her tongue darting between his teeth.
And then, too soon, it was over. The music ended and Adison broke the kiss.
Taking a step back, she bit into her swollen lip. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He tried to talk, but his throat was too hoarse. He could only shake his head.
He wasn’t sorry, but he knew he should be.
Chapter 14
Ken
The rest of the evening—surprise, surprise—was awkward as hell. When they drove home about an hour later, Ken apologized for the kiss and Adison mumbled an “It’s okay, was my fault, too.”
When he left her at her apartment door, it took all the strength he had to not ask for another kiss. He’d held back, though, reminding himself that Adison was too sweet to get involved with him.
He would end up hurting her. Not like Danny had, but in his own way. He’d never been good at relationships, never been able to maintain something that required real intimacy. These were the simple facts, not him being sorry or hard on himself.
So he’d walked away from that apartment, hating every step but knowing he was doing the right thing.
It would be better from then on if they only spent time together while working, he decided on the drive home. Which shouldn’t be too hard. Her ex was moving away, and they could give up the boyfriend-girlfriend act.
With that in mind, he’d settled in for a bad night’s sleep… which led to a bad sleep Saturday night and a bad sleep Sunday night.
Giving up on rest around five on Monday morning, he rose a little early, hit his indoor salt pool for a swim, grabbed some of the quiche his housekeeper had made the day before, and drove to work, where he was the first one in the office.
If he stayed busy enough, he could keep his desire for all the things he couldn’t have at bay. Maybe.
The office started coming to life around eight. He heard his assistants first, pulling out the chairs at their desks and texting him to see if he needed anything. They’d left the double doors leading to the main working area open, and the chatter out there distracted him from having so much as one uninterrupted thought.
Adison was out there, settling into her work. Was she thinking of him? Hating him for what happened Friday night?
She’d liked the kiss as much as he had. The way she’d leaned into it, giving her body over to him, said as much.
When he’d apologized in the car, she’d been hard to read. He’d taken her silence as a sign that he’d done the right thing by retracting his attention. They’d been tipsy on the moment, lost in the music and the victory over her ex.
Ken’s cell phone rang, and he glanced at its screen. Thea Sorentis.
He felt his lips press together. Thea was nice, and she was a client, but if she was calling about the Christmas party, he really wasn’t in the mood to talk. Discussing the party would mean thinking more about Adison.
“Thea,” he answered. “Good morning. Are you calling to tell me my supplies are on their way?”
He pressed the phone to his ear and spun the chair toward the windows, hoping Thea had a sense of humor and the joke would land.
Thankfully, she laughed. “How cute. You know the holidays are coming up, and I don’t do much business around them. I’m sure I told you that.”
In the nick of time, he stopped himself from sighing. “Understandably.”
Nope. Not really understandable at all. Not in his world, anyway.
“I’m calling for another reason entirely,” Thea said with a mysterious tone to her voice. “What are you doing this weekend?”
Ken hesitated. Was Thea asking him out?
He’d have to turn her down—and not only because he wasn’t interested. She was someone he needed a donation from and getting personal would muddle that important business.
“You and your girlfriend,” Thea added, taking him by surprise.
“My…my girlfriend?”
Had she confused him with someone else?
“Is that not what she is? I’m sorry, I thought I noticed the chemistry there. Even over a video call, it was palpable.”
“You mean Adison.” He laughed silently and closed his eyes.
Wow.
Nope, Thea hadn’t imagined the attraction. At least not the attraction he felt.
“Yes. Adison. She seems sweet. I’m having a little get-together this weekend at my place in Jackson Hole. I would love it if you both could come.”
It occurred to Ken that he hadn’t yet corrected Thea and told her Adison was not, in fact, his girlfriend. He really ought to do