“Come in,” I call out. I return to folding clothes, a poor attempt at hiding my excitement, knowing he’s nearby.
The door slowly opens. “Got a second?”
Setting down the shirt I folded, I faced him. “Sure. What’s up?”
He steps into the room, commanding the space and my attention. As much as I want to avoid eye contact with him, I can’t seem to tear my eyes away.
“I know things have been a little strained between us, and I hate it.”
“Me, too,” I agree.
“There’s no denying that we’re attracted to each other,” he continues, his eyes raking over me as he speaks. “We need to do something about it.”
“Such as?”
I don’t know where he’s going with this, but I’m too interested not to play along.
“Feel free to say no, but…” The ever-confident Ryder suddenly looks unsure. “Cole Security Forces is holding a fundraiser tomorrow night, and I would like you to go with me.”
“Your solution is a date?” I feel like I have whiplash. What’s happening right now? Haven’t we discussed on many occasions how we can’t do this? How any type of relationship outside of the employer-employee realm would only confuse Amelia and potentially hurt her. “I don’t understand. We decided…”
“I know. I just thought…” Ryder blows out a breath. “Maybe one date, one night where we don’t have to pretend or ignore our mutual attraction.” He takes a step toward me. “One night to get it out of our system.”
“So, like a second one-night stand?”
He shrugs. “Something like that.”
“So, why not just have sex? Why the date?”
He chuckles softly, the tension on his face easing.
“Mark roped me into this damn charity event, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Besides, you could use a night off.”
“What about Amelia? Who’ll watch her?”
A sly smile crosses his lips. “Hazel.”
“You snuck behind my back and asked my best friend?” My attempt at pretending to be angry falls short, and we both end up laughing. “You really think this is a good idea?”
“Could it be any worse than constantly wanting what we can’t have and avoiding each other?”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky. Maybe this time, it won’t be any good.”
“Yeah, okay.” Ryder laughs. “You keep thinking that. So, what do you say?”
What do I say?
I say this is wrong. It’s a terrible idea. It’s only going to make things worse.
“I say… yes.”
* * *
I don’t know what I was thinking when I accepted Ryder’s invitation. I sure as hell don’t know what he was thinking asking me, but he did, and I agreed. Now, we’re standing in the foyer, staring at each other in what feels like the blink of an eye.
His eyes fall on me, and the awestruck look on his face makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
“Wow.”