Read Online Love Love by Beth Michele - Free Book Online

Busy. Design, Design, Design.” He
claps his hands. “Let’s get on with it.”
    I like Robby. He never makes me feel
like a peon and always makes me laugh. My desk is piled with
paperwork, and prioritizing is number one on my list today. We have
about thirty minutes before our first meeting and I’m in the
organizing zone. The stack of papers filled with design sketches
Robby drew are piling up and filing them is essential. My phone
rings, startling me, and I quickly answer it, almost dropping the
receiver to the floor. “Gabrielle Willis.”
    On the other end I hear, “Hello,
Gabrielle Willis, this is Dane Rhodes.” Then silence.
    I can’t seem to talk, but my body is
responding to his silky voice. After a pause, I offer,
“Hello.”
    “ I just spoke with Robby,
and apparently you’re supposed to pick up some design plans at my
apartment today. I just wanted to find out what time you’d be
here.”
    I am? I’m glad someone decided to tell
me that. “I’ll see you at two o’ clock.” Click. I hang up. I didn’t
even give him a chance to say anything else. At this point, my name
can be found right next to the word idiot in the
dictionary.
    I can’t pay attention to anything
Robby or the clients are saying, as I’m anxiously glancing at the
clock non-stop. It’s like watching molasses drip from a spoon. It’s
only noon. The lunch meeting is dragging and I can’t even think
about food. It’s also not very appealing to listen to people talk
as they’re chewing. Two more hours to go. I’m nervous and my mind
is doing crazy Dane somersaults. All kinds of thoughts are going
through my head. Dane obviously called and asked for me
specifically. He must’ve been thinking about me, right? Must’ve
wanted to see me again, or perhaps he just heard I’m a skilled
assistant? I giggle. Perhaps he’s hoping I’m skilled in other ways,
too.
    Robby glares at me. I guess my giggle
was a little too loud. “Gabby, do you have anything you’d like to
add?”
    My smile suddenly disappears and I put
on my serious meeting face. “No.”
    Finally it’s 1:30. I gather my
scattered wits and make my way to the ladies’ room for one last
check. I’ve been in here four times in the past hour; I’m sure
nothing has changed. I smooth my dress, brush my hair and tuck one
side behind my ear, and reapply blush and a bit of lip gloss.
That’s it. This is as good as it gets.
    As I make my way to Dane’s Upper East
Side apartment, my heart is drumming against my chest. I haven’t
been this nervous about anything in a long time. I’m not sure
what’s happening to me, but whatever it is, I don’t want it to
stop. I wonder what he wants from me. I know what I want from him.
Sex, with a capital S.
    Sweat is clinging to my
palms, my pulse visibly racing through my heated skin. I’m having a
hard time controlling my breathing as the elevator ascends to the
twenty-seventh floor. So much for the time I spent in yoga class. I wring my hands repeatedly and
slowly count to ten. When I finally get to ten, the elevator pings.
Steadying my wobbly legs and wiping away the moisture trickling
down my forehead, I head down the hall to apartment 27-F,
attempting one last deep, calming breath before I ring the
doorbell.
    The door opens almost instantly and I
freeze at the sight of Dane. I’ve obviously never walked through a
door before, because when he ushers me in, the feet that I so often
rely on have no idea what to do. I look down at my awkwardness
telepathically expecting a response, and wait. Still nothing, so I
look up. My eyes sweep the length of his body. The natural
inclination would be to stare into his green emeralds, but it’s
impossible not to move lower; a lot lower. I can almost trace a
line through the bunched cream fabric of his pants. Is it even
real? It should be illegal to walk around with that thing. Dane’s
lips part, forming a perfect O, for orgasm, I believe. The one I’m
about to have all over his brand new