in and closed the door, locking it behind me.
In the back of my mind, I knew it was a bad idea.
A horrible idea.
But it didn’t stop me.
“A darkroom?” His handsome face was awash in the low red hues of the safelight.
“No one will disturb us in here. Now, what do you want? And why are you in uniform? Rita probably thinks I’m in trouble, thanks to that getup.”
Michael’s expression turned incredulous. “I’m in uniform because I’m working. I’m on break, I was in the area, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to go see Dahlia to ask her why she’s avoiding my texts and calls after I broke up with Dillon.’ Six weeks, Dahlia. Six weeks. You want to tell me why you’ve left me hanging for six fuckin’ weeks?”
I rubbed the back of my neck, unable to look at him. “Michael, you know why.”
“No, I don’t. I dated Dillon for less than three months, and we never had sex.”
Jealousy and anger at the mere thought of him touching her curdled inside me. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Dahlia …” He stepped toward me, and I stumbled against the door, trying to maintain distance. I heard his exasperated huff. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking dating your little sister, and I’m sorry. Fuck, I’m sorrier than I can say.”
That was all well and good, but he’d completely screwed us over. My sister would hate me if I dated him after this and it would be more ammunition for my mom. It would support her opinion that I was selfish and spoiled.
“Yeah. Me too.” I scrambled for the lock and the door handle.
“Don’t.”
His hard body pinned me to the door, chest to chest, as his hand curled around mine to stop my escape. Heat flushed through me, and I forced my whimper of need back down my throat when he pressed his forehead to my temple.
“I can’t bear it,” he said, his voice gruff. “I can’t bear it if I lose you. I’ve missed you so fuckin’ much. It’s like walking around without an arm.”
Willing to say anything that would cease the touching, the torture, the temptation, I whispered, “I suppose we could try to be friends again.”
“Is that why you’re avoiding me? Because you want to be just friends?”
“Michael, that’s not fair.”
He turned his head so his cheek was pressed to my cheek, his lips touching my ear. “I love when you say my name. I dream about it. I dream about being with you as you whisper my name.”
Every part of my body came alive in a flare of ardor like someone had struck several matches across my skin. My breasts seemed to swell against his chest, the nipples tightening into little buds that were probably obvious through my cotton dress.
And I couldn’t even bear to acknowledge the slick, sudden heat between my legs.
Why did it have to be him?
“Michael … we can’t. What about Gary?”
He lifted his head and our eyes connected. I knew that whatever was between us was more than physical. It was so much more, it hurt. And it had the torturous side effect of making our physical attraction feverish. “He cheated on you. He’s my boy but … This is so much more than what I thought it was, Dahlia. Now he doesn’t get a say in this. He fucked up. I want a chance to do better than him. So much better you’ll never want to let me go.”
He dipped his head, his lips hovering near mine as his hand traveled up my arm. “I miss you,” he repeated. “You’re all I think about.”
My eyes burned with tears because I’d never dreamed that I’d feel this way about someone and have him feel the same way. Why did he have to screw it up before we even got a chance? “You hurt Dillon, and she’s my sister.”
“I’m sorry,” he groaned. “Fuck, I’ve never been sorrier for anything in my whole life. But we’re not talking about some quick fuck here. What we have is worth whatever shit we have to deal with to hold onto it.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do that to her.”
Michael pushed off the door and away from me. He glowered, his face taut with frustration. “This isn’t about upsetting Dillon. What she and I did hardly qualified as dating, and you know it. You’re pissed at me for going there in the first place, and now you’re punishing me!”
Rage flooded me. “Of course, I’m