 79 of Reckless Devotion

I glance back at Pepper, who still snickers into her hand, and then back at Elizabeth and her no-nonsense brunette ponytail. “Er, not right now, sorry. Can I catch you later?” I’m already backing away when I offer her an alternative. “Or could you go to Evelyn instead?”

The woman hesitates for a moment before she speaks, her pale cheeks flushed. “I’ll see Evelyn. Thank you, Mr. Walker.”

I offer her a brief nod and spin around, pulled over to the slim shoulders that face me like a magnet drawn to its opposing pole.

“What’s funny?” I ask as I reach the desk, the two giggling women finally noticing I exist.

“Oh, nothing.” Pepper swipes a hand through to air to brush it off, sighing happily and taking a sip of her coffee.

“Why don’t you ever laugh at my jokes like that?” I raise my eyebrows at Tessa as she slips her glasses back on.

“Because they aren’t funny,” she responds without hesitation.

Pepper snorts into her cup and then promptly begins to choke.

I glance between the two women. “I’m a fucking hoot, I’ll have you know.”

Pepper recovers from her coughing fit and pats me on the arm. “Of course you are, sweetie.”

I didn’t speak to her after I dropped her home last night, owing to the insane amount of work I had piled up. I’m not ashamed to say that I missed her like crazy. A soft, creeping copper tinges high cheekbones as she holds eye contact for just a second longer than necessary. I think I might have accidentally become addicted to the woman who tried to take me down. The soft curve of her lips, that sharp tongue, and the way that she—nope, don’t go there in the middle of the office, Walker.

I throw my eyes skyward and lean on the upper lip of the desk, a smile playing on my mouth. “If you ladies insist on destroying my ego, could you at least tell me if I’ve missed any calls?”

“How should I know? I’ve been busy.” Tessa looks at me like I’m a madman for expecting my secretary to take messages for me.

“Okay then,”I drawl sarcastically, pushing myself straight again and heading into my office to see for myself.

The soft click of my door closing as I reach my sun-drenched desk tells me that Pepper has followed. I glance down at the blinking lights on my desk phone and then up at her, the corner of my mouth crooked.

She’s dressed as gregariously as ever in black denim dungarees and a long-sleeved stripey top, those trusty flower-print boots completing the ensemble. I like that about her, though. She doesn’t give a fuck what other people think. Pink hair? Don’t care. Animal print? What about it? She twists her hands together a few feet away, her face quietly torn.

“What is it?” I pause with my hand on my phone.

“I kinda…missed you.” It looks like the words take gargantuan force to expel, her nose scrunching.

“Oh yeah?” I grin, taking my seat and sliding a finger and thumb all the way down my tie.

It feels weird to be wearing one after so long away. Equally as weird as the busy, sprawling city that hammers at my back after so much peace and quiet. I don’t think I’ve ever taken that long away from the business—I’ll need to add an extra zero onto Evelyn’s year-end bonus as a thank you.

She dips her nose in the direction of the coffee cup still clutched in her hands, and something cinches deep in my chest. I’m out of my seat and around my desk, removing the cup and placing it next to my blinking phone.

“Don’t ever feel embarrassed to say things like that to me.” I cup her face and stroke my thumb along her cheekbone. She blinks, those long, thick eyelashes bouncing once, and then twice.

“It makes me feel silly,” she whispers, casting stunning hazelnut eyes away from me.

“Why?” Most women I know don’t seem to have any problem being forthcoming with their emotions, but with Pepper there seems to be a guard up—some final part of herself that she always holds back.

“Because I feel things that I’m not used to feeling,” she huffs, drawing her face out of my hand and beginning to pace the width of my office.

I sense a full-on spiral inbound and lean back on the edge of my desk, gripping the ledge with a hand each side of my hips as I watch her fretfully wear a hole in my carpet.

“Good or bad feelings?”

“Good!” She hesitates and then nibbles her lower lip. “And also bad.”

I want to grab her and tell her to stop overthinking it, but I also don’t want to bulldoze over her. “Can you explain it to me?”

She swipes a small hand across her brow, and I can tell this is something that has been eating at her behind the veil for a while. Perhaps it’s what brought her here to my office an hour earlier than we agreed.