Sweet Pleasures ✔︎

[7] 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒔

She was gone. He didn't want her to be gone.

Josh frowned at the immaculate kitchen, which - aside from the faint smell of pepperoni lingering in the air and her handwritten note - held no evidence that Jupiter had ever been here.

For whatever reason, he didn't like that. He'd spent the past three hours mired in phone calls, video conferencing, and argument with Warren and Evan, but part of his mind had always been aware of Jupiter just outside the office,

The front door clicked open. Josh turned to find her coming back in, and the relief that washed through him at the sight of her felt like a waterfall.

He shook his head. He was being an idiot. He was wiped out. He needed a shower and sleep, and the only reason he wanted to talk to Jupiter was to apologize for screwing up their date anyway.

"Oh, hi. Is everything okay?" She put a macramé bag down on the foyer table.

How the hell did he know it was macramé? Oh yea, last year Aunt Julia had made a big deal of announcing that macramé was making a comeback.

Jupiter approached him, all brown-eyes concern with those freckles sprinkling her nose like cinnamon and her curly hair that he wanted to sink his hands into so he could tilt her head back and....

"Where did you go?" His voice came out sharper then he'd intended.

She blinked. "Well, nowhere obviously. I was going to leave, but my van won't start. I'll call Triple A."

He frowned. "You will not."

"Really, with the ordering me around?" Though her expression gentled as she came closer. "You look exhausted. What's going on with the floods?"

"The rain stopped, at least." He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "The farms are all flooded, but the families are safe. As soon as the water drains off, we'll be able to go in and assess the damage. They got medical supplies, food, and fresh water into Caracas, so the aid workers are doing what they can."

"What about your brother?"

"He called from Maracay. He's fine. He's probably heading to the coast now."

Even though Warren had explicitly ordered him not to.

"Well, that's all good news, right?"

Josh looked at her, struck anew by her sweetness. All the other women he knew would have been annoyed by the disruption of their plans, even though they'd have tried to conceal it beneath concern and a remark about his workaholic nature. Then they'd have gone off somewhere else to go so their carefully cultivated beauty wouldn't be wasted.

They would not have stayed to order pizza and brew chamomile tea.

A restless urge shimmered beneath Josh's exhaustion, like he needed to somehow compensate for a natural disaster that had prevented him from taking Jupiter out on the town. Because she look so damn pretty in that black dress that hugged her figure in all the right places and showed off a half-circle of pale skin leading down to the barest hint of cleavage...

He took a breath and dragged his gaze back to her face. No way would he ever let another guy fulfil Jupiter's mission to get laid. And despite his knowledge that he shouldn't take this any further than he already had, no way would he let her fulfil that mission with anyone except him.

The office door opened, and his father and brother emerged, both carrying the mugs Jupiter had brought in. She flushed a little at the sight of them. Sensing her anxiety, Josh stepped toward her as if his nearness would be any comfort.