Page 83 of Office Intrigue (Office Intrigue Duet 1)
I couldn’t stop staring at him. I could tell he was doing his best not to look at her. Which could only mean one thing. He knew her intimately.
I wanted to slap myself for the sour taste that filled my mouth at the knowledge.
“Yes, Sir. Of course, Sir. I’ll be right back.”
When she sauntered off, Landon frowned. “I apologize.”
“No, please. Don’t apologize.” For some stupid reason, I reached over and touched his hand. “It’s not your fault.”
Rather than pull away from me the way I thought he would, Landon’s hand turned over and he clasped my fingers with his. He continued to hold my stare. I could tell something was going on in his head, but I didn’t know what. And I didn’t want to ask for fear of breaking the spell.
It took a few minutes, but Mandy finally returned with Landon’s wine and she managed to take both of our orders, which Landon relayed to her directly. When she was gone again, his attention was once again focused solely on me.
“So, tell me something about yourself,” he urged. “Something I don’t already know.”
When I went to retrieve my hand, he held firmly.
“Don’t pull away from me,” he ordered softly.
I swallowed hard, continuing to maintain eye contact although I wanted to look at anything except him.
“I’m not sure what you don’t know.” That wasn’t the truth. There were a lot of things about me he didn’t know, but I was suddenly uncomfortable with the intimate conversation.
“All right. Tell me about your parents. Did you not see them for Thanksgiving? When I talked to you, you were at home.”
Okay, I probably should’ve led with something related to yoga. I definitely had no desire to talk about my parents. I sighed. “No. I didn’t. My mother doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving.”
“And you have no other family?”
I shook my head. “Jim’s parents died when he was young. My mother’s parents live in Wisconsin and we haven’t visited them in years. My dad’s grandmother died when I was twelve. The year before was the last time we celebrated any holiday and that was only because she had insisted.”
“What’re your plans for Christmas?”
I forced a smile and shrugged. “I’m not sure just yet.”
That was another lie. I already knew what I’d be doing on Christmas. The same thing I did last year. Nothing.
Not that it mattered. Christmas was still a ways away and I honestly didn’t want to think about it right now.
“All right,” Landon said with a grin. “Fair enough. We can talk about anything else as long as it doesn’t pertain to work.”
I smiled because I was okay with that. I was sure I could think of plenty to talk about that didn’t have anything to do with work or parents or…
Actually, I didn’t know what we would talk about.
Landon seemed to realize my dilemma because he chuckled. “Or…we could play Never Have I Ever.”
This time my smile was genuine. “I like that.” I took a sip of my wine. “I like that a lot.”
•
Dinner turned out far better than I’d expected despite the fact that Mandy seemed to trip all over herself every time she got near Landon. Luckily, Landon pretended not to notice. Or, more importantly, he focused all his attention on me throughout dinner.
We managed to talk about the do’s and don’ts of holiday decorations, especially at the mall. He asked me if I was one of those people who would put reindeer antlers on my car. For the record, I was not. Nor was he.
It was nice and after two glasses of wine I had managed to relax.
However, the effects of the wine had worn off now that we were back in his truck and heading to my apartment. I was already trying to figure out what would happen next. Was I supposed to invite him in? Would he merely drop me at the curb? Did I want him to come in?
Well, the last question was dumb. Of course I wanted him to come in. Hell, I wanted him to come in and never leave.
Not that I could tell him that though.
Unfortunately, I found out all the answers to the questions a short time later when he walked me into the building but paused at the elevator.
“Thank you for having dinner with me,” he said softly, his hands cupping my face.
“I had a good time,” I admitted.
“So did I.”
He seemed to be searching my eyes for something.
“Would you…uh…like to come up?”
He instantly shook his head, but he smiled. “That’s the only thing I want, Luci. However, I can’t. Not tonight.”
I nodded, acting as though I understood.
I didn’t.
Not really.
Landon’s thumb brushed over my cheek as he leaned down. His mouth found mine, our lips fusing together as what started out as a sweet kiss turned into something fueled by pent-up lust and a tremendous amount of heat.
