What was I supposed to be doing? Working on?
For two months I’d sat outside Thane’s door. I’d become his confidant and his sanity. There was a brightness I was missing. The marketing department seemed dark and cold. The whole world seemed off kilter. In fact, by the time it was almost noon, I had neither seen nor heard from Thane.
He was probably bringing Crystal up to speed and thought I’d be diving deep back into the Worthington campaign. That was what I should have been doing, but instead I was staring at a screen and missing my boyfriend’s warmth.
I missed our banter and his random kisses and the way he could pin me to a wall.
It felt like all the joy had been sucked out of me.
I wondered if he felt it too.
All attempts to focus were shot, but I kept trying. I owed Donte a lot of work on my part, and I wasn’t going to let him down.
When I didn’t hear from Thane by the end of my day, I decided to head over to his office and let him know I was leaving. I nearly stopped in my tracks at the beautiful blonde guarding the gateway to his office. Was that Crystal?
She was gorgeous and put together. The woman didn’t look like she’d just had a baby. I could barely brush my hair most days, but hers was in perfectly curled waves framing her face. When she looked up from her computer, I was struck by a beautifully blinding smile that nearly knocked me over.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Um, is Thane available?”
“No, I’m sorry, he’s on a call. Is there something I can help you with?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry to bother you.”
There was a crash behind the door followed by stomping feet and then the door flew open.
When our eyes locked, the darkness I’d felt all day was blown away, replaced by the warmth of his gaze.
“Hi,” I said tentatively.
He said nothing, but closed the distance between us in a few long strides. The breath left me when his arms pulled me tightly to him and his lips crashed to mine.
It was exactly what I needed, and I melted into his arms.
“Fuck, I miss you,” he said when he pulled back.
“Missed me? It’s only been eight hours,” I said, trying to hold back the stinging in my eyes.
He brushed his thumb against my bottom lip. “And that is too many without you.”
I smiled at him. “Missed you, too.” I stretched up to press my lips to his, then relaxed back down when I felt his grip around me tighten.
“Dinner delivered tonight? I should be out of here by six.”
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, his brow furrowed.
I leaned into him, my face buried in his chest as I breathed in his familiar scent. “Yeah, today was just… different.”
He placed a kiss to the top of my head and his hand swept up and down my back. “I know what you mean. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy today.”
“It’s okay. Really,” I said as I looked up at him. Getting Crystal caught up on a Monday with an upcoming takeover spelled chaos. I knew his schedule and how busy he was. “I completely understand. I’m just off from the change.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead, and a sigh left me. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. Give Kinsey a kiss for me and I’ll see you soon.”
I tightened my grip around his waist and held him fast. “What about my kiss?”
“I just gave you one.”
I shook my head. “That was a hello kiss. I need a goodbye one.”
“Nope, not getting one of those.”
“Why not?”
He leaned closer, his lips brushing lightly against mine. “Because I’m going to give you a see-you-soon kiss instead.”
Before our lips touched, we were stopped by a squeal from behind Thane. “Aww, you two are so adorable.”
I blinked at Crystal, having completely forgotten she was sitting a few feet away, watching us. Heat rose in my cheeks and I stepped away from Thane. Each inch created a deeper and deeper emptiness that threatened to swallow me up. He cupped my face and kissed me before I walked away.
If the day was any indication, I would be seeing less and less of Thane. The doubt crept in again. Maybe that was on purpose? Maybe he was trying to distance himself? I didn’t have the answers I needed, only the curling anxiety of uncertainty that festered deep inside me.
After a few days, an unease had settled deep in my bones. Something wasn’t right. That growing fear was morphing into a reality, a bad dream I wanted to wake from.
I felt a disconnect from Roe, and it bothered me. Maybe it was simply the fact that she wasn’t right outside my door anymore. I hoped that was it, because I didn’t like the pit that was forming in my stomach.
Thane: I miss you
I texted her. I did miss her. More than I thought possible. For fuck’s sake, she was in the same building. I could go to her whenever I wanted.
But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was I’d go there and never leave because of the stupid pain in my chest.
I needed her validation, was desperate for it because I’d felt her start to drift away for weeks, and it was accentuated with the physical space that separated us.
It was something I couldn’t take, couldn’t handle.
Seconds ticked into minutes, and I was choking on the silence.
Finally, it buzzed.
Roe: Miss you, too.
They were the words I was hoping for, but it did nothing to quell the feelings rolling through me. Yet with the takeover happening in a few weeks, I was drowning in responsibility that was pulling my attention away from her.
I’d also been fielding calls all day, not all work related. My secret project for the second bedroom was really starting to come together. The paint and wallpaper were up, and the furniture and toys were arriving. I planned on staying up for however long it took to make the room perfect so that I could show them on Friday.
Soon, there would be a perfect little space for Kinsey to call her own.
It was the first step to what I hoped would one day be permanent. I wanted to be together with them in my daily life.
There was one last thing I wanted, and I needed Jace’s help. It was odd going through my call list and realizing I hadn’t talked to him in a month.
“Hello?” he answered after the third ring.
“Hey,” I said.
There was a pause. “What the fuck, man? You’ve completely fallen off the face of the earth.”
“Sorry, I’ve been occupied.”
“You mean you’ve been whipped.”
“No, occupied. How’s it going?”
“It’s been boring. I’ve had to dive into second-string friends cause all you dipshits are settling down.”
“Such is life.”
He scoffed at that. “Not my life.”
“One day,” I said, ribbing him, knowing it would set him off. Jace was one of those self-proclaimed bachelors for life, but I had a feeling one day he’d meet his match just as James and I had.
“Nah, man. I’m still going to be rocking the single scene in my fifties.”
I rolled my eyes at him being his usual dickhead self. It would be sweet justice for him to find a girl to knock him on his ass.
“Listen, does your brother still do woodworking?” I asked.