I Bought A Wife

Eight

Those dreamy hazel eyes haunted Val for days.

It didn't seem to matter that he's been absentmindedly staring down at his report on his laptop. Or how many presentations for new projects and online classes had he missed. Or the point that he'd been sleeping on his office couch because of his lack of strength to face Darcy.

That night would've been the best date he'd ever had been. There was no reason for him to shut her off. But for any of this, he'd messed up and she wasn't supposed to cross the line.

He hadn't seen her for a week already and he missed her sweet scent and the way her body moves around the kitchen, and the way those hazel eyes flared at him and the way she—

What the hell?

He wasn't supposed to be thinking about those. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about her.

Fingers snapped before his eyes and Val blinked. Lexie was standing across his desk, as she placed a breakfast on the box on the clear side of his table. "I called you four times, and you didn't answer."

"Where's Matt?"

"He couldn't come, he got flu last night. So I volunteered to deliver his report to you and some breakfast, if you don't mind." She smiled; the same smile she used to give him long time before.

"Ok thanks, Lexie. I really appreciate this and sorry about not answering your call, long night."

Lexie's gaze flickered to the side of Val's monochromatic office, where a black leather couch stood. "Don't tell me you've been sleeping on that for the whole week." Lexie approached the couch and sat on it, "it's too short for a big, sturdy man like you."

He grinned, in spite of what happened between them, funny though that he was still comfortable being with her, they we're best of friends since college before lovers and still remained as friends. "Are you flirting with me again? Or are you gonna buy me a new couch? You know Matt would be happy when he hears it."

"Hears about what? Me flirting or me buying you a couch?"

"Both."

And they shared a brief laugh. She raised her brows at, "So how much trouble are you into now, Valentino?"

His real name, the name he rarely acknowledged was still smooth and flawless from her mouth. "I'm not in trouble at home. What does that even mean? You think I got kicked out?" He grimaced.

It bothered him because deep down he knew he'd taken the easy way out. Being friends with Darcy hadn't worked out so well. She was too much to resist.

"You're in trouble. I knew it. I knew that look." She pointed out and she regretted saying it, since it caught another twist on her gut. She knew cause she'd been there—with him.

A pause caught them when their eyes met, aware of the awkwardness he chuckled, "that's ridiculous."

She tried to laugh, ignoring the fact that she'd missed him and it was clearly her fault why he gave up with her.

"Oh, now I know why" her eyes widened, "you forget her birthday, did you?" she nodded cleverly with a brief laugh.

"Our marriage isn't like that" he blurted protesting. Now she was clearly regretting every single word she says. She bit her lower lip because she was certain she was insanely denying everything, and she was clearly jealous of his wife.