Page 110 of Dream Chaser

The fact he’d never told me much about her beyond mentioning she ran the agency in his absence only reinforced the suspicion.

I perched on the couch in the waiting area. Pedro appeared a moment later carrying a tiny white cup of espresso.

“Gracias,” I said, accepting it.

He smiled, then walked out, leaving me alone with my coffee and jealousy.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Alejandro

December

Upon our return to Emerport, work had sucked me in.

Meetings. Budgeting. The spreadsheets Manu loved giving me shit for.

Everything seemed the same on the surface, but beneath the predictability of my routine lay frustration.

Nova was everywhere. At the office. The meetings. In my thoughts. Under my fucking skin, reminding me of everything I craved and all the reasons I couldn’t have it.

For weeks, I’d been more distant. More contained. So had she.

In two days, I was flying home for Christmas. Today, Sports Insider magazine was doing a feature on my agency, interviewing us and taking pictures at the office. It’d give us more publicity. Possibly more work. But instead of focusing on the reporters, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Nova.

She was answering questions about the marketing strategy we used with our newest client, Tom Neil, a young motocross rider. My gaze snagged on the delicate line of her throat. Then it climbed toward her pink lips.

One more kiss.

If only I could have that before I left.

“Well, if we could take a photo of all of you, that’d be nice,” Stella, the magazine’s photographer, said. I nodded, gesturing toward the empty meeting room. The rest of my staff joined Nova and me. “You can sit,” Stella told them. “Alejandro, you and Nova could stand behind them.”

We stood side by side. Nova moved her hair off her face, smiling at the camera as she dropped her hand. Her scent surrounded me, and I flexed my fingers, then inched my hand toward hers.

Just a brush. My thumb feathering over her pinkie.

Her breath hitched. She glanced at me, then returned her attention to Stella.

My stomach dropped.

This was what we wanted. What we’d agreed on. I couldn’t fucking ask for more without contradicting everything I’d told her.

If I knew anything about Nova, it was that she kept her word. She was professional.

With every atom in my body, I hated that I had to be. Had to pretend I didn’t burn for one more kiss. One more night.

“All done,” Stella said.

“Thanks for agreeing to this, Alejandro,” Gregory, the reporter, added. “The online and print version of the interview will be in our January issue.”

“It was my pleasure. I’ll accompany you out,” I said.

Stella and Gregory gathered their equipment. I walked them to the elevators. After a round of goodbyes and handshakes, they left, and I returned to the office. Time for the Christmas surprise I’d prepared.

“Everyone,” I said, “I’ve got a little something for you.”

“I might know what it is,” Eleanor sang. She and Levi were the only ones I’d let in on my plans.