Page 46 of Egotistical Jerk
I dragged my palms up and down her arms. "I'm just worried about Cheryl." Kissing the tip of her nose, I asked, "People are talking?" Knowing full well they were, but I needed her to shift her focus to something else. Tucking her hand inside mine, I led her to one of the couches at the opposite end of my office. Once we were seated, I laced our fingers together.
Mia was watching the action when she spoke, "According to Bridget, Rose is telling everyone we held hands yesterday." She let out a laugh causing her dimples to pop. So damn beautiful. "Doesn't that sound so high school?"
Giving her a half-grin, I shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I wasn't part of the gossip team in high school."
Mia raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. "Jerk." She mock-glared at me for a few beats longer before she shook her head and smiled. "But Rose wasn't why I came here. I got a weird phone call earlier today."
"Oh?"
Nodding, she proceeded to tell me about an interview invitation. The more she spoke, the more I realized I genuinely was a jerk. If she went to this interview and got the job—which I was fairly certain she would—it would mean I didn't have to worry about telling her about Diana's demand.
"What are you going to do?" I asked with bated breath.
Mia's teeth worried her lower lip while her eyes shifted to our connected hands. "I don't know. I've never really thought farther than working here and learning from you. I'm still so new at this. What if I'm not—"
I trapped her chin between the thumb and forefinger of my free hand and drew her gaze back to mine.
"They came to you. Clearly, they believe in your capabilities. So why don't you? You're a great doctor, Mia. Go to the interview. You have nothing to lose."
I, on the other hand, hadeverythingto lose if she didn't go.
Chapter 21
MIA
Were there different kinds of happiness?
I was always happy when I went to the store and spotted a tub of rocky road, or when my favorite series got picked up for a new season. Going out with Bridget and Ginny made me happy, and so did seeing Mrs. DuBois smile.
But being with Sebastian, now that was an entirely different kind of happiness. He made my heart smile. Considering we'd only been together for a few days, I knew exactly how that statement sounded. It didn't make it any less true, though.
"What's going on in that mind of yours?"
Sebastian's finger brushed over my forehead as he dragged it down the side of my face to push my curls behind my ear. We were tangled up on my couch; my body tucked between his thighs, our legs intertwined and my head resting on his broad chest. Some true crime documentary that I hadn't been paying attention to was playing on the TV.
"You'll laugh if I tell you."
Sebastian moved and wiggled; pushing his hands under my arms, he hiked me higher up his body so we were face to face.
He looked so serious when he almost pleaded, "Tell me?"
Those dark, dark eyes of his steadily roamed over my face before capturing mine again. When he looked at me like that—like I mattered to him—I wanted to melt. I licked my lips; the action slow, then softly admitted, "I was just thinking how being here with you makes me feel."
Voice thick, he asked, "How?"
"Happy. You make me feel happy, Sebastian."
I wish I knew why I felt so vulnerable when I uttered those words. It wasn't like I was making some big love declaration or anything like that. Maybe it was because I was putting a very big piece of my heart in his hands. I was giving him power over my emotions.
"Mia," he breathed against my mouth.
One word. One shaky word that told me he felt the same way. The lightness that descended on me, along with the dramatic way in which my chest expanded, wasn't lost on me one bit. Because I couldn't allow myself to fully dissect what it meant, I kissed him instead.
One of those lazy unhurried kisses that allowed us to explore and taste. His tongue teased mine while his long fingers slid into my hair and his fist closed around my tresses. Dragging his other hand down my body, Sebastian gave my butt a hard squeeze.
There was never a doubt that everything about this man was a turn on. But when he kissed and held me like that, I wasn't just turned on, I was on freaking fire. Wiggling on top of his hard body, I moaned into his mouth. It was loud and needy, and I didn't care in the slightest.
Sebastian shifted his long body, I tried to pull my knees up to his sides. Somewhere along the way, something went wrong because one moment we were making out on the couch and the next I had landed flat on my back on the floor with his big frame on top of me.
