“Stop it,” I say through gritted teeth, pointing a finger at my best employees. “She has nothing to do with it.”
“Sure,” Laila says in a teasing lilt. “Whatever you say. I see the way you watch her.”
I groan. “I don’t watch her.”
Nora smiles. “I cannot believe I didn’t put two and two together. It makes so much sense now.”
“And their girls love each other. When Lennie was in the brewery the other day, she was telling me all about how they’re going to go to the zoo soon! It’s adorable.”
“Stop,” I mutter. “You two are lucky I need you, or I’d be firing your asses.”
“You would never,” Laila says. She’s worked for me for years now, and has become absolutely invaluable to me. She’s my right-hand-gal, and I owe her a lot of the success we’ve had.
“You’re right, but still. Nothing is going on between us,” I lie. The lie is bitter on my tongue, and they see right through me.
The girls are looking behind me at someone, and somehow, I know it’s her. Sure enough, when I turn, Fallon is striding up to the bar, client in tow.
“Hey guys,” she greets. “This is Kay. She’s wondering if she can do a taste test since you’re here.”
“Of course.” I offer her my hand, and give her a professional shake. “What are you thinking?” I explain what we have to offer, and am pleased when she picks one of our top brews.
We get her squared away, and I decide maybe it’s best for me to go. But first, I need to talk to Fallon. I shouldn’t, but I’d rather talk to her in person about the condom situation, and our upcoming plans with the girls.
Fallon is in the zone, barely even seeing me as I reach out to grab her arm. “Hey,” I say when she is pulled to a stop by me.
“Oh, hey,” she says, her cheeks pinkening as she looksup at me, clearly remembering our activities not even an hour ago. “What’s up?”
I clear my throat and lower my voice while leaning in closer to her ear. “I didn’t wear a condom. I needed you to know that… I’m clean. I—it’s been a long time.”
When I lean back, her cheeks are bright red. If anyone were to look over at us, surely they would suspect something is happening between us. Fallon nods. “I have an IUD. It’s okay. And… I’m clean too. I got checked after the divorce. And I haven’t been with anyone else.”
I let out a relieved sigh. Guilt swarms me, knowing I even put her in that position of concern. I should have been paying more attention, should have had the forethought to think of her before sticking my dick inside of her, but when it comes to Fallon, I lose all rational thought.
I clear my throat and change the subject. “Are we taking the girls to the zoo next week?”
“Yes!” Instantly, she’s pulling her phone out, looking at her calendar. “Is that okay?”
“Definitely,” I say. “Lennie has been bugging me to come with her, so I figure now is the best time.”
“Agreed,” she says. “Would Wednesday work?”
With a glance at my own calendar, I nod my agreement. “It’s a date,” I confirm, and immediately regret my choice of words. “Not a date, it’s a…” I trail off, trying to hide my idiocy.
“I know what you mean, Jase,” Fallon says, though she’s actively avoiding my eyes.
“I, uh,” I clear my throat. “I’ll text you later for timing and such. Sound good?”
“Peachy,” Fallon squeaks, and shoves her phone into a pocket of her dress. Huh, that’s neat. Didn’t know her dress had pockets.
“About earlier—” I try to bring it up again, but she holds up a hand.
“It’s fine, Jase. We don’t have to talk about it. If anything, maybe we… shouldn’t talk about it.” Her green eyes are looking at anything but me.
“Okay,” I say, and then without another word, I wave goodbye and head out the door. I need to get out of here before I do something I shouldn’t.
24
FALLON
