“Okay.”
She goes for the kill and rips the bag wide open, stuffing a garlic knot in her mouth.
“Mmm,” she moans as she chews. “This is so good.”
“I’m glad you like it,” I say, voice slightly strained as he continues to moan.
I have to get it together. If I make one wrong step, my future is over. The signing is in a few days, and Kylie is my last hope in stopping it. No way am I about to piss her off over something as trivial as lust. Even if my desires make me want to burst at the sight of her stuffing her mouth, I can’t do anything but watch. Not until I’m completely free.
CHAPTER26
Kylie
That wasthe best pizza I’ve ever had. I walk slowly next to Johnathan as we cross the street, overstuffed on cheese and bread.
“I can’t believe I’ve been missing out this whole time.” I nudge him. “And you just kept letting me order chicken lo mien?”
“In my defense, Jax should’ve taken you there the moment you got here.” He laughs.
“You both are hopeless.”
As soon as I say it, my foot catches on the sidewalk, tumbling me forward to my doom. Johnathan’s arms are around me before I hit the ground, and I lean into him to regain my balance.
“Thanks,” I say, breathless.
The scent of the pizzeria still lingers on his jacket. My heartbeat is all I can hear as I look at him, his hands still holding onto the small of my back.
“Completely hopeless,” he breathes, moving a stray strand of hair out of my eyes.
I need to move away from him. Now. The chances of Isabella showing up were unknown, and I don’t need Johnathan losing everything because of my clumsiness.
“We should get back to the office,” I whisper, the air cold enough to see our breath.
I want him to ignore my words and kiss me on this street corner. Even though he kept secrets from me, I don’t care. It’s not like I’m not keeping things from him now. But his warmth fades with his heavy sigh and he shoves his hands in his coat pocket. “Yeah. Let’s get back.”
He doesn’t look at me as we walk silently down the street, and I’m grateful. One look and he’ll probably see though me and all my desires. And I’m losing the strength to say no.
CHAPTER27
Johnathan
I yawnfrom the backseat as I’m driven to my dad’s place. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, and I was lowkey hoping I’d never have to come back. But with my mother constantly nagging me to come over, I figured I might as well get it out of the way. With Kylie working hard in the office, it might do me some good to get away from the endless drone of meetings. One more conversation about the future of the company and I might go insane.
The car pulls into the roundabout of my dad’s estate, and I brace myself for the awaited scolding of my mother. She stands at the top of the steps, her foot tapping with impatience. I haven’t even gotten out of the car yet and she’s already pissed. Better make this a quick visit.
“Hey, Mom.” I wave, slamming the car door closed.
“You’re late.”
She walks inside without waiting for me, and I climb the stairs two at a time to catch up with her.
“Honestly, Johnathan. I don’t know why you haven’t bothered to come here sooner. You will have to maintain this property sooner or later.”
“One fire at a time, please,” I snap. “I’m trying to keep the entire company afloat.”
“Which is even more reason for you to have come here sooner.” She leads me down the marble staircase to my dad’s study, the familiar musk surrounding us as I step inside. Compared to his office at the firm, this place is lavish. A clean desk and sofa in pristine condition. Not even a single document sticks out from the bookshelves lining the walls. I guess he doesn’t have much to hide in his own home. My mom walks over to a massive painting of my dad and stands in front of it, admiring him with a sigh.
“Here’s the safe your dad was talking about.”