“Jo! You have to give me all the details about Saturday night. I’ve seen your photo everywhere this morning! You’re seriously famous now,” Lorena said, clapping her hands in excitement.
I glanced over to Julian and he smiled.
“By all means, tell her about the fashion show or we’ll never get any work done today.” I laughed and proceeded to give her every juicy detail of the show. After all, I could tell her the insanity of the first half of my night without including the details of what happened after. With her brother. In this very hotel room.
She’d pestered me with questions, but I didn’t mind. It was mid-morning by the time Julian heavily suggested we actually start to work, but even then, I had to promise to tell her more during lunch.
By the time we’d all settled down to work, I had too many conflicting thoughts swirling around my head to actually focus. I couldn’t even decide what should take top priority: the fact that Vogue had emailed me about a job or the fact that I wanted to jump Julian’s bones at that very moment.
I glanced over my shoulder and snuck a peek at Julian. He was firing away on his keyboard with his brows subtly tugged together, a sign of concentration. I loved watching him while he worked. He hit enter on whatever he was typing, leaned back on the couch, and caught my stare.
An earthquake would have taken a backseat to that stare. My heart leapt in my chest as a slow, seductive smile spread across his lips. The breath of my lungs, the beat of my heart, the basic ability to pull my gaze away from him—they were all under his control. The connection between us was stronger than any willpower I could have mustered.
“Julian, what’s the website for the architecture firm we’re meeting with this afternoon?” Lorena asked, interrupting our moment.
Oh right, maybe stop eye-fucking Julian while his sister is around.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and turned back to good ol’ Central Park.
Concentrate. Open your email. Pretend to type something. It can be gibberish, just stop sitting there like you’re frozen.
I’d managed to get through half an email when Lorena stood to use the restroom a few minutes later. My fingers froze over my computer keys as I processed that she’d be gone for a few minutes. There was absolutely no way I would let the opportunity slip by me. The second the door to the bathroom locked into place, I pushed off my chair and ran to Julian as quietly as possible. He shoved his laptop aside, stood, and reached for my face. He cupped my cheeks in his palms as our lips met.
That kiss.
That kiss was a sucker punch to my gut. That kiss was Julian laying claim to my soul. I was on the fringe of insanity, swept up in the feel of him. I was wholeheartedly convinced that we could have a quickie while Lorena was in the bathroom, and then I heard the toilet flush.
Julian and I flew apart like we’d just been caught red-handed. My heart hammered in my chest as I glanced to the bathroom and then back to Julian. His devilish smile didn’t help matters. I laughed and shook my head, giving myself another foot of distance between us.
Damn. Would it kill Lorena to take her time? Get comfortable in there. Read a book!
“I’m going to ask her to grab us lunch,” Julian said, running his hand down the length of my arm before tucking it away in his pocket.
I tilted my head. “Why?”
“Because I want fifteen minutes alone with you before the meeting with the architecture firm this afternoon,” he said, bending to steal one last kiss before the bathroom door opened.
Alrighty then.
“Are you guys okay?” Lorena asked with a skeptical tone. When she’d gone into the bathroom, we’d been sitting down and working quietly. Now, we were standing together in the center of the room, panting as if we’d just finished a triathlon.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Julian and I are doing our work yoga.”
What?
She arched a brow. “What’s that?”
I laughed as if she was crazy, my brain working overtime to come up with an answer. “Oh. Uh, you just pause every hour on the hour and do five minutes of stretching.” I turned to Julian. “Go ahead, Julian. Show her your downward dog.”
Chapter Forty-One
Josephine
I stared at my open laptop in front of me, wondering how I’d managed to sit