“I want to see you tonight.” His voice is low, his eyes hooded as if he’s bracing himself for my reaction.

I study him for a second before I respond. “But you just saw me.” I want to see him too, I want to see him every second of every day but I can’t. I’m not strong enough for that.

He moves closer to me. “I know. Is there a rule that says I can’t see you twice in one day?”

“Shouldn’t there be?” My question hangs in the air between us for a moment before he nods in agreement. And then I see it, the shift in his expression that makes my stomach tense. He looks nervous and uneasy. Was he struggling with this as much as I was? Isn’t this what he wanted? I don’t ask but I hate seeing him like this, so I step in closer and slide my arms around his waist, planting a kiss on his jaw as he holds me against him.

“I just, I don’t want to get too attached.” Because I’m falling in love with you and it will kill me when you’re done with me.

He clamps his lips together and nods before planting a kiss on my forehead. “I know. Come on, pretty girl. I have a meeting to run.” I stand on my toes and plant quick kisses on his lips as he laughs against my mouth. Serious conversation over, playful Reese back.

Swinging his office door open, he places his hand on my lower back and ushers me out into the reception area and down the hallway. My eyes briefly fall on little Miss Uppity, her expression cold as usual but I don’t linger. I laugh under my breath and Reese looks down at me. “Something funny?” He stops in front of the conference room door and turns to me.

“Your receptionist is kind of a bitch.”

He chuckles. “Ignore her.” Pulling me in for a lasting kiss, the door opens but I don’t register it until after he has broken our contact. I wobble. This man can make me weak in the knees if I even cared about having knees anymore. The sound of a throat clearing causes us both to look into the room at the table full of men, Ian standing at the door and wearing his biggest smile. “Caught ya. Come on, man, we need to get started.” I feel my face flush as Reese straightens his tie quickly and grabs the back of my head, pulling me into him for a quick kiss in my hair.

“Bye, love,” he whispers.

“Bye, handsome. Go crunch some numbers or audit something or whatever the f**k it is you do.” He shakes against me with laughter and pulls back, winking before he walks into the room. My eyes quickly scan the table for my empty bakery boxes when I stop on a familiar smirk that is plastered on the face of the man who had picked up the tarts for his father last week. His eyes rake over my body, slow and sleazy like and I suddenly feel dirty as Ian clears his throat, earning my attention.

“Bye, Dylan,” he says and I wave awkwardly, turning on my heels and hearing the sound of the doors close behind me.

What the f**k was that guy doing here? And why the hell did he stare at me like that? I ride the elevators down and march purposely through the lobby as my mind races. I find Joey outside in the van talking on his phone as I hop in the driver’s seat and start it up.

“Okay, baby. I love you too. Bye.” He ends his call and lays his head back dramatically onto the seat. “I’m in deep, cupcake.”

“I can tell,” I reply playfully. “You are not going to believe who I just saw sitting in the meeting.” After waiting a minute for effect, Joey motions with his hands for me to hurry the f**k up with my information as I drive down the street. “That guy that gave me his card the other day in the shop. The cocky one who picked up the tarts.”

I hear his sharp breath intake. “Are you serious? What the hell was he doing there? Does he work there? Holy shit, are him and Reese co-workers?”

These are the same questions that are running through my mind. “I don’t know, I didn’t get to ask. I really hope not though. Asshole stared at me like he wanted to eat me.” I feel a chill run through me at the memory of it.

“That’s probably because he does. He wasn’t shy about wanting you last week and I’m sure seeing you again with Reese’s dick in your mouth didn’t help.”

I scowl at him. “Christ almighty, Joey, he just saw me kiss him.” In fact, everyone saw me kiss him. “Okay so you’re kind of an expert at the whole casual sex stuff right? Have you ever seen a guy that you are just f**king more than once in the same day? I mean, do you space out the times you spend together or do you just say f**k it and see him whenever you both feel like it?”

Joey chuckles before he answers. “Honestly, when I’ve done the just sex stuff before, we saw each other often because we wanted to f**k often. I think as long as you both can keep yourselves from getting too wrapped up in it, there shouldn’t be that many rules.” He slips his phone out of his pocket and begins messing with it, ending our discussion.

I contemplate Joey’s explanation to me as we drive to the shop. There shouldn’t be too many rules? I felt like rules were extremely necessary, at least for me to be able to do this successfully. There are certain things that just can’t happen between Reese and me. Like sleepovers and meeting each other’s families and doing anything too romantic or intimate. Keeping myself from getting too wrapped up in him is the biggest struggle of my life but immensely worth it. I want to do this with him more than anything because I love being with him. The alternative, ending this because it’s too hard for me sent a pain through my body at the very idea of it. If anyone is going to f**k this up between us, it’s going to be me. He isn’t going to interpret things the way they aren’t meant to be interpreted and he isn’t going to get too attached so neither should I. He’s used to not doing serious, and even though I’m not, I can keep up. I’m determined to make this work and I will. I just need to stop acting like a stupid girl about it.