Page 37 of Honey Bun
“How’s dancing as a distraction going?”
“My partner quit because I’m not interested in her.”
Arman shrugged like that wasn’t important. “Were you dating her?”
He straightened and looked offended. “No. Then Jeff said I might have to sue for joint custody, but I don’t want to sue Leah like Jeff says. I don’t think fighting is healthy or how I build a relationship with my son.”
She’d been super nice to me the day she helped fix my problem. I felt little jabs in my skin, like I was betraying the Norouzis with that thought, so I coughed and said, “When Jeff texted me to tell me my marriage was officially over, I cried tears of joy. He’s still working on the custody but promised he’d finalize it soon. But if you don’t want it to be over, then, yeah, find another way.”
He let out a breath and looked relieved. Then he kissed my cheek. “Thanks, Maddie. Look, I’ll leave you two alone. I only intended to say hi.”
We stayed still as Cyrus left. Then I took Arman’s arm, and we strolled into the park. He tugged me closer, making excitement rush through me. “Ready to go get that drink?”
My mind raced. I wasn’t in their league, ever. “I think tonight is a bad idea.”
As we walked, he massaged me as if he could take the pain away with a simple stroke of my back. “Why? Your daughter is safe with my mom.”
I needed to tell him I would leave him, but I ached for him. Heat rushed through me. “She is, but…”
He lowered his voice. “We can go home.”
Maybe that was the best idea. I swallowed. “Okay, good.”
We walked through the park. I stared at our feet, which were still in step. “Earlier, at dinner, you ignored me, and I had the sense it was intentional.”
I hugged my waist. He saw through me sometimes. “Maybe it was.”
He let out a small sigh and whispered, “I was hurt. I can’t ever ignore you.”
Tears formed in my eyes, and I tugged him closer. I would never hurt him on purpose. “It’s just that I can’t control myself near you, and I get scared.”
His lips curved upward. “That’s good to hear. It’s the same for me, and I hope you trust me now.”
He stopped and wrapped his arms around me, and my eyelids fluttered. He bent lower, and my heart leapt as we kissed. The rest of the world disappeared. He took his time with me, and I tasted his sweet delicious crème brûlée from earlier.
Once he let me go, the world outside roared back to life with people passing us. He led me through the door. “Last night, I wanted more, but you deserve to be savored, Maddie.”
We headed to the elevator, and I curled my fingers with his. “Since my daughter’s gone, maybe we can, try… to be together.”
The door opened, and he swept me inside and then held me. “I want to be together forever with you when you’re ready.”
Forever never works out.I leaned away from him and pressed the penthouse button. “Let’s go to your apartment.”
One day at a time was all I had to offer, even to the man who made my skin tingle with awareness.
Arman
A night with Maddie in my bed had been all I’d wanted since I’d run into her again in Virgin Cove. I ushered her through grand room, which had long couches and a bar for entertaining. This part of my West End high-rise was for guests, not intimate friends. Thinking the wordintimatemade my cock harden, but I wouldn’t let anything happen until I knew for sure that this was what she wanted.
She didn’t owe me anything, and her husband’s demands in the past had probably worked because he’d made her feel guilty. I refused to be anything like her ex. She needed to show me what she wanted.
I held her lower back and directed her past the long wall of glass and the seating area to the kitchen. Then we walked behind my dining area with a chandelier and where guests could see all of Central Park. Nothing was intimate about this space.
Then we reached my private quarters. Maddie was different from everyone else, and I needed to bring her to the part of the apartment where I lived. We passed the marble island, and I let her go. “I have wine in the refrigerator. Would you want cheese and crackers?”
She gulped, and her big eyes gazed at me. “I thought…” She trailed off.
I returned to her and picked up her hands and kissed them. “In a few minutes. Let’s make sure we’re comfortable.” Then I let her go and took the wine out of the fridge and put out a plate of cheese and crackers.
