I Speak...Love (A Different Road #3) (11 page)

“Nope. Have a good lunch,” I tell her, then enter my office.

Maddy is sitting in one of the chairs across from my desk and the instant I open the door I smell it. The faint sweet smell I smelled yesterday, now fills the room and makes my mouth water. She brought me some of her famous chocolate chip cookies. Maddy turns around, and her beautiful face turns toward me. My mouth no longer waters for food, but for her.

Stephen’s office door opens and he walks in carrying several large bags. His face lights up with a smile, happy to see me. He places the bags in his chair behind his desk, then he walks back around the desk, leans down, and places a warm kiss on my cheek.

I don’t know where it comes from but my hand suddenly has a mind of its own and it automatically reaches up, and I place it on the side of his face as his lips touch my cheek. It’s like an episode of Leave It to Beaver and I don’t know why I just did it.

He pulls away, but stays close to my face, a sexy smile creeps up his face, and his warm eyes sparkle.

“How are you?” he asks.

A question I’m not used to people asking me. No one ever cared about how I was growing up. No one cared if I was sick or hurt and they certainly didn’t care that I had to cut open a tube of toothpaste with dull scissors to scrape out the very last vapor of toothpaste just so I could brush my teeth. No one ever missed me and no one certainly ever looked at me the way Stephen did when he walked into his office just now.

I frown though when I remember that I’ve been procrastinating all day about calling Courtney. I hate the fact that I’m going to upset her. After I leave here, I’m going to have to bite the bullet and call her. It’s not fair to her to wait until the last minute to call her. She’s going to need time to hire another photographer.

I look at Stephen, and he’s staring at me with concern because I haven’t answered him yet.

“I’m good,” I lie. “How are you?” I ask.

His face has morphed into so many emotions since he walked in the door in such a short amount of time that I’m having a hard time keeping up with what they all mean. He was happy when he walked in to see me, he was sexy when he kissed me on the cheek, he was concerned just a second ago because I didn’t answer him, but now I’m not so sure what’s on his face.

Oh God. Yes, I do know that look. He knows I just lied to him.

I have a tattoo of a chameleon on the left side of my upper back that represents so many deep and personal things to me, and right now I wish I could blend into the brown leather seat cushion so he stops looking at me like that. I’ve had to morph into so many different people and put on so many fake faces over the years to hide my feelings that I’ve perfected the art of being a chameleon.

It’s an absolutely stunning tattoo. It starts at the corner of my shoulder with a pink orchid, then the chameleon stretches across my shoulder blade. He’s sitting on a branch surrounded by green foliage, followed by another pink orchid at the edge of my spine. I certainly could never afford a tattoo and I didn’t pay for it. It was done by a tattoo student for free. She was just learning the art of tattooing, and it was part of her training. She did an absolutely amazing job. Last I heard, she’s now an award winning tattoo artist working out of Las Vegas.

“Maddy?” he calls.

I really need to stop drifting off in thought.

“I baked you some chocolate chip cookies last night,” I say with a smile, reaching into my catering bag.

I take out the cookies, remove the lid and extend the container toward Stephen. His eyes close and he visibly inhales their sugary goodness.

“What’s wrong, Sweetness?” he asks, opening his eyes.

Oh God, not the nickname again. I could answer that question so many different ways right now. I’m still devastated my camera was stolen. I’m definitely still beating myself up for becoming attached to it in the first place. I know better. How about this big one? I shouldn’t even be here in Stephen’s office, this will definitely hurt worse than losing a broken camera when he’s taken away from me. Not that he’s mine to begin with. But currently, I’m devastated about upsetting Courtney.

My mind is traveling in ten different directions all at the same time. Stephen’s eyes are moving back and forth as he searches mine like he’s reading my thoughts again and he’s following each direction. His head tips to the side in some sort of realization like he just found the direction of my current problem.

He gets up from the chair next to me, then he walks to the other side of his desk. He opens one of the bags and removes one of the items. My heart instantly feels like someone just hooked it up to a defibrillator and shocked my heart at the highest setting. As he walks closer to me with the box, I sink farther and farther into the chair.

No. Please say this isn’t happening. Too much goodness. He can’t do something nice like this! The consequences will be too great. As much as I hate showing weakness in front of people the quickest tear I’ve ever shed escapes and rips a path down my cheek. I know I’m selfish for even thinking a person like Stephen could be interested in a person like me. It’s even more stupid to believe in wishful thinking that someone good like Stephen could just walk into my life.

