Red Velvet Kisses. Sherelle Green
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give up,” Lex said taking a seat in the chair Cyd had just vacated. “You guys are right, but I just don’t get it. Why is he even into me when he can have his pick of women? I’ve constantly ignored his advances.”
“Do you hear yourself?” Mya asked raising an eyebrow. “Why not you? He’d be lucky to have you.”
Lex wasn’t so sure. The ladies didn’t know how embarrassing it was the first time she’d met him. And once she realized she would have to see him again, she’d decided that she could either be that pathetic woman he met in the lingerie boutique, or she could act indifferent to him, which somehow came off as dislike. That wasn’t her intention, but anything was better than being submissive to his charm.
She covered her face with both hands. “I’m done talking about Micah. Like I said before, I have too much baggage to even consider dating a man like him. Besides,” she said getting up from the chair and smoothing out her dress slacks. “I’ve avoided his advances for this long so I’m sure another month or so will be a piece of cake.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Lex jumped at the sound of Micah’s voice in the doorway. Oh, no...how much did he hear? From the sly smile on his smooth brown face she could only assume he’d heard way too much.
“I hate when you do that,” she said placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him. The man made her tense, and Lex hated feeling on edge. And why was he just standing there not saying anything? Fine! If he wants to stand there and stare at me, I can do the same thing. The only problem with that plan was that Micah had mastered the act of seduction and the thoughts reflected in his eyes made her heart beat ten times faster than normal.
“Your office assistant, Ellie, told me I could go directly into your office. I went there first,” Micah finally said.
“Hmm. Funny that she didn’t make you wait in the lobby.” Lex looked around at her partners knowing that one of them had probably given Ellie the okay to add Micah to the list of people who could stop by without appointments. Otherwise, there was no way he would have been allowed to see her without first calling and scheduling an appointment.
“Can we talk?” he asked, his stare still unwavering. Today he looked more casual in jeans, a black polo and black peacoat. He removed his winter hat and instantly, Lex wished she could run her fingers through his soft natural black curls.
I really wasn’t prepared to see him today. “Sure,” Lex answered as she walked around the chair and accidentally bumped into it. She slightly stumbled before Micah’s strong arms caught her.
“This feels familiar,” he voiced as he helped her to her feet without releasing his hold.
“Uh-huh...sure does,” she replied breathlessly. Don’t look at his lips! Don’t look at his lips!
“Ready to go to your office?”
Crap! Man he has sexy lips! Soft and inviting... Why did he have to look at her like that? Like his main purpose was to always be her hero. Say something!
“Oh, um, yeah, okay, that works, um, let’s.” What the heck did I just say! Great! Now I’m back to sounding like a blubbering idiot. At the sound of a few giggles, Lex turned her head, having forgot that Imani, Cyd and Mya were still in the office and were witnessing the entire scene.
Way to go, Lex! How about you have a couple more embarrassing moments so that your friends will really have something to talk about.
* * *
As he followed Lex to her office, Micah couldn’t hide the smile that crossed his face. Lex was frazzled, and he loved when she got nervous around him. She had the same affect on him, but he could hide it better than she could.
He’d heard enough of her conversation with her partners to know that Lex was having a hard time avoiding his advances. And he was sure that she disapproved of the extra paragraph in his contract that ensured they would be spending a lot of quality time together over the holiday season.
“How about we go to the café on the corner for brunch?” Micah asked when they arrived at her office. When she turned around to face him, she twisted her mouth and squinted her eyes.
“I thought your contract said you are really busy in the mornings and afternoons.”
So she did read that part. “That’s true, except today I had to run some errands so I’ll be going into the office later this afternoon.”
“How convenient,” Lex said as she began tidying up her desk. Micah could only assume she was trying to look occupied while she contemplated her response. He didn’t mind because it gave him the opportunity to observe her more than he had in Imani’s office. She had no idea how attractive she was. On occasion, he’d overheard her say that she assumed he liked the model-type. Little did she know, he much preferred her five-four petite frame and nice round ass that he was sure would fit perfectly in the palm of his hands.
“Okay, let’s do brunch,” she replied, breaking his thoughts. She sat down to remove her ballerina shoes and put on her winter boots. She’d barely made eye contact with him since they arrived at her office. He smiled as he thought about the last time he was in her office.
When she stood, she went to grab her coffee mug, but accidentally spilled the remaining contents on a stack of papers.
“Oh, shoot,” she shrieked, grabbing some tissue and dabbing the papers. It took all of Micah’s focus not to laugh. He didn’t want to make her even more uncomfortable. Her clumsiness is so cute. Only then did she chance a glance in his direction. He couldn’t read her expression at first, but he was glad when he heard her laugh. He laughed along with her.
“Being around you makes me more clumsy.”
“Well, being around you makes me do a lot of things I don’t normally do,” he said. Like be celibate for over three months. If his brothers knew, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be the object of their jokes for days. He was Micah Madden after all... Bad boy turned good and lover of all things female. Unofficially voted in high school as the number one panty snatcher and the sexiest. Celibate for over three months? Definitely a new record for him.
“Let’s go,” she said as she grabbed her coat. They walked half a block to the café in a comfortable silence. Lex wore a slight smile, and he wondered what she was thinking.
“You have a nice smile,” he said after they ordered a couple of sandwiches and drinks. He had her order first so he could pay for both meals. When she looked hesitant, he reminded her that he was the one who’d invited her to brunch. Luckily, she didn’t argue with him and they retreated to an empty corner table in the café.
“Thanks,” she said, meeting his eyes. “I like your smile, too.”
A compliment? “Finally warming up to me, huh?”
“Don’t push your luck,” she said with a laugh. “I have to be nice now that I’m planning your parents’ anniversary party.”
Micah bit into his sandwich and observed her in between eating. “From what I hear, you’re always nice. Cyd consistently calls you the nice one.”
Lex nodded her head in agreement. “That’s usually true...except...”
Micah searched her eyes. “Except when it comes to me, right?” he finished when she didn’t continue. Lex gave him a soft smile and tilted her head to the side.
“How about we start over?” she asked.
“Meaning, you want me to forget about the incident at Bare Sophistication?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah, that wasn’t my most shining moment.”
“I beg to differ,” he said, trying to ignore the way she licked her lips after the last bite of her sandwich. “You were so adorable that day. At the