Vulture (a Stepbrother Romance) -(40)

His hand skirted along my cheek, awakening certain feelings that I tried to bury, but it was useless ignoring them. They were there as clear as day, and there was no getting rid of them. I tilted my head and nuzzled it into his palm, allowing myself to enjoy this little moment for a while longer. The calm after the storm.

“Do you still want to work for me?” Harvey asked softly, changing the subject, knowing I needed a break from the dark topic; he dropped his hand into his lap.

It wasn’t what I’d expected him to say, but thinking on it then, I knew I didn’t want to be very far away from him.

“What about Sadie? Won’t she mind?” I asked.

“I had a talk with her earlier, and she’s actually really excited to have you as her assistant. So, if you were worried about me being your boss, well, I won’t be. At least not directly. Plus, I wouldn’t mind having two beautiful women working beneath me.” I suppressed a giggle as he winked at me. “Sadie will be in charge of your workday, but she’ll still have you doing stuff, like errands, for me. It would make my life so much easier having the both of you. She’ll take care of the business side predominantly, and I’m sure she’ll get you to do things like booking my personal meetings, my mani-pedis, hair appointments…”

I didn’t know whether he was teasing me with the seriousness of his voice. I pressed my lips into a thin line, but the giggle slipped out, unintentionally, as my small frame rocked with fitful laughter.

“What?” He frowned, the puzzlement on his face making me roar even more.

“Did you just say what I think you just said?” I asked. I took his hand and inspected his nails more closely.

He yanked his hand back and with a mock gasp replied, “Are you being sexist, Sara Chambers? Am I not allowed to keep my nails trim and tidy?”

I shook my head and smiled, letting my hair spill freely across my face. I was about to get control over the tendrils when he reached up and pushed then back himself, tucking the strands neatly behind my ears. My cheeks burned hot, but I no longer cared.

“Haven’t you two gone home yet?” Sadie asked as she pushed through the glass doors.

“Why what time is it?” Harvey answered.

“Late,” she replied abruptly.

“You still mad at me?” he joked. “If Sara can forgive me, so you can you.”

She turned to me and rolled her eyes. “You let him off the hook? We could’ve dragged this out for weeks, guilted him into anything… I’ve got a lot to teach you.”

I laughed, beginning to believe that maybe I would enjoy working there after all.

“All right then. You ready to head out?”

“To where?” I asked, confused.

“I’m taking you to dinner.”

“Dressed like this? I don’t think—”

“Of course you can!” Sadie interrupted. “You look stunning just as you are.”

Harvey took my hand and let me away. “Come on, listen to the woman. She knows what she’s on about.”

“What about Sadie?” I asked, feeling a little peculiar that he wasn’t asking his actual girlfriend to join us.

“You think I want to look at his ugly mug any longer? I have enough of that here all day. Anyway, I have my girl to get home to.”

“Ouch, ugly?” Harvey said, bringing a hand up to his chest as if he’d been wounded. “You don’t half know how to kick a man where it hurts. You ice queen!”

“Jerk!” Sadie stuck her tongue out at him between her ruby red lips.

My head was too wrapped up in the fact that he’d called me sweetheart, fighting the urge to swoon, that I almost didn’t hear Sadie’s response and Harvey’s teasing. But I did wonder, who was the girl she was referring to? A kid at home, or maybe a pet…?

“Come on,” Harvey urged, and I finally let him haul me out of the office. I followed him downtown, walking a fraction of a step behind him, taking the opportunity to study him from the side. It made my heart skip a beat.

I must’ve shivered, too, ‘cause all of a sudden he slung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in, his wonderful smell hitting my nostrils as he smushed me up against his frame. We walked a bit farther, and I started to notice the looks we were getting from passing women, their eyes bulging as they stared at him, then turning to confusion and even envy as they saw me. Harvey seemed to be oblivious to it, but I wasn’t. Their eyes were hungry and desperate as they passed, shooting daggers my way. But it only made me want to hold onto him longer and enjoy how his hold tightened a fraction if I pulled away slightly.

“Are you liking the job so far?” he asked after a silent moment.