“No,” I manage to whisper.

He sits down in the chair next to me, then he opens the box. He removes the packaging, then takes out the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and one I could only ever dream of touching in a dream of a dream.

“It’s you,” he says, holding it out to me. I shake my head no and picture it being a monster that can only eat what little happiness I have left. “Look, it’s cracked on the outside,” he says, pointing to a very small crack in the case. My anxiety level immediately comes down a notch. “I promise you that even though you see broken and flawed, I see perfect on the inside and out,” he says, looking at the camera, then at me.

Flawed and perfect are two words that just don’t go together in the same sentence. It’s completely illogical. It just can’t. It’s a risk I’m not willing to take, but boy do I want to.

“I can’t,” I insist.

“Please,” he says, holding it out to me. “I promise you. It won’t change anything.”

“You can’t promise me something like that,” I whisper.

“Trust me, I can,” he replies.

He removes the container of cookies from my hand and sets them on his desk. He moves the camera closer, then he gently sets it on my lap. It’s so very heavy, and I’m not just talking about the physical weight of the camera. What it represents and the pound of flesh it will require to offset my happiness is more than I can handle. The female human heart only weighs about nine ounces, and I can tell you I don’t have that much left to give. Another tear rolls down my cheek, but Stephen quickly wipes it away. I place my hand on the cool surface, and my skin instantly electrifies. Then I remember there was way more in the bags than just this one box. I look at his desk chair and definitely see more items in the bags.

“It’s too much,” I whisper.

“I’ll keep those here. For now,” he says, placing his hand on my knee.

I look up into his eyes and wish I had a voice to speak. I silently tell him without words, thank you. His eyes again move from side to side as he searches deep within my own. Another tear slides down my cheek, and I feel as though the dam is cracking.

He comes close to my face, then rests his cheek against mine. His hand comes to the side of my head and presses against my hair.

He rests his lips close to my ear and whispers, “You’re welcome, Sweetness,” and I about combust.

Maddy is the most selfless person I’ve ever met. I remove the camera from her lap and set it on my desk. I slowly move my lips down across her wet tear stained cheek until they hover over hers. I open my eyes just in time to see hers roll in the back of her head, then close. I close my eyes, then slowly touch my lips to hers. I move my hand over the top of her signature chef bun and pull a pin out of it. I find one more, then unravel her beautiful, silky red hair and let it cascade down her back.

I run my hand through her hair while my lips slowly move over her warm, pouty lips. After a few minutes, her stomach rumbles. I break the kiss, then with my hand on the back of her head, I tip her forehead to my lips.

I back away from her with a smile while her eyes open. It’s fascinating to see her eyes dilate as her thoughts run wild. I’ve never seen someone’s eyes change so many colors. I’d never believe it if I didn’t see it first-hand.

I reach for the container of cookies on my desk and hold it out for her to take one. She takes one, then watches as I take one. Her eyes are glued to the cookie in my hand as she waits for me to take the first bite. I’m definitely going to find out what that’s all about. I take a bite, and it’s the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever tasted. Maddy takes a bite of her cookie, then she wipes a crumb from her lips with her fingertip. I pop the rest of the cookie in my mouth while Maddy perches her cookie between her teeth, then she reaches into her catering bag and removes two containers.

I take the two containers from her and set them on my desk. She reaches for her cookie between her lips, then she shoves the whole thing in her mouth with a sexy smirk. I feel the wicked smile on my lips as I lean in and taste her decadent, sweet lips. She’s pure sweetness, and I was wrong. As phenomenal as her cookies are, her lips taste like pure heaven.

I pull away, then remove one of the lunch containers from my desk. I remove the lid and hand it to her. She reaches in the side of the bag and removes silverware and napkins, while I remove the lid from the other container.

She hands me a fork, and I dig into my lunch. Maddy’s eyes dart back and forth from me eating to her camera sitting on my desk. I finish my food, then I pick up the camera.

“How do you turn it on?” I ask. She reaches over and turns it on for me, then I ask, “And how do you take a picture?” She again reaches over and points to a button. I look through the lens and don’t see anything but darkness. “I think it’s broken?” I say. She covers her lips with her fingers, then softly giggles.

It’s good to hear her laugh.