Gwen had fully planned to tell Dominic that she’d overheard him talking to Gage, but now she’d changed her mind. Why warn him so that he could just make up some lie to cover his tracks? No, even if it killed her, she would pretend that nothing had changed until she knew for sure whether she was pregnant. By this weekend, she should be able to take a home pregnancy test to answer that question. Of course, if her spotting from the previous day was any indication, she’d say that she wasn’t.
Her sister had called last night to invite her to Peter’s birthday party this weekend, so instead of declining as she’d planned to do, maybe she would go. She could take a test there and then call Dominic while she was out of town and let him know. No, wait. That was too nice. She’d text him. . . . Yeah, that was more impersonal with the added benefit of not having to hear him make small talk while he brushed her off.
Now that she had a plan of action, she only had to get through the rest of the work week without breaking down and begging him to stay. She could do this. She had to. Cleaning the coffee mess out of the sink, she took a few deep breaths and squared her shoulders. She just needed to keep reminding herself that he was no different from the rest. Daniel, the man she had dated before Mac, had broken up with her via e-mail with the standard, “It’s not you, it’s me” spiel. She might have actually bought into that if he hadn’t ended it with, “You’re a great person, Misty.” Needless to say, Gwen had immediately caught on to the fact that her replacement in Daniel’s life was Misty. She hadn’t bothered to call him out on it. What would have been the point? Apparently, her replacement in Dominic’s life was a stripper named Kandi. Just the thought was enough to send a wave of much-needed anger surging through her once again. Ugh, men were pigs!
Gwen stalked back to her office feeling guilty that she had wasted so much time this morning on personal matters. Just as she was reviewing some invoices for approval, there was a tap at her door and a smiling Dominic walked in carrying her morning coffee. Her body went into hyper alert as usual when she saw him before she reminded herself that he was a snake and she shouldn’t be swooning over his masculine beauty. God, this was going to be harder than she thought because she was just addicted to him. She had to focus on how it would feel when he walked away from her. “Hey, babe, got you coffee.” He smiled as he sauntered over to where she was sitting. She pretended not to notice that his mouth was dropping toward hers as she subtly turned her head slightly causing his lips to meet her cheek instead. He gave her a questioning look to which she just smiled brightly.
“Thanks,” she said, picking up her cup. “I really needed this.” Before he could say anything she quickly asked, “So, how’s your morning going?”
He reached down to tuck a wayward piece of hair behind her ear before answering. “It’s fine. Just the usual. How about you?” Oh crap, she was literally melting from the heat in his gaze as she fumbled with a pen on her desk, trying not to think about how much she wanted him to throw her over the desk and take her in every way imaginable. She could feel her body flushing and her nipples pebbling as she repeated to herself that he was now the enemy. Did the man have to smell so good? She was right at the point of plastering her body to his when she was saved by the shrill ringing of her desk phone. She grabbed the receiver like it was a life raft in the middle of the ocean and she was drowning.
If Marta in purchasing thought it a bit strange that Gwen insisted she needed to come over personally to review the new budget for landscaping, she didn’t let on. Well, other than the thirty-second pause when Gwen had said that she’d be right there. She really didn’t care if she sounded crazy as long as it kept her from licking Dominic’s neck and flicking his nipples. Tossing the phone back in the cradle, Gwen jumped to her feet and said breezily, “I’ve got to go look over some budget numbers. So, I’ll see you later.”
She had almost made it to the door, when Dominic shot a hand out and pulled her body against his. “Not so fast, Red.” Looking at her intently, he asked, “Is everything all right? You seem a bit—strange.”
Maybe if I stuffed some dollar bills in my panties and named myself after something edible he’d be happier! Gwen thought to herself. Instead of giving voice to any of those thoughts, though, she simply gave him a confused half smile before answering. “I don’t know what you mean. It’s just been a busy morning and I’m running late.” In his confusion, his grip had loosened on her and she took advantage of the momentary distraction by pulling away and making for the door. “Thanks for the coffee,” she threw over her shoulder as she walked quickly down the hallway. When she turned the corner, she glanced back to find him staring after her, looking puzzled and hurt. No, surely she was reading that wrong. The only thing she could have possibly wounded was his ego by walking away from him. It probably wasn’t a feeling that he was used to. She had to give him credit, though; he seemed to be determined to stay the course until he knew he was off the hook.
If he wasn’t stomping on her heart, she might have admired his resolve. That was something she needed to work on herself because she had been close to folding in her office. She had seriously underestimated the impact that his presence had on her. How in the world was she supposed to hold out for another few days until she could run back to Columbia and hide? At this point, a case of the flu would be like a miracle from above.
Chapter Eleven
Dominic was still perplexed by Gwen’s odd behavior by the time he made it home later that evening. He had replayed the scene in her office over and over and still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had been off, yet he knew something had changed since they had parted less than an hour before. First, there was her avoidance of his kiss. He might have believed that her turning just as his lips closed in on hers was a coincidence, if not for the moments afterward. She had kept all eye contact to a minimum and had bounced her pen around her desk as if she was on some kind of speed.