The Contract Said Leave After, His Mind Said Please Stay Chapter 09

After we made things official, Julian was a different person. Well – not his face. He still looked exactly the

same.

But his inner monologue had completely gone off the rails.

At breakfast the next morning, I speared a bite from my plate.

[She’s eating well today. Good. Should I have the chef make another dish?]

[She mentioned she liked lobster the other day. Why isn’t there lobster? I’m firing the chef.]

Firing the chef over lobster, Julian? That was unhinged.

He was standing by the door, getting ready to head out for work.

I called out, “Drive safe.”

[She told me to drive safe. She’s NEVER said that before!]

[Is this what having a girlfriend is like?!]

He gave a curt nod and walked out the door.

[Should I come home early today? If I come home early, I get to see her longer. I’m pushing back the

afternoon meeting.]

[No, that meeting is important. But Harper is more important. It’s getting pushed back.]

I stood in the doorway and watched his car disappear around the corner. On paper, this man ran a company

with thousands of employees and a schedule packed down to the minute.

In reality, his head was wall-to-wall me. I was starting to wonder how Sterling Enterprises hadn’t collapsed.

He came home that evening carrying a bag.

He set it on the coffee table and slid it toward me. “Passed by the bakery on my way home.”

I opened it. Inside was the red velvet cake I’d mentioned craving offhand a few days ago.

That bakery was on the other side of Oakhaven. He hadn’t just “passed by” anything.

[Is this too obvious? I should’ve said my assistant picked it up. No – I already said I was passing by. Will she

buy that?]

[She’ll believe it, right? That bakery is in… it’s near… okay, it doesn’t matter where it is.]

“Thank you,” I said, taking a bite. “It’s amazing.”

[She’s smiling. Worth it. The two-hour round trip was worth it.]

I watched him sit across from me, spread out his paperwork, and pretend to work. His eyes drifted toward

me every three seconds.

[She looks so happy eating that. There’s frosting on the corner of her mouth. I want to wipe it off.]

[And then I’ll lick the frosting off my thumb and no. Julian. You’re a gentleman.]

I left the frosting exactly where it was and waited.

He lasted ten seconds. Then twenty. Then thirty.

Then he set down his pen, stood up, and walked over to me.

His thumb brushed the corner of my mouth – barely touching me. Then, on autopilot, he brought his thumb

toward his lips and froze.

[What are you DOING, Julian? Were you about to lick your thumb in front of her?]

[Are you insane?]

He dropped his hand, turned around, and walked stiffly back to his seat. The tips of his ears were crimson.

I stared down at my cake, biting my lip to keep from laughing. Julian, you were going to be the death of me.