Business Casual (Lovelight, #4)

by B.K. Borison

“What’s this face for?” I push his hand away. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I say again. “Why not?” “Because I don’t want—” I huff out a breath. “I don’t want to be a joke.” It comes out more vulnerable than I’d like, a wobble at the edges that frustrates me. His lips twist down in a frown to match mine. “Who said you’re a joke?” He did. When he laughed in my face. “I’m sorry, okay?” I kick at the loose rocks by my feet. “I shouldn’t have asked you for…what I asked you for. I was caught up in the moment, and I misread the signs between us. I’m sorry I shocked your delicate sensibilities, or whatever, but I don’t want you to dangle it over my head. It makes me feel stupid and I hate feeling stupid. So, let’s just…agree to move on.” He stares at me for the stretch of three heartbeats, his face unreadable. “You think I’m making fun of you?” “Aren’t you?” “No,” he says simply. He combs his fingers through his dark hair, dragging his hand over the back of his head to squeeze his neck. “No, I’m really not.” “You said no,” I supply quietly. “You laughed at me.” “I didn’t—Nova. You gave me twenty seconds to respond before you tried to take it back. And I didn’t laugh at you.” “You told me to ask you again.” His eyes flare, a comet streak across midnight-blue skies. He takes one step closer to me, the toes of his boots pressed up against my Converse. I have to tilt my head back to keep staring at his face. Sometimes I forget how tall he is. Besides our dance through the trees, I...