Vivian waved her hand airily. “Darling, that’s why lingerie was invented. I have faith you can get him there. Now, let’s get back to work and sign as many of these clients as we can before the clock strikes twelve.”
Chloe followed Vivian out, not looking forward to the conversations she’d have to have with Kieran in the near future.
She’d worked late on purpose, but even with the rush of popularity, the doors of the Fated Match office were eventually closed. With no choice but to face the music, she returned to Kieran’s penthouse. Her own personal key was nestled in her palm, to be returned upon completion of the contract, of course.
Outside the door, she paused. What could she expect when she walked inside? Her mind ran through the options. Stony silence was always a favorite. Or he could pretend like everything was normal. There was the possibility he was still angry at her prying. Or maybe he simply didn’t care enough to act any differently, and she was over-thinking everything.
“Buck up,” she told herself. “No one gets the better of a witch.” Rolling her shoulders back, she unlocked the door and stepped into the beautiful home.
A mouth-watering aroma lingered in the air as she kicked off her heels by the door. Dropping her purse on the side vanity, she followed the delicious scent to the kitchen.
Once again, Kieran was cooking. Currently examining something in the oven, he gave her the perfect vantage point to drink in her fill of him.
Not good, she scolded herself. Be professional, aloof. Show him he didn’t hurt you.
Crossing her arms, she leaned against the doorjamb and waited for him to notice her presence.
But she should have remembered a wolf wouldn’t need sight to sense her.
“Have you eaten?” he asked as he straightened and shut the oven door.
“No.”
Wiping his hands on a dishtowel, he turned to face her.
Here we go. She mentally braced herself.
“I got something for you,” he said, gesturing to one of the cupboards above the counter.
Puzzled, she walked to the cupboard in question and pulled the doors open.
Tea.
The three shelves within were lined with tea. Everything from no-name brands one could find at any grocery store to expensive blends from high-end shops. Green teas, white teas, blacks, and oolongs were neatly arranged for her viewing pleasure. She could drink multiple cups a day for a year and still not go through the amount Kieran had packed into this one cupboard.
Warmth spiraled through her before she ruthlessly forced it back. On the surface this might look like a sweet gesture, but underneath it was little different from the expensive black dress. He was buying her. Throwing money at a problem he didn’t know how to handle.
Then again, she was just his employee. What did he care if she was happy or not when they weren’t in front of an audience?
Not sure how to take this gesture, she turned to him and crossed her arms. “Nice present. Everything’s fixed now, right?”
He sighed, tossing the dishtowel into the sink. “No.”
She didn’t move as he came closer and leaned back against the island across from the counter where she stood.
The silence stretched until she couldn’t take the intensity of his stare a second longer. “Look,” she said. “It’s not like you said anything untrue.” Hurtful, maybe, but not technically false.
“I lashed out.”
“We are strangers,” she continued, trying to talk over him.
“We’re not.”
“And you did pay a substantial amount to get me here.” A fact she kept conveniently ignoring.
“Not to you.”
“So I should have done a better job following your lead.” The words were bitter on her tongue. Did she really have to diminish herself to fit into his world?
“Which would have ended in our exposure.”
“I’ll keep things professional in the future.”
He moved then, crossing the small distance between them to lean an arm against the counter on either side of her. Trapped within his arms, she had no choice but to stare up at him.
“Last night I was an ass,” he said. “And I hurt you in order to avoid your questions.”
“We all have things we don’t talk about,” she replied. “I’m too nosy.” She tried to focus on his words, really she did, but all her body cared about was how close he was to her. Heat pooled swiftly in her lower abdomen as her body urged her to reach out and pull him closer.
“Yes,” he agreed. “But that’s not a part of yourself you’ll ever be able to change.”
“Hey.”
He leaned closer, running his lips over her cheek. “Not an insult, just a fact.”