Her face flushed hot. It was familiar, that heat, but she was still getting used to the caressing. There was a sweetness to it that, when mixed with the roughness of the way he held her, felt almost… secret. Like maybe she was the first person to experience the side of Dylan that thumb-swooped.
He let her go, and she straightened her dress while she composed herself from the wreckage that was that thought. “Well, that certainly felt like a good news kiss.”
Dylan smiled at her, wiping her lipstick from his bottom lip with the back of his hand. All the other times he’d made that motion flashed in her head and now more than her face was hot.
“Looks like Mrs. Jansen is coming through like Josh and I hoped,” he said. “She’s got another building they’re eyeing. Wants us in from the beginning. It’s unbillable hours until they actually win the bid, but they want to win it with us already in place.”
“Wow,” she said, feeling a rush of pride and second-hand excitement. “You did it. This is what you were shooting for.”
“Yup.” Dylan’s smile stretched for miles. She’d never seen him so pleased, and she’d be lying if she didn’t like how eager he was to tell her. He shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and lifted onto his toes like a kid waiting for a pat on the head.
Even better, she stepped into his chest and tugged on his tie. “I’m proud of you. You nailed it, babe.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
“I never once thought you couldn’t.”
His cocky smile dropped, and his eyes turned serious. Serious enough to make her breath still. “I know you didn’t,” he said. Then he kissed her again, hungrier than the last time but still that affection.
The elevator dinged and he knew enough to let her go when the doors opened to the lobby of her building.
“You know what?” she said, her heartbeat in her ears from that fabulous kiss. “I think this deserves more than lunch. Do you have another appointment?”
“Nope.”
She put a little sway in her hips as she stepped off the elevator, looking at him over her shoulder. “I could call it a half-day. Finish up some stuff from home tonight.”
Dylan’s expression turned dirty. “Yeah?”
“What’s the point of being the boss if you can’t quit at lunch on a Friday?”
“That’s the philosophy I built my career on.”
“Looks like it’s about to pay off.”
Just like at the hotel the first night they’d slept together, Dylan woke to Dani’s golden brown tan popping against white sheets. He curled his fingers in her mess of blonde curls and gathered them off her neck, leaning in to nuzzle her shoulder.
She murmured something into the pillow that sounded like an insult and he chuckled. Dani was not a morning person when she wasn’t escaping hotel rooms.
“I need coffee, Dani-pie. You want some?”
“Don’t call me that,” she slurred, her eyes still closed.
“Too late. It’s stuck. Two sugars, one cream?”
Dani rolled over dramatically, causing the sheet to tug down to her waist. Maybe he didn’t need coffee that badly after all. He tossed on his side to follow her, but before he landed where he was headed, he caught a glimpse of the clock on her bedside table.
Damn it. He didn’t have much time. When he’d picked her up for lunch the day before, he’d been hoping to bring her back to his house. But after a quick, celebratory meal that turned into mid-day drinks, it had seemed urgent that they get to the nearest bed available to continue the celebrating. That was Dani’s condo, and considering this was the first morning he’d actually wanted to linger in a woman’s bed, he cursed himself for making plans.
“I have to head out soon,” he said, kissing her shoulder. “I’m supposed to meet Josh to go surfing. I don’t even have any clothes with me.”
“Mmm. I have brunch with Cat. It’s their one day a month apart.”
He leaned down to kiss her stomach, rethinking the entire day. “You wanna blow them both off and go for round… four?”
She giggled and swatted at him. “No. Go make coffee.”
After coffee and a shower, Dylan sat on the edge of Dani’s bed, buttoning his shirt from the day before and watching Dani prance around in her underwear while she searched for something to wear after her shower.
“So, you’re having brunch with Cat, huh?” He gave her a sly smile. “Does this mean you’re not mad anymore?”
Dani slipped a cotton t-shirt dress off of a hanger and popped it over her head, smoothing the skirt with her palms. “It’s with everyone, actually, and the scheduling predates me being mad.”
“Still. You didn’t cancel it.”
Dani made a huff and plopped down beside him. She pushed his hand away and took over his buttoning. “I haven’t spoken to her since we went camping.” She sighed. “I can’t remember a time we’ve gone weeks without speaking.” Dani’s lower lip jutted out in the saddest of pouts, and something twisted in his chest. “I guess I’d rather be mad with her than without her.”
“I saw her a few days ago,” he offered. “She came into the office.”
Her eyes shot up to his. “How’d she look?”
“Fat.”
Dani reached under the shirt she was buttoning and pinched his skin.
“Ow! I mean like cute fat, like she’s supposed to.”
She finished with his shirt and smoothed down his collar. “Still sick?”
“Josh said she’s a little better.” He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “So listen, I’m gonna spend the whole day with Josh, and I need to know. Are we still keeping this a secret?”
Her eyebrows jumped. “You want to tell him?”
Want wasn’t the right word. It wasn’t that he had some burning desire to gossip about this new thing between them. In fact, having Dani without the “will he or won’t he fuck it up” spotlight was nice. But not telling Josh that he was dating Cat’s best friend felt like a big omission. “I feel bad lying,” he said.
“Like they did about Cat being pregnant.”
“That’s your fight, babe. I get how you feel, why you’re mad, but that’s not something between me and Josh. This is starting to be.” He gestured between them. “Dani, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it. We’re all going to be in the same room at some point, and I’m not pretending.” He thought of the game at Josh’s house, their fight in the bathroom. It had turned into a good night for both of them, but he’d bet she didn’t like the feeling of it either—lying to everyone they loved. “Either we keep this secret and never go to a group get together again, or we come clean.”