at his side, giving Perry a stare-down that will haunt his nightmares.
“There’s not much to add. Emmie said what needed to be said, and I heard it all.”
I crane my neck to peek out the door. Perry’s back blocks my view of Tate, except for the top of his face and the right side of his body.
“I think we’re done here, Perry.” Not even a blink mars Tate’s stony face. He extends his arm to Perry, and I look down. He’s holding the container of Funfetti goodness. “Cupcake?”
Perry shakes his head and scampers out of our office and down the hall.
“Did someone say cupcakes?” Will says.
Tate walks the few steps to Will’s office and hands him one.
“Thanks, man! This is one for the record books. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you eat sweets in the office.”
The corner of Tate’s mouth quirks up. “Thought I’d add some sweetness to my life. Best decision I ever made.”
I have to clear my throat to disguise the gasp I let loose.
Will peels away the cupcake wrapper, seemingly oblivious. “Just don’t overdo it. Too many sweets is bad for you.”
Tate’s knowing stare finds me. “No such thing as too many when it’s the right kind of sweet.”
In a single bite, half of Will’s cupcake is gone. Unlike me, he remains unaware of the subtext of Tate’s comments.
“And don’t worry, I’ll send an email to Perry’s boss to warn him about pulling that sort of crap again. His errors aren’t our problem,” Will says through a mouthful.
I hand him a second cupcake. “Thanks, Will. Seriously.”
Will may be forgetful and silly from time to time, but he always has our backs. For that I’m thankful.
He pops a thumbs-up. Tate follows me to my office. I’m all smiles. Tate is too.
“You were pretty impressive back there,” he says, leaning against the doorway.
“I’ve had it with Perry’s quest to make everyone look bad, even though he’s the one who is famously incompetent.”
Warmth softens the angles of his face. “You defended me.”
“Of course. I wasn’t going to let him trash you.”
“Thank you,” he says in that low tone I go crazy for. His intensity is back, but only in his eyes this time.
He’s bare in his gratitude, utterly stripped down in this moment, and it’s my doing.
“I can’t believe you were going to give Perry one of your cupcakes,” I say once I refocus.
“Not to eat. If he had said yes, I was going to smash it in his face.”
I cover my mouth to keep from laughing, but then his face shifts to serious. “We’ve got our meeting for the Midwest Family Homes Foundation in ten. You ready?”
“Yup,” I say.
I grab my notebook with the ideas I jotted down the other day. But then he lowers his head and along with it his tone. “Seriously, Emmie. Thank you.”
Tenderness accompanies his soft expression. I grow so weak in the knees, I have to sit down in my office chair.
All I can do is whisper, “Sure thing,” turn to my computer, and watch him walk back to his office. We can’t kiss; we can’t hug; we can’t rip each other’s clothes off. But we can share this new silence, heat and triumph tumbling between us, and enjoy our latest moment of intimacy.
* * *
• • •
NINA SIMONE’S GRAVELLY voice is the soundtrack to my soak in the tub this evening. Anything to take the edge off the fire engulfing my insides. It’s been burning full blast ever since I defended Tate at work last week. We’re two dates, one sleepover, and a million kisses in, and I’m properly smitten.
The tiny incisions glisten in the water, the glue from the tissue adhesive shining bright. From my phone, the melodic sound of “Feeling Good” bounces between the walls. Too bad my body isn’t keeping pace with our speed. I’d be ready to throw down right now, but postsurgery recovery and all.
I dry my hand off on the bath mat and grab my phone from the lid of the toilet. I contemplate texting Tate to ask what he’s up to, but instead I snap a photo of my freshly shaved legs dangling over the side of the tub. My thumb hovers over the screen, ready to text him the photo in hopes of piquing his interest. Sexy texts are what couples do during the honeymoon stage. Couple. We’re only two weeks into officially dating and haven’t had the label discussion yet. It’s been a month since our first kiss, though. We’re acting like