Afternoon Delight - By Mia Zachary Page 0,68

demanding their money back.”

“I think it will be okay. Like you told me after the Grayson case, the media has a short attention span. Things will be back to normal soon.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They looked at each other in awkward silence. Chris stuffed his hands into his pants pockets while Rei twisted the strap of her purse. He hated this. He wanted everything back to normal. No, that wasn’t true. He wanted it to be better than before.

Her lips parted but it was another second before the words came. “I have a problem, Chris, and I’m hoping you can help me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“You always do, don’t you?” She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “The problem is that Lunch Meetings matched me with the perfect guy. He’s smart and sexy, passionate and caring. However the relationship has hit a barrier and I don’t know what to do.”

In Rei’s chocolate brown eyes he saw his own insecurity reflected as well as a flash of longing. But he saw something else in her face, a kind of determined hope. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her tight as his protective instincts kicked in at the sight of her vulnerability.

“I guess I wasn’t really ready to find the love of my life.” She took a step toward him and touched the back of his hand. “But I am now. We’ve shared things about our lives, but haven’t had a lot of the open communication discussed in the Lunch Meetings brochure. So I’ve come to ask you for some courtship counseling.”

REI WANTED to work things out.

Chris instinctively turned his hand to grasp her fingers. The tiniest flame of hope began to melt the layer of ice that he’d wrapped around his heart when he’d thought they were through. “Why don’t you go wait in my office while I show these clients out? I’ll be right there.”

He was as diplomatic as possible, but he still emptied the computer café in under a minute. The instant the front door closed behind his clients, he locked it and went to Rei. He walked into his office to find her standing nervously in the middle of the room. “Would you like to sit down?”

Rei shook her head and began to pace the floor, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. She’d taken off her coat and since she’d set her purse down, she was twisting her interlaced fingers instead. He didn’t think he’d seen her so unsure of herself before.

“So, you’d like professional advice. I usually don’t offer counseling unless I’m certain the client is genuinely interested in a lasting relationship….”

“You’ve given up on me.” Rei’s voice was no more than a grief-stricken whisper. She wrapped her arms about her waist, hanging her head.

Chris raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t give up, Rei. I let go. It was crystal clear that, despite your agreeing to be more than lovers and becoming friends, you didn’t want to risk letting me be a real part of your life.”

She stopped before him and reached out to touch his arm. “That day Dr. Solís called—”

“Was one of the worst days of my life.”

“I’m sorry. I looked at your face and immediately thought I saw rejection, so I rebuffed you first.”

“How could you think I would turn away at a time like that? I wanted to be with you, to comfort and hold you…but you wouldn’t let me near you.” His voice broke and he looked away. “I thought, if you’d shut me out at a time like that, there’s no hope of a future with you.”

“I’m sorry, Chris, I really am. I’ve been so afraid to be vulnerable, to reach out only to have my hand slapped away, to trust anyone too far inside where they could hurt me.”

He smiled sadly. “If you’re looking for absolute assurances that you won’t be hurt, you’re looking in vain.”

“I know that in my head, but in my heart…I’ve always assumed that because my father rejected me, because he’s never been there for me, no one else would be either. So when I found the perfect guy, I blew it by being scared. I pushed you away because by caring, you’d have the power to hurt me the most.”

He rested his hip on the edge of his desk and watched her cross the room again, his voice quiet. “Nobody’s perfect, Rei, especially not me. You’re not the only one to blame for things not working out.

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