Page 20 of A Forbidden Spring
“Awfully formal, isn’t it?”
“Might be the only time it gets used,” I admit and she laughs, the sound surprised and sexy all at once.
“Fine, but I still have questions.”
“I have nothing to hide.”
She stares at me as I take a seat at the head of the farm-style table, as she takes the one immediately to my left.
“Do you like Montana?”
“It’s not Colorado but it’s fine. I haven’t really given myself the time to settle in here. Most of the time we’re jumping from one location to the next,” I tell her, pausing to take a sip of my drink, “so it’s easier to just stay focused on the work.”
“But you like New York the best?”
“It’s where I grew up.” Chuckling, I add, “I didn’t really understand how expansive the countryside could be—what the sky looks like without all the light pollution. Honestly, the quiet is the only thing I haven’t gotten used to yet.”
“I’d be miserable in the city. I’d like to travel more, but this is home for me.”
“It’s nice to know where that is for you.”
“Are you saying you don’t have a home, Mr. Ellis?” she asks, her sock-clad foot running up my calf.
“I’m saying that I’ve never had the need to put down roots. Home to me is where I am in the moment.”
“And what about this moment?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” I admit, her touch sending shockwaves through my veins. “I’d love to tell you I have a plan, but I haven’t gotten that far.”
“Holly was quick to flaunt your supposed relationship. I don’t know if she told anyone else, but…”
“Nothing happened.”
“I heard you.”
“It sounded like you needed me to say it again.”
She huffs and rolls her eyes, the action so juvenile, and it makes her seem every bit her twenty-six years. It’s the first time I’ve thought about it and the fact that I’m almost a decade older than she is.
“Whatever happens, Wren, is between us.”
“A secret?”
The way she asks the question makes it hard to know what she’s thinking, but I know my answer determines what happens next.
“I won’t pretend this isn’t complicated. A secret? No. I’m not ashamed of wanting you, but I think it’s best to keep this private. I don’t want this,”—I motion between us—“whatever you decide, to create a riff at work.”
“And my proposal?”
“Do you want me to tell you how brilliant it was? Is that what you’re looking for?” I tease, wrapping my hand around her ankle to pull her toward me, her chair sliding against the floor.
“You wanted to fight me on it.”
“No, Hellcat,youwanted to fight,” I murmur, my fingers digging into the back of her calf. “I told you I had priorities—things that had to be handled first.”
“I don’t want anyone to think you’re approving it just because we can’t keep our hands off each other.”
“You’re well respected by your coworkers and clients, and I would never do anything to jeopardize that.” She sighs as I lift her other leg onto my lap, my hands kneading at the muscles, the strangest need to take care of her humming in my veins.
