ANMELDENCHRISTIAN~•~Fuck.I stood there for a long moment after she disappeared back into the club, my pulse still pounding in a way I hadn’t experienced in years, maybe ever, and dragged a hand down my face like that might somehow undo what had just happened.It didn’t.I could still feel the exact shape of her against me, the way she’d fisted my shirt and pulled me closer instead of pushing away, the small, helpless sound she’d made against my mouth right before everything in me had gone up in flames.I’d meant to prove a point. I’d meant to call her bluff. She wanted us to have a professional relationship when she’d been anything but professional last night. I wanted to point out that she was just as affected as I was.Instead, I’d ended up kissing her like a man who’d been waiting months to do so, which, I realized with discomfort, was probably exactly what I had been doing.I paced a short distance along the sidewalk, forcing air into my lungs, trying to regain the composure I was know
MELANIE~•~Christian merely stared at me after that statement, long enough for me to wonder if I had anything on my face. I almost touched my face to check but I forced my hand to stay down.I cleared my throat again and as if that broke him from his trance, he took a step forward, fully stepping out of the building and standing in front of me. “As opposed to what, Ms. Juarez?”“W-what?” My voice was a higher pitch than normal. The corners of his mouth tugged up. “What was the other option?” He asked. “If we weren’t being professional?”My lips parted but I was a little slow because I couldn’t process his words. If we weren’t being professional? What was he—I blinked in surprise when he suddenly moved closer. I tried to move back but there was nowhere to go. I could only stare up at him, breathing heavily as my eyes tracked his face. With those full eyelashes of his and a jaw sharp enough to cut diamond, he definitely had no issues picking women up.Even his lips were full and a li
MELANIE~•~Coming out was definitely fun.I hadn’t been to a club in years, not since I got married to Patrick. I couldn’t even have a girls’ night out because his mother worried about how poorly it would reflect on their family. I’d forgotten just how fun it was to go out, let loose, and have fun.I let myself move to the music without overthinking, without calculating how it looked or whether it was appropriate or not. The guy I was dancing with — I couldn’t even recall his name — settled his hands at my waist as I turned.It was easy and uncomplicated. Exactly what I needed after the day I had.I thought briefly of Christian’s voice in my ear that morning, the low murmur of his words that I still couldn’t make sense of, and I pushed the thought away. This was supposed to be about reclaiming myself, not about spiraling over a man I had no business thinking about in the first place.But even as I danced, I could feel someone watching me.It was a club. It was filled with several pe
CHRISTIAN~•~“Didn’t you come here for a distraction?” Allen asked. “You’ve just been drinking and I haven’t seen you look at even one woman.”I looked up from my drink. “I didn’t come here to pick women up, Allen. I told you I just needed a drink.”My friend shook his head, as if disappointed. “Alright then. So why do you need a drink so badly? I’ve been trying to get you out for weeks but it hasn’t been working.”I stared at him for a few seconds, wondering if I should tell him. Even if I did want to tell him, what would I say? What could I say? I was having improper thoughts about my nephew’s wife and I needed to curb them?Allen would never let it go for the rest of his life.Thankfully, I didn’t have to answer because something caught his attention downstairs, probably a woman.I signalled the waiter for another drink.“Christian…”“Mmh?”“Isn’t that…” he trailed off, standing up slightly so he could look above the railing. “Isn’t that your nephew’s wife? The one you ran a back
MELANIE~•~“When are we finally going to celebrate your singleness?”“I just had the craziest day and you’re talking about celebration?” I asked Celina.She’d let herself in twenty minutes ago, her phone in hand as she scrolled through some list of bars she’d apparently been curating since the day I moved out of Patrick’s house for good. She looked up at my tone, immediately dropping the phone onto the couch cushion beside her. “Craziest how?”I dropped onto the couch across from her, dragging both hands down my face. “Where do I even start?” I groaned. Just thinking about this morning made me embarrassed all over again.“Start from the gala. You disappeared last night and didn’t answer my texts, which, rude, by the way.”“I was drunk.”“You’re always drunk lately.” She narrowed her eyes at me curiously. “Where’d you end up?”I hesitated, but there was no point lying to her. She’d get it out of me eventually anyway. “Christian’s place.”Celina’s mouth fell open. “Sinclair?”I nodded.
CHRISTIAN~•~I was an awful person. The gentlemanly thing to do was to feed Melanie and drop her off at home. It wasn’t to sit her down and ask her about the questions she’d asked me last night while she was drunk.But I couldn’t help myself.The problem wasn’t that Melanie had asked the question. The problem was that I woke up this morning realizing I had an answer for it. If she had asked me sober, I wasn’t sure I would have said no.And that was really awful of me.Melanie wasn’t just any woman.Aside from the fact that we were working together and taking her to bed would make things uncomfortable for both of us, she was still my nephew’s ex-wife. Even having thoughts about her was wrong.She was recently divorced and probably still in her feelings. She was vulnerable. How could I take advantage of that?I wasn’t that awful a person, right?I dragged a hand down my face and leaned back in my chair, the papers in front of me entirely forgotten.I told myself it was a passing thoug







