Page 55 of Barron's Second Chance
She cocked her head as she pretended to wrack her brain for more questions. But to be honest, she was too tired to go into more tonight.
At the shake of her head, Barron let out a long breath; the tension in his body started to seep away.
"In that case. Can we go somewhere now?"
"I don't think -"
"Please. Let's get a bite to eat somewhere and talk. Not about the past," he insisted. "We can talk about our careers. Talk about our hopes and dreams."
At his teasing voice, she gave a slight smirk. Their talk had gone better than expected. Infinitely better than their last encounter in his office. Even though her heart was still beating erratically and her palms were still damp, she was glad that the worst of their conversation was over.
"Okay," she heard herself slowly saying. "Let's go out for dinner. As friends," she added.
He nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely as friends. Thank you, Eden." His warm golden eyes bore into hers with the look of a man who definitely did not want to be "just friends."
"I gotta check in with Ian first before we go; to go over a few things. Will you wait here for me? I gotta come back here anyway to pack up, shut my computer down and lock up."
She gave him a soft smile. "Yeah, that's fine."
He made another move towards her before stopping himself and shooting her a shy yet eager smile before opening his office door. "I'll be back," he winked at her before departing, leaving the door open.
Eden sighed out a long-held breath. Relief and tension flowed through her.
That wasn't so bad.
She got up from her seat and moved towards a picture frame on his wall. The photo was of Barron and his parents posing outside a ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Homestead.
She smiled at the image of a younger Barron, his smile big and wide as he threw both arms around his parents. She reached out a finger and traced his handsome features. A feeling of pride and happiness burst through her as she stared at the picture.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize you were still in here." A familiar voice sounded out by the open door.
Tracey was standing there in a tight, white tank top that showed off her generous cleavage.
Despite the girl's earlier frosty attitude, years of playing nice caused Eden to reciprocate with a smile. "Sorry, did you need Barron?"
She gave Eden a smug smile. "I just came to grab something I left behind. I thought he’d be done by now."
Eden frowned as an uncomfortable feeling settled in her gut. "Done? You mean from work?"
Tracey gave a snort of derision. "No, done entertaining the girls he brings back here."
Eden stepped back in shock at the hostility seeping from the other woman. "What?"
"I should know," Tracey continued bitterly, the implication in her voice evident.
"You…and Barron?"
"We had a thing going on for a while, yes." She looked down at her hands, pretending to observe her red-tipped nails.
Clearly, Tracey did not like the fact that their relationship had come to an end, given the amount of animosity coming from her.
"Well," Eden was proud that her voice was clear and unwavering. "I'm sorry that you're upset things ended -"
She stopped when the other woman gave a bark of laughter filled with scorn. "We haven’t ended things. He tried to hit me up again for sex a few weeks ago."
Eden's mouth opened in shock.
“I haven't slept with anyone since Mom told me you agreed to help her out with classes."
