Page 45 of The Sexy Part
“No, the other way. Whatever. It was a mistake.”
I meet her eyes. “It’s hard to deny there’s something between us. Chemistry, connection.”
She waves that away. “It doesn’t matter what’s here or not here. Maybe I’m just feeling desperately alone at the moment, but it’s not anything I want to follow up on. Cooper, I’m a wreck on the inside.”
“I’ll be gentle.”
“You’ll be…that’s not…” She crosses her arms. “We’re friends. End of story.”
“Okay.” Never argue with a woman who’s digging her heels in. I’ve seen it firsthand with past relationships. Not to mention every female family member. Lotta strong opinionated women in my family.
She uncrosses her arms. “Okay?”
“Yup. Friends.” I finish my sandwich in a few bites. “Want more chips?”
“No, thank you.”
I finish the chips and gather the trash, taking it to the garbage can in the corner. I can feel her eyes on me. She doesn’t know what to make of my casual acceptance of the friends situation.
I return to the table and finish my water. “Nice to see you, Rowan. Hope your second day goes better than your first.”
She stands. “Oh, uh, thank you.”
“Bye.”
I head out. I make it to the foyer before I hear footsteps behind me.
“Wait!” she calls.
I turn, fighting back a smile.She wants me. “Yeah?”
“Thank you for lunch. It was nice not to eat alone.”
“Anytime. I’m usually working across the street, but I’m off Wednesdays and Sundays. That’s my weekend.” I hold my palm out. “Give me your phone, and I’ll put my number in.”
She strides to the office to get it. I follow her, nearly colliding with her in the doorway as she rushes back. She slaps a hand on my chest and quickly drops it. Her eyes meet mine, and she licks her lips. My pulse spikes.I want her too. So bad.
“Sorry to slap your chest,” she says, handing me her phone. “Didn’t expect to walk into you like that.”
I enter my number. “No problem. You know the city’s only an hour and fifteen minutes away by train. It’s not lost to you forever.”
She laughs. “Yeah. Sometimes I feel like I dropped into another world. You’re right.”
I give her phone back, and our fingers brush against each other. Warmth shoots up my arm. Definitely some chemistry here.
She pushes her hair behind her ear. “Thanks.”
“When I was a kid, my parents took us into the city to visit the American Museum of Natural History. The planetarium really stuck with me.”
She leans close in her excitement. “The Hayden Planetarium is awesome.”
“I’d love to see it again one day.” I take a step back. “Welp, I’d better get back to work.”
She waves. “Sure. Bye.”
“Bye.” I push open the door.
“We could go places as friends,” she blurts. “Like the Hayden Planetarium since you like it so much.”
