She pulled her jacket tighter as she strode quickly down the sidewalk, unsure of why she was hurrying. The poster had already lost her job for her. What else could it possibly do that could be worse? A lingering sense of longing answered that question: it hurt to look at the poster. Or rather, it made her want Eric so badly that it hurt. She hastened her step, and when a voice called out to her, she almost thought it was a product of wishful thinking.
“Mina?”
Eric appeared at her side, slightly breathless, but definitely real. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him and she stopped dead in her tracks. “Eric.”
“I thought I saw you standing outside the window.”
A moment of silence stretched between them.
“Do you need something – a touch up on your new tattoo? Or did you come just to see the posters?”
Mina’s heart fluttered at the thought of Eric’s hands on her body, even if it was just to touch up her tattoo. “I came to see the posters.”
A hint of a smile curved his lips. “Well, what do you think?”
Her throat tightened ominously, and she cringed at the way her eyes stung. No way was she going to lose it. Not now and not here in front of Eric. But it had been hard to keep it together at the bank, and even now, almost all she could think about was that in a few hours she’d have to pick up Jess from school and tell her that she’d lost her job.
“Hey.” Eric laid his hand on her shoulder, and his touch was comforting, even through the layers of Mina’s jacket and top. “Are they really that bad?”
She shook her head, swallowing the thick feeling in her throat. “The posters look great.” She tried to smile. “Karen is a fantastic photographer.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I…” Her eyes stung again, and she tried to blink away the feeling. “I lost my job. Just a few minutes ago.”
His gorgeous eyes clouded with concern as he frowned. “What happened?”
She tipped her head in the direction of the shop. “One of my co-workers saw the posters, took photos of them and turned them in to my boss and the HR department. They said that either the photos had to come down for good, or I’d be terminated.”
He shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. Come on though – I’ll take you to talk to Jed. He’s the owner, and I’m sure he’ll understand—”
“No.” She cut him off, shaking her head. “I can’t ask for that. Karen would be devastated, and I already spent the money Jed paid me.” She sighed. “Besides, it’s done. My job is gone. I can’t even truthfully say that I want it back.”
He took her hand, enclosing it within the warmth of his own. “Do you want to go somewhere? I don’t want to leave you alone.”
She bit down on her inner lip, debating. She wanted to go with him – anywhere or nowhere, it didn’t really matter where. She didn’t want him to let go of her hand and go back inside the tattoo shop, leaving her alone on the sidewalk with her misery. But after the way she’d embarrassed herself last time she’d seen him, she was almost afraid to say yes. Maybe it would be smarter to call Karen. If she hadn’t gone in to work yet, Karen would commiserate with her, and maybe even help her get started on her search for a new job. Eric was looking at her with those blue eyes – she had to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to say no. “I don’t know.”
A little bit of the light went out of his eyes. “Look, about last time… I didn’t realize I was making you uncomfortable. I guess I read your reactions wrong. I’m sorry.” He gave her hand an almost imperceptible squeeze.
She shook her head. “No, you didn’t.” She’d practically jumped into his lap in the car. How was it possible to misread that? “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He arched an eyebrow at her in question. “Really? You seemed pretty upset.”
“I was, but with myself, not you.”
He took a step toward her, invading her personal space.
Mina’s heart skipped a beat as she was reminded of the hard heat of his body pressed against hers, first in the studio and then in the car. Hopefully she was just imagining the way her hand seemed to be shaking inside his.
“I don’t get it,” he said.
She flinched as a cold gust of wind sent her hair flying. “It’s not really something I can explain standing here on a sidewalk.”
“That’s fine.” He tightened his hold on her hand, taking a step forward. “I’ll take you someplace else. Just say where.”