Chapter 30
I had time to kill until the evening unless n walk–in client showed up, so I was on my phone when Adam’s text came through.
A picture of the sky and a text.
“About to take off. I’ll call you when I land.”
I rolled my eyes, thumbs already moving before 1 could stop myself
“I don’t care.”
His reply was instant. Of course you do.
I barely had time to scoff before another message popped up. A single cose emoji, then… You can bet I’ll be thinking of you. Bye, flower,”
1 frowned at the screen, but my fingers betrayed me, brushing against my lips. Was I smiling? I reached up to feel my own face like an idiot. I was. Damn it. I shook my head, clearing the stupid warmth that had settled in my chest, but every time I thought about last night, my heart jumped a little. He’d left immediately after the “mind–blowing blowjob“…his words, not mine. No lingering, no second round, just a cocky smirk and a “See you around, flower.” Like he hadn’t just wrecked me. Like he hadn’t just made me crave him when I had no business craving him.
The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped me out of it.
is silence was heavy. I
I looked up. Zig was standing right there, watching me. I hadn’t even heard him approach. His expression was unreadable, but his shifted. “Oh. Hey. Did you need something?”
“Follow me,” he said. No explanation, no emotion. Just that. I hesitated, glancing at Addy, who was looking up from her sketchpad. The sympathy in her eyes made my stomach twist. Xander was out buying more supplies, which imeant whatever this was, it was about me and I was about to face it alone,
Great.
I followed Zig past the counter, my boots barely making a sound against the hardwood floors. The atmosphere felt different, like the air had thickened. He led me toward his office, a space 1 hadn’t been in since I was a teenager, still trying to stop acting out. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, waiting for me to follow before shutting it behind us,
“Sit,” he said, moving around his desk.
1 hesitated again but did as he said. The chair was familiar, but this wasn’t like the old days. This wasn’t me being called in for stealing his whiskey or getting caught with a fake ID.
He didn’t say anything right away, just leaned forward, forearms braced on his desk, watching me with that steady, piercing gaze that had always been able to pick me apart. I knew what this was about, he had been icing me off since brunch,
Then finally, he spoke.
“What exactly are you doing, Layla?”
His voice was calm. Too calm, And that was somehow worse than if he’d just outright scolded me. I folded my arms and leaned back. “Working, Sitting. Breathing. Existing. Gonna need you to be more specific.”
His eyes didn’t move from mine. “Don’t play with me.”
I sighed, looking away. “Zig-
“You’re sleeping with him.”
It wasn’t a question:
My mouth opened, but no words came out.
He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Jesus, Layla.”
straightened. “I- It’s not-
“Not what?” He narrowed his eyes. “Not what I think? Because what I think is that you’ve got no damn clue what you’re getting yourself into.”
I buried my face in my hands, I needed everyone to stop meddling in my business. It had always been like this, with everyone as well…but moreso with me.
Chapter 30
And even though it was just for fun when it came to the others, to me, I knew they didn’t meddle because of jokes. And that pissed me off.
I was different. I had changed damn it!
“I wanted to talk to you yesterday, but I needed to cool off,” he admitted. “Because I didn’t want to say something I’d regret.”
