Page 24 of Claiming Her Cougar
“So, Daphne, you said you had stuff you wanted to talk about, but not in the office.That’s why I’m here.What’s up?”Yeah, it’s tacky to ask in front of the guys, but I need to get out of the hot seat somehow.
“Oh, yeah!I forgot about that.I picked up a little present for you.I’ll give it to you after we’re done eating.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything!”I protest.
“Hush.I saw it and thought you’d like it.As for what I wanted to talk about… Liam, you’re here as a friend, not as a VP of Morgan Development.”
“Okay,” Liam agrees.
“Before I left for France, I spoke with Will about cutting back my hours.I didn’t know at the time that our department was closing, Mallory.”Daphne’s brown eyes meet mine.“Will knew they were closing collections, so that wasn’t a big deal.We got talking about the tours we did and how I minored in marketing in college.”
I nod to show I’m following.
“Long story short, we’re going to test drive doing and posting video tours of nearby centers along with some of the local sights to see if they create interest, and maybe do some more cross-promotion with area attractions.Once they close collections, provided these practice promos don’t bomb, I’m going to shift to the marketing department and do tours at centers around the country.”
“Wow, that’s great!But does that mean we aren’t going to share an office soon?”I’m so happy for Daphne.She started doing recorded tours and posting them online to achieve her childhood dream of being a tour guide.But I enjoy sharing an office with her.I was excited to get out of our dungeon downstairs and enjoy our windows with the view of the woods.I don’t want to share that with someone else.
Daphne frowns slightly.“I don’t know.I’ll hopefully be traveling, so I won’t be in the office all the time.I don’t know if they’ll let me keep that desk or not.”She shrugs.“We have a few months to figure it out.”
Liam looks at me.“You worked on the tours Daphne posted?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“I couldn’t have done them without her!”Daphne reaches out to squeeze my arm, her brown eyes shining with gratitude.“She was my tourist that I spoke to, so I didn’t look like a crazy woman talking to myself.And she brought the wine when I uploaded them.She’s my emotional support buddy.”
Logan stands and starts clearing our plates.We’ve made a big dent in the meal, an impressive feat considering how huge the portions were.The restaurant must be used to feeding shifters.
Daphne rises as well.“Let me get your present, Mallory!”
Liam and I remain seated at the coffee table.He swipes a finger along the edge of the coffee table right in front of me.I’m unable to suppress the shiver that runs through me when I imagine that finger running down my arm.Up my leg.Along my breast.
“I know a cute breakfast place on Route 9,” Liam says.
“What?”I hope it’s not obvious how distracted I am by the turn my thoughts took.
“Somewhere to have breakfast after I come back so we can complete our meal set.”
“We’re not going out for breakfast.”I’m picking at the colorful throw rug nervously.I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my other arm around my shins.Let the wall building begin.I slant a glance at him and quickly refocus on the rug.
“Okay, then we can cook it together.I’m good at eggs.Do you have a waffle iron, or would you rather have pancakes?”He asks like my answer matters.
I can’t imagine a situation where we’d be cooking breakfast together.Okay, that’s a lie.I can imagine half a dozen mornings spent cooking breakfast together.They’re all after nights we spent doing all sorts of hot and naughty things.
It’s been way too long since I’ve had sex.Our encounter in Vegas was the last time.I’m just horny.I’d be reacting like this to any attractive man.It’s not a Liam-specific reaction.Please, don’t let it be a Liam-specific reaction because it will remain unsatisfied.
“Here you go!I hope you like it because I can’t return it,” Daphne says with a laugh, setting a small box in front of me and settling across the coffee table again.
“Hey, where’s my present?You wouldn’t have gotten to France without me,” Liam whines.
“Really?”I ask.
“Really.I drove her to the Newark Airport so she’d get to Paris early in the morning.Good thing I did because Logan had tickets to fly home that afternoon.If she flew out of Philly, she would have landed right as he took off, and they’d still be on separate continents.I’m a hero.”
Rolling my eyes, I pick up the small white cardboard box and open the lid.I grab a thin gold cord and pull out an intricately designed model wooden house.It’s small, just about three inches square, but the detail is incredible.So many precise cuts in the thinnest natural wood.It’s lovely.
“Oh, Daphne, I love it.It’s so intricate and delicate!”
“Yay!I was hoping you’d like it.There was a stall at one of the Christmas markets in Strasbourg full of them, and I know how you love houses, so I thought you’d like a little model of the style of building we saw in Strasbourg.The town is full of old timber buildings.You can feel the history.Here.”She hands me a little battery-operated tea light.“Put that in the house.”
