Page 34 of It Started With a Scarf

"We didn’t have to be quiet. Nobody comes into my office. Nobody's bothering us in here."

"This is your office?" she said quietly, glancing over her shoulder, into the room. "It's fancy. You must be important."

"Did I tell you I own this whole building?" he asked with an official tone.

She looked surprised. "You do? Then, yeah, why are we whispering?" She made a face at him, and he gave a shrug.

"I just wanted to sneak around with you. I wanted to pretend we were in danger so you'd get scared. I was trying to get your heart racing so you'd hang onto me real tight. Now I'm telling you it was a lie. No one's coming in here. Does that make you want to let go?"

"No, I'm still really scared," she said, speaking with a soft voice. "I don’t know my way around this place, and you never know who's coming back here. You can't be too careful."

Gently, she wrapped her arms around his back and he did his best not to tense or strain. He ached to rush things along, but breathed deeply and concentrated on self-control. He ran his fingers along her arms and then her back, letting himself touch her with restraint. Dominic smiled at her before leaning in and letting his lips touch hers. She stretched up, meeting his mouth. There was no hesitation on her end. She was sweet and reserved, but there was no hesitation. She tasted like sweet honey—like cherries. Her mouth was cold from the… parts of it were. Other parts were warm. Oh goodness. Dominic didn't let himself kiss her deeply, he couldn't. He let his lips lightly touch hers… two, three, four… maybe six or eight times. She was kissing him back tenderly.

Seconds passed as he took in the sensations without letting them overtake his resolve. Then he pulled away, staring at Marley's delicate face. She was exquisite, and Dominic felt like he might burst. His hand was on the side of her face. He didn't even remember putting it there, and he dropped it when he pulled back.

"Mm, that might be my favorite part of the tour so far." She said the words in a soft, sweet tone that caused his chest to tighten. He wanted Marley to want him. "Yeah, these offices," she said, glancing over her shoulder. "For some reason, this is my favorite area of the whole gym… at least what I've seen so far today."

"It's my new favorite area too," he said wrapping his hands lazily around her waist. "My office in Milwaukee is nicer than this one, but right now the view in this one is… better."

"This place is amazing. You're amazing. You work so hard. I look up to you for that. I look up to you literally, too," she added blinking to emphasize how she had to glance upward at him. "Dominic?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for today. For everything. The scarf, lunch… the smoothie. It's really been so fun."

"You say that like it's over."

A pause.

"No, I just wanted you to know that."

She seemed sincere.

"Are you free tonight?"

"Yes," she said.

"When do you have to be at work again?"

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon at two."

"I have to be here working tomorrow all day, and then I'm going back to Milwaukee. Can we just decide that we're going to spend the rest of this day together, until later tonight?"

"Yes, we can. That seems reasonable."

"You can come eat at my parents' house."

"No, no, let's just hang out till then. I don't want to intrude on your family time."

She reached up and touched his face. She stared at him, wearing a gorgeous half-smile. "We still have time before you have to go to dinner. Let's just hang out until then."

He shrugged. "I'll agree to it, but I'm still going to try to talk you into going over there with me."

They stayed there for a few seconds, gently holding onto each other, staring. Dominic found it difficult to be patient. He wanted the relationship to move forward. He wanted Marley to agree to go to dinner tonight and every night. He wanted her to never leave his side. It had been months of wishing he could find her and now that he had, he realized he never wanted to let her go.

"How did your face get like this?" she asked staring at him.

"Like what?" he asked, wiping his mouth and thinking there was something on it.

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