“Fun times in the office?” Selene asked.
“Thanks, Stacie.” Scott turned to the woman. “I’ll let you know later this week.”
Stacie eyed Selene up and down. Selene had seen the look so many times from women before that it no longer fazed her. “Yeah, thanks, Stacie,” Selene said, lacing her words with sarcasm.
When the woman stepped past her, Selene smiled brightly, then shut the door in the woman’s face.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Scott asked as he sat down behind his desk. “And what are you doing in Atlanta? Last I heard you were in… Tennessee.” His eyes narrowed.
Damn. The guy just kept getting better with age. She’d gone an entire year without seeing him and—boom!—all those old feelings flooded back at her the second she saw him again. How the fuck was she supposed to be normal around the guy?
“You’re not even listening to me,” Scott said, rolling his eyes.
“I’m only here because I’m a woman who keeps my promises,” she said, not caring what he’d been saying earlier. She’d made a promise and, by the gods, she was going to keep her promise, even though she hated being here, hated seeing him again.
Scott stilled and a frown caused those sexy lips that had once kissed her to dip downwards. “You’re doing something? Going somewhere?”
“Yup.” She nodded and sat on the edge of his desk. “So, I’m here to let you know.”
His eyes narrowed and his sexy Adam’s apple bobbled as he swallowed. Everything about him was sexy. Too sexy. Too damned sexy.
“Tell me,” he said, and she knew that she wouldn’t get away without at least giving him the basics.
“You know the blonde girl I saw on my sweet sixteenth?” she started. It had taken her almost a year to tell him the story of what had happened to her during that kiss. Her first kiss. She couldn’t keep anything from him.
“Yes,” he answered slowly.
“She… reached out to me. I finally know where she is. I had a… calling,” she said casually, as if she’d just received an invite from a close friend via text message or a phone call instead of a ring of power made of light that shot at her like a beacon when she’d been fast asleep.
“Calling?”
“A pulse wave. Sort of.” She shrugged. “Call it what you want. She’s in a town called Hidden Creek.” She didn’t want to go into the details of how she knew the name of the town. Even she didn’t know how she knew.
“I know of it,” he said, starting to get up.
She placed her hands on his shoulders, right where Stacie’s had been seconds ago. “Nope,” she said, nudging him back into his seat. “You’re staying put. This is mine,” she said, meaning it.
“Selene,” he warned, but she stopped him by shaking her head. “I don’t know anything more. I could be walking into a trap.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “And I’m the only one of us that is indestructible. Remember?”
Scott sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were focused on hers. “Be careful. The moment you feel like something has gone south, I can be there.”
She smiled and stood up straight, prepared to leave. But he stopped her by taking her hand.
“It’s good to see you,” he said softly, throwing her off balance.
“Yeah.” She focused on his fingers touching her skin. It still shocked her when he touched her. It always would. She looked into his eyes and relaxed.
“You were expecting…”—he dropped off and looked at their joined fingers—“things to change in that area?”
“Yeah.” She sighed, and he smiled. Damn him. Why did he have to be so fucking sexy?
“Will you come back here?” he asked suddenly.
“Nope.” She shook her head. “This is a one-time visit. I kept my promise. I told you.” She pulled her hand from his gently. She wanted to tell him that seeing him here, like this, with Stacey or any other woman drooling over him, stung too much. Instead, she bit her lip and let her heart sink further into her chest. Hidden away forever.
“Thank you,” Scott said softly.
She turned and, without another word, left him one more time.