Page 44 of You & I, Rewritten

Sitting on the edge of his desk, Graham looks down at his hands. “I wasn’t planning on going myself, but thanks to my mother’s drop-in visit, I guess I no longer have a say in the matter.” That makes me feel a little better.

“She’s a psychiatrist and devotes a lot of her time advocating for mental health initiatives city-wide…especially for children and families impacted by addiction.” There’s something loaded in his tone, like this is somehow irritating. It feels personal, but I’m not sure if it’s my place to ask. “Every year, her and her closest colleagues and friends put together a charity fundraiser to raise money for said initiatives.”

“Graham, that sounds amazing,” I say leaning against his desk next to him.

“This year’s theme isHearts for Change: Facing Addiction Head On,”his voice is a whisper as he raises his eyes to meet mine.

Is it possible for my heart to speed up and melt at the same time? We hadn’t talked about my father since that night at my parent’s house, but clearly, Graham was going out of his way to shield me from a potential trigger.

“Is that why you didn’t invite me?”

He leans his head on my shoulder and wraps his arm around my waist. “I didn’t want to subject you to something like that so unnecessarily. These events have a way of being overly emotional, and despite the worthy cause, they can also be draining. I didn’t know how you’d feel about it.”

I go to respond but he doesn’t let me.

“Before you say anything, please know that I wasn’t trying to make decisions for you or even protect you. I know you’re not a man who needs protecting; I know you can take care of yourself. I just didn’t want to…”

I crush my lips to his. “Just please shut up and kiss me.”

Which he does, in a way that makes me not give a single care in the world about public displays of affection and makes me want to immediately rip him out of his clothes.

“I guess I need to figure out an outfit, huh?” I say after finally breaking my lips from his, lightheaded and breathless.

“You always look perfect so don’t worry about it.”

I laugh. “Um, hello? Have you met me? I worry abouteverything…” I lean forward and give him one last kiss on those addictive lips of his before grabbing my bag and heading toward the door. “Besides, I literally just met yourextremelyfashionable and gorgeous mother, so yeah, I’m definitely going to need to figure something out.”

I blow Graham a kiss and exit his office to the sound of him laughing as I head to my desk in a hurry, knowing there is only one person on the planet who can help me now.

“Klaaaaiiiir! Stop whatever you’re working on…your expertise is needed,” I hiss as her perfect little head snaps up from behind her computer.

* * *

“Damn…did the pants have to bethistight?” I groan, trying to fasten the button to the satin dress slacks Klair’s handed me. I’m being dramatic, of course, because staring at my reflection in my floor-length mirror, I love how these pants accentuate my, um, assets?

“Okay, first of all, mister…you gave me all of two hours to make sure you were dressed to the nines for a black-tie event, so you’ll take what you get,” she says as she opens my bedroom door. “Second of all, you look amazing, per usual. Here, let me,” she says, watching me struggle with styling my bow tie.

“What would I do without you?”

“Honestly? Probably wither away or worse, wear cargo shorts.” She slaps her hands on my chest. “There…perfect! Do you have time for a drink?”

I check my phone, seeing that I have at least twenty minutes before Graham is supposed to get here. “You know it!”

After heading into our kitchen, I grab everything I need from our bar cart to whip up some simple vodka spritzers.

“You’re my lifesaver, you know that, right?” I say, raising my glass to Klair.

Our glasses clink. “And you’re mine…always.”

The bite of the cocktail stings my throat as I take a big gulp. “Let’s talk about something, anything—anything at all—to distract me from the fact that I’m going to be spending an entire evening with Graham and his family tonight. Go!”

She snorts into her glass. “Someone’s nervous, huh? Okay, let’s see…things with Dean and I are going really,realllllly well.” She blushes while looking down at the counter, which tells me everything I need to know. Klair is totally falling for this guy, and I love having a front row seat to it.

“Aww, Klair! That makes me so, so happy. The two of you are beyond adorable together.” It’s true…the pair of them complement one another so well, both physically and personality wise. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy.”

“Um, I could say the same to you, sir.”

We both are quiet for a second, clearly reflecting on whatever cosmic juju is in the air allowing usbothto be this happy simultaneously.

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