It was a long time before either of them returned to normal breathing. “This couch is terribly uncomfortable.”
He agreed and eased out of her. “Sorry.” Standing now, he grabbed his underwear and was going to head to the bathroom when her words stopped him.
“Don’t be.” She sat up and let her legs fall to the floor before standing. “There’s no need for either of us to be sorry about anything that’s happened. In our past or right now.”
He really needed to get to the bathroom before he made a mess on this terribly uncomfortable couch, but he moved to her once more, leaning in to kiss her. “You’re absolutely right.”
On his way to the bathroom, he glanced at the chair where he’d tossed his phone and cursed. He’d turned it off when he didn’t want to be bothered while they were together, but he never kept it off for long. For family and business purposes, he knew the value of being reachable. Grabbing it, he turned it on while he was walking but stopped upon seeing the multiple text messages and email notifications on the screen. He swiped the first one titled Urgent.
“Is something wrong?” He looked up from the phone to see she’d already collected her clothes from around the couch and was holding them in a bunch in front of her. Probably waiting to get into the bathroom as well.
“Uh, no, not wrong. Just surprising.” When he noticed the guarded look on her face, he added, “Riley’s getting married.”
CHAPTER TEN
One Week Later
Gold Mansion
“DON’T BE NERVOUS.”
“Are you saying that for my benefit or yours?” Desta asked when they stood on the top brick step a few feet away from the double white doors of the Gold Mansion.
Maurice smirked. “Don’t be funny.”
Lifting a hand, she gave him a salute. “Yes, sir.” She hadn’t given the words or the action any thought, but the moment she saw concern flicker in his gaze, she chuckled. Nervously. Damn him. “I’ve been to Sunday dinner at your parents’ house before, Maurice. It’s silly to feel any type of way about being here now.”
She’d been to lots of functions at this house. In the beginning, turning down invitations had seemed rude and quite possibly career suicide, so she’d attended one Sunday dinner and then a cocktail party, a cookout, Ron Gold’s sixtieth birthday party and eventually more Sunday dinners and poker nights. Before long, she’d begun to feel as comfortable around the Golds as if she were an adopted part of their family. So much so she’d recently chanced turning down some invites, claiming she had other plans. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to work tonight.
“We hadn’t slept together all the times you’d been here before.” He was right about that.
And they had been sleeping together—a lot—in the last week since returning to Manhattan. In fact, Maurice had stayed at her place three out of the past five nights. Her queen-size bed was no match for the king-size they’d slept in at the resort, but she’d kind of liked the feeling of him that close throughout the night. Exactly when they’d decided to continue whatever it was they were doing, she wasn’t sure. Neither of them had said anything definitive, nor had they stopped.
“Well, there’s no sticker on my forehead saying we slept together, so if nobody asks that particular question, they’ll never know.” He arched a brow, and she sighed. “You’re not helping.”
“It’s going to be fine. We’re not hiding anything.” When she shivered from the cold, he rubbed his gloved hands up and down her arms.
He wore a black leather bomber jacket over a navy-blue sweater and turtleneck combo. His pants were dark gray, cuffed at the ankle, black leather loafers on his feet.
What he’d just said made perfect sense; they hadn’t been trying to hide anything. The nervousness she’d had about them being seen together at the Finger Lakes hadn’t surfaced here because being together here could easily be connected to their jobs. From the time they’d returned after driving back from the Finger Lakes late Monday afternoon, until early Friday evening, they’d walked in and out of the office together more than they ever had before. They hadn’t offered any explanation, nor had anybody asked. But they’d never arrived at his parents’ house together. This affair they were having could backfire, and losing her job would be the consequence of acting on emotion and not common sense.
“You’re worried about what they’ll say, too, aren’t you?” she asked.
He frowned and, as if to quiet her discomfort, leaned forward to drop a light kiss on her lips. “It’s freezing out here. We’re going in.”
But before he could turn his attention to the door, it opened. “I thought I saw your car.” Major stood just inside the foyer, a wide grin on his face. “Hey, Desta.”
Her heart was beating frantically, but she managed to move like she was as unbothered as Maurice was, stepping toward his twin brother and walking inside. “Hey, Major. Nice jacket.”
He wore a deep burgundy velvet sports coat over a black shirt and pants. Commenting on his outfit was what Desta would’ve done on any other occasion. Of all the Gold brothers, Major was the least interested in switching up his black, blue, gray and brown color palette, so whenever she saw him in other colors—which had come more and more after he’d met Nina—she was sure to notice.
“Thanks. Nina picked it out. She said it’s festive.”
Desta had walked past him and was removing her coat. When she turned back to face Major, he was brushing a hand down the front of the jacket.
“It’s not Christmas yet,” Maurice added when he came into the house.
Major closed the door and laughed.
