Page 40 of Lovesick

Dean looked at me with expectation in his gaze, waiting for me to continue. But I didn’t. I simply kept my mouth shut and grabbed my food to sit down at the table and start eating.

He kept standing there, with his sandwich in hand, and his eyes on the side of my face. Silence filled the room, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as I imagined.

“I meant to tell you,” he said after a moment. “You were great today. Sharp. Focused. Like always. And your notes were helpful.”

My eyes darted to him. The more he talked to me, the more sincere he seemed. Like he truly thought about the words we said to each other back at my apartment. Like he truly was on his way to become a better man.

“Thanks.”

He nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. “And thank you for sitting next to me again.”

That made me tense. “It’s more practical.”

His mouth tilted up in a half-smile. “I’ll take practical.”

I looked back at my food and poked at it with my fork, still letting it cool down. Dean stepped closer to the table and reached out to grab a napkin. His arm brushed my shoulder, and it wasn’t an accident this time. He wanted to touch me, and to not scare me, he did it gently. Almost like he was quietly asking to get close to me again.

I didn’t move, and when he pulled back, he stood close to me, making the little hairs on my neck stand up.

“I like this,” he said softly.

I swallowed hard. “This?”

“This…us. Talking. Not being…strangers.”

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. Not yet.

He stood there for a while longer, letting our conversation linger in the air between us before he placed one hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “Enjoy your lunch break.”

“Thank you.” My words came out breathy and way more unstable than I wanted them to. He had noticed and let out a soft chuckle, pleased with the moment we had.

Once he left the room, I finally was able to breathe again. And while my pulse picked up speed, I finally started eating my food.

***

The next morning, I was talking to Leann by the front desk when Dean came out of his office, coming toward us like he was on a mission.

He stopped next to me, placing one hand on my lower back, and looking at Leann with raised brows. “Can you give us a second, please?”

She looked between us, and I shrugged when her expression turned confused. “Of course.”

“Thanks. Emilia, would you please come to my office?”

“Yes.” I didn’t have the chance to question him before he led me to his door, guiding me inside. He closed the door behind us, then I turned around to look at him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” He had looked stressed when he came out, but now he looked at ease. Pleased, even. “I just have something to ask you.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, watching him closely to figure out where this conversation was going. “You’re kinda scaring me.”

Dean chuckled and waved a hand. “It’s really nothing. If anything, I have to be scared of your answer. Because I got real high hopes here.”

Now I was confused.

“Shoot,” I urged, needing him to just ask whatever he needed to ask.

“Alright, so…” He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. “One of our clients, Dr. Hofstetter, invited me to dinner. The restaurant is close by, just in the city, and the invitation was for two.”

He stopped, giving me the time to reflect on his words before he had to ask the actual question. He was hoping I would understand where he was going with this, but deep down I wasn’t so sure he actually wanted me to go with him.

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