“What?” Star turned, her face having lost every ounce of colour.
“Well, she’s obviously not Toby’s daughter, as she called him Uncle Toby, and she’s not mine. Who knocked you up and abandoned you?”
“I’m not sure it’s any of your business,” Star shot back.
“Maybe not, but you jumped out of my bed straight into Toby’s, and then within the year you obviously had a child. I’m just wondering if I ever knew you. Seeing you flirting this morning with Matthew Morris—”
Star had heard enough. “Excuse me! Flirting with Matthew Morris! How dare you? He’s my client and old enough to be my father. What crawled up your ass this morning? Some incorrect assumption that I was flirting with Matthew. You know him – he’s friendly and he’s left this building singing our praises. That should be all you’re interested in.” Star’s temper was beginning to flare, but she didn’t stop to think about why she was so angry, or why Damian was.
“He’s married,” Damian interjected, his own colour rising, getting up from his desk.
“I know – his wife came to dinner with us all at one of the early meetings. I sat next to her all night talking about our daughters,” Star spat, sick of the accusations, not sure where they were coming from. Every muscle in her body was tense at the prospect that people could think this of her – that Damian could think this of her. Walking to the door, Star stumbled as Damian slammed it shut, pinning her against the inside of the office with his body.
“Do not walk away from me!” Damian’s lips slammed down on hers, and Star gasped, allowing Damian to deepen the kiss. Shocked by the turn of events, she relaxed into the kiss, her body melting against Damian’s. His initial anger dispersed; the kiss changed as he reclaimed her lips with a passion that took her breath away. Taking control, Star pushed him away. Drawing her swollen lip between her teeth, Star raised a hand to Damian’s chest and pushed. His eyes had darkened as they’d always done in moments of passion, his breathing uneven. Shaking her head, Star slipped out from under his arm and pulled on the door handle. Damian stepped back, allowing her to make her escape.
∞∞∞
Hitting the elevator button, it seemed forever before the doors opened doing nothing to help calm her racing heart. Damian still stood in his doorway watching her, his eyes locking with hers as soon as she looked up. Holding his gaze until the doors closed, she expelled a breath in a slow, steady hiss. What the hell had just happened? Damian had kissed her! Yes, it had been in anger, but he’d still kissed her. Pressing the back of her hand to her lips, she shook her head. No, this could not be happening.
Star headed back to her desk, before slumping in her chair. A steady stream of well-wishers made their way past, congratulating her on the success of the morning. The high she should have been feeling was lost to something more powerful, but Star hoped they’d think her flushed cheeks were due to their congratulations, not to the fact she’d been pressed up against the door by Damian Hunt.
Just the thought of Damian’s powerful body pressed against hers, his arousal hardening against her stomach, was causing electricity to spark through her body. Biting her lip to stop herself groaning out loud, Star decided it was time for some fresh air. It had been far too long since she’d had any physical contact. That was the reason her body had responded so desperately to his affection. Star clearly needed to start dating again … Maybe she should take Laura up on one of her blind dates. A seven-year dry spell was probably too much in most people’s books. Her body’s reaction was to be expected.
Star grabbed her purse, and headed outside, hoping the crisp April air would calm her down. The coffeeshop was only around the corner, so Star took a detour through her favourite park, needing a form of escape to pull her thoughts together.
“Star …” Star froze at the sound of Damian’s voice, “stop please.”
Star stopped, unsure why her body had stopped listening to her head about half an hour before. “What do you want, Damian?”
“I just wanted to check you are all right,” he said.
“As you can see, I’m fine. What did you expect?” Star held her hands up and motioned down her body. “It was a kiss, Damian, it’s not like we haven’t done that before.” She stopped herself from saying anymore as a group of businessmen walked by.
Damian’s gaze had locked onto her hands.
“True, but it was unprofessional of me,” Damian apologised, his gaze returning to hers.
“Forget it – I will,” Star said turning to leave.
A hand landed on her arm, pulling her back round to face him.
“You said ‘will’, not ‘have’,” Damian said.
“Will, have, what’s the difference? You’re right, it shouldn’t have happened, and it’s not going to happen again. You’re here to stand in for your father, and then you’ll be heading back to New York. I’m here with my daughter, trying to carve out a future for us. End of. Don’t apologise, don’t repeat it, and we’ll be good.” It took all of Star’s energy to shrug off his hand and walk away.
“Who was he?” Damian called out after her.
“No one you knew,” Star said, turning back round but keeping her distance.
It wasn’t a lie. Skylar’s father was no one Damian knew, no one she really knew either. He’d been Lily’s secret boyfriend – someone Star had met once when her sister had told him about her pregnancy. He was not someone who’d made a favourable impression; he had stood by doing and saying nothing when his father had thrown him and Lily out of his house. Damian didn’t need to know that. Skylar was her daughter, and if it meant Damian Hunt stayed out of her way because of her, then good. Not wanting to read into the expression on Damian’s face, Star turned and headed back to the office, an intense pain emanating from her heart.
Chapter Seven
The rest of the day went by without incident. Pam sent Star a congratulatory message and Star texted Mary to let her know that the client meeting had been a success, and to let Lucas know if she felt it was appropriate. Star knew Damian would update him, but she wanted to share her success with them herself. Star let the team go home an hour early, as a bonus for the late nights and early mornings they’d all put in. She busied herself finishing up all the necessary paperwork. The team had done her and themselves proud. In the eyes of the others, they had made a success of their project. She, the newest manager, hadn’t fallen flat on her face as some had hoped, but instead risen to the challenge. For the first time in a long time, Star let herself feel that maybe her luck was changing. Was this where life started to get easier?
∞∞∞
Star walked through the school gates, pleased she would be the one picking up Skylar this evening. After everything that had happened over the past week, she needed some normality, and Skylar would bring that to her. Entering the school hall where the after-school club was held, Star stood and watched as Skylar interacted with her friends. All the children had smiles on their faces, and one of the helpers was laughing at something one of the girls had said. Looking up, Skylar caught sight of Star and nudged her friend. Both girls came running over, Skylar pulling the other girl by the hand.