Page 4 of Invisible Scars
“I got your back, Doll.” I wink, and Effie huffs but smiles.
We walk in silence all the way to the car, my thoughts racing until I’m left with one weighing heavy on my mind.
“Look, about earlier—”
“What happened earlier?” Effie asks, blinking at me with innocent wonder as she buckles herself in. I know it’s an act, but I’m not about to call her out on it. I have zero interest in opening old wounds with anyone, let alone with Effie. Her willingness to pretend she never saw me having a panic attack is better than I could have hoped for.
“You came out as a Harrison Ford fangirl,” I answer nonchalantly and shift into gear. “It’s kind of cute, I admit.”
“Cute?” Effie scowls. “What am I, a puppy?”
“Would you rather I say that I find it sexy?” I ask, stopping at the end of the ramp exiting onto the street and turning my gaze to her, swiping it over her body, fully intending to rile her up. “Because I won’t be lying.”
Effie’s eyes narrow with a danger-boding glare, then she suddenly shrugs and wiggles in the passenger seat to make herself comfortable. “Only if you don’t mind me saying that you remind me of a young Harrison Ford.”
“So, not my friend but my fan?”
Effie cracks a small smile and shakes her head, her silky golden hair creating a canopy that hides her face when she looks down at her lap. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re still kinda cute.” I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear. My fingers graze her cheek, the soft touch sending a pulse that resonates through me. My eyes drop the length of her body again, admiring the form-fitting blazer hugging the curve of her waist and swell of her breasts.
“That’s so nice of you, Joe.” She flashes a sugary smile. “You aresucha nice guy.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t dish it if you can’t eat it, Cadet.”
I laugh, returning my hand to the wheel with great effort. Nothing prepared me for my powerful reaction in the parking lot. Both the warmth that filled the desolate void in my chest and the punch-to-the-gut desire brought on by those Disney princess eyes glazing over with heady arousal when I took her chin.
I almost crossed a line and kissed her. And it can never happen again.
2
ABOUT FIVE MONTHS LATER
EFFIE
Jonah’s officedoor is wide open when I drop by to hand him project specs that need his attention as head of strategic operations. I walk in as quietly as I can, watching him type away.
No matter how many times I’ve seen him sitting in this exact position, it still doesn’t seem entirely right, Jonah Peak behind a desk. The magnitude of his charisma is undeniable, filling the space between the four walls of his office until it overshadows everything.
“I know you’re in here, Doll,” he says without lifting his head from the screen. “Did you bring me the Tanner specs?”
“Yes.” I place the folder on his desk, waiting for him to finish.
“Everything okay?” Jonah pushes away from his desk and leans back on his orthopedic chair, stretching out every inch of his perfectly built six-foot-four body with a quiet grunt. He doesn’t wear a suit often, only when meeting bigshot clients like today, but the man can fill out a suit as well as he fills out his usual casual button-down and jeans.
“I was going to ask you the same question.”
“What would make you think something isn’t?” He frowns at me, those dark onyx eyes scanning down, then slowly working their way back up until they lock onto mine.
After that night in the hospital parking lot, things shifted between us. Nothing too overt, but it’s in the way Jonah sometimes looks at me now, how the teasing has taken on a risqué undertone. As if saying it too loud with an air of jest will make this tension we suddenly so vividly have disappear.
“I’m the VP, Jonah. It’s my job to take care of my employee’s well-being.” I cross my arms and arch an eyebrow. “Sawyer dropped off the grid in the dead of night three months ago, stole Rita’s car keys under the pretense of a hug, the troublemaker, then ditched it in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, never to be seen or heard from again.”
“I’m just glad Rita called me rather than the police.” Jonah shakes his head full of thick almond hair cut in a fade. The way it moves around, strands of it tickling at his forehead, makes me want to reach out and bury my fingers in all that luscious, earthy brown.
“You boys don’t take anything seriously, do you?” I try to huff but can’t help the smile that sneaks in.
