His words are nice enough, but his tone is downright intimidating, dark, and brooding somehow, and again I wonder if he’s pissed at me.
Maybe he wanted to reconnect with Lola alone. I’m getting in the way.
But it’s too late. I’m already handing him the phone.
When he takes the phone from me, our hands brush against one another.
I bite down as his warmth surges into me, going up my arm, coursing all around me. I feel my mouth fall open, then quickly clamp it shut. He feels so hot, physically burning up, making my body even more eager for him.
He clenches his jaw, looking down at the phone.
Did he notice the effect that had on me? Does it make him uncomfortable?
As I return to my seat – I can’t just sit there as he goes through my work – a thought occurs to me, one I never entertained before.
I should have, I see now, but I’ve always felt so invisible with Felix. His mind always seemed to be on his work, and even when he spoke to me, I never sensed he actually saw me.
But now I wonder, what if he was being distant because he sensed my inappropriate crush? And what if he sensed it just now, all over again?
I warn myself to calm down. I don’t know anything yet, so all I’m doing with this overthinking is freaking myself out.
“This work shows promise,” Felix says after a pause.
I gasp, looking over at him. His eyes are aimed at the phone, intense, fixed in place, and I find myself pathetically wishing that I was one of the photos.
I wish he was looking at me like that. With complete attention, as if nothing could make him waver.
“Really?” I whisper.
“Yes,” Felix says firmly, looking steadily at me. “You’ve got a good eye for framing. I can tell you’ve used some basic editing on here, and there’s only so much you can do with that. But your intent is there. I can see potential, Faye.”
A shiver dances over my body. Goosebumps even rise on my skin, which is just silly, but I can’t help myself. It’s like I’ve been waiting years for this.
“Thank you,” I say, mouth dry.
“I told you,” Lola says over the kitchen partition, her chopping done. “Dad, have you given her the good news yet?”
Felix shakes his head.
“What news?” I ask.
“I want you to work with me,” Felix says, looking at me with that difficult-to-read expression again.
It could be lust, rage, or something in between.
Lust…
Yeah, right.
I focused on what he said, wishing my thoughts would stop leaping around.
“Work with you?” I mutter.
“I told him you were looking for work,” Lola says. “And I thought, well, this is better than getting some random job that has nothing to do with your passion. This way, you can earn money and learn a thing or two.”
Gratitude flurries through me, but it’s followed by darkness a moment later.
Clearly, Lola’s asked her dad for this favor. But judging from the grimness of his expression, it’s not one he’s eager to fulfill.