Say You're Mine(57)
“Oh, cupcake.” His fingers tightened on her. “You’re so damn wrong.”
And then he left.
She collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily, and still didn’t look. She didn’t want to see the absence of him, because God, she could already feel it. His missing clothes, and shoes, and the book he’d left on her coffee table the other night. That would be gone, too. It would all be missing. She was empty.
Everything was empty.
Chapter Eighteen
The next afternoon, Steven closed his computer and scratched his head, staring at the clock. In one minute, it would be five o’clock. That meant in that little amount of time, he could go to Lauren’s bakery. Ever since she’d asked him to leave yesterday, he’d been brainstorming ways to show her he wouldn’t walk out on her…again.
Leaving had been the stupidest thing he ever did.
And in his life, he had done a lot of fucked up shit.
His door opened, and he glanced up. His boss, Cooper, stood there, wearing a dark gray suit and an even darker frown. “Have you seen the Yarros file?”
Steven’s latest assignment. It had been a damn snoozefest of a case. All the old man did was play golf, drink coffee, and watch Wheel of Fortune.
Thank God the gig was over.
“Yeah, I have it.” He picked up the tan folder and walked it over to Cooper. “Here you go. All signed off and closed. He’s on a plane back to Europe.”
His brown-haired, green-eyed boss took it, smiling. “Great, thanks.”
“No problem.”
Cooper rifled through it, and slammed it shut. “Your next assignment will be in conjunction with Mark. The new guy.”
Shit. The dude was nice. A good worker, even. But the fact that Lydia had set Lauren up with him, and Lauren had seemed to like him, made Steven not like him.
And there was no changing that.
“Great.”
Cooper tilted his head. “You have a problem with him?”
“No, of course not. He’s a good guy.”
“Yeah, he is.” Cooper frowned. “More than you know. Be nice to him.”
“I’m always nice.”
Cooper smirked. “Unless it’s something to do with Lauren. I heard you fucked that up pretty bad. Want some advice?”
Well, shit. The last thing he needed was someone else telling him how much of an idiot he was. He’d told himself that enough. “The Shillings love doctor strikes again? Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t need any help.”
The man might be his boss, but more than that, he was a friend. A friend who had no right sticking his nose in Steven’s business. Cooper had a reputation of trying to help his employees when they, inevitably, messed things up with their woman.
But that didn’t mean the help was welcome.
It wasn’t.
Cooper shrugged. “If you guys would stop fucking up all the time, I wouldn’t have to play the part.”
“I’m working on fixing that,” he growled. “On my own.”
Cooper nodded. “Good. Then you don’t need my help.”
“Nope.”
“All right.” He opened the door before giving it anyway. “Just remember. Grand gestures, and professions of love, never fail. Women forgive us, if the heart is there.”
Yeah. He wasn’t so sure Lauren would forgive him, but he would find a way to make it happen, or he would spend the rest of his life trying. “Thanks, boss.”
Cooper nodded and left.
Steven followed him, walking past Holt’s office. The door was cracked open, and Lydia sat in the chair in front of his desk, grinning. Holt looked happy as a pig in shit. He held a small square piece of paper. “I can’t fucking believe it. This is her?”
Lydia laughed. “Or him.”
Unable to resist, Steven knocked on the half-opened door.
Lydia jumped to her feet, the smile fading. “Steven—”
“I’m—” Holt started, shoving the paper out of view.
“Don’t. I just popped in to tell you I forgive you for the lie. Your heart was in the right place, and so was Lauren’s. If I didn’t trash everything completely, I’ll do everything I can to get her to come back to me. I’m going to fix it.”
Lydia pressed a hand to her stomach. “Do you need help?”
“Go get her,” Holt said at the same time, grinning.
“I am. And, no, Lyd. This is something I’ve gotta do on my own, but thanks. Also, by the way, you two aren’t fooling me.” He pointed at the paper Holt had hastily hidden under his laptop. “Congratulations. Can’t wait to meet her—or him.”
Lydia’s jaw dropped.
Holt pushed his glasses into place and smiled.
Steven grinned and left them to their moment. It was time to chase after his. He waited impatiently for the elevator, scowling at the closed doors that kept him from his girl. The bakery was walking distance from his work, so he decided to go by foot. The whole way there, he went over the speech he had in his head. He had it all planned out.