For the second time in my life, it stopped. And I never wanted it to start again.

I felt her lean in as her breath faltered. Her eyes fluttered closed for the briefest moment.

And then reality stepped back in.

She stepped back, her eyes wide open, filled with emotion. “I can’t.”

The next morning, as we’d both groggily gone through the motions of flying back home, the incident was never spoken about. Cara had gone about the day as if it’d never happened, and after a while, I’d found myself wondering if I’d dreamed it.

But, every so often, I would catch her looking at me… as we’d fixed our morning coffee or when she’d thought I was sleeping beside her on the plane.

And now we’d returned to the normalcy of the office. She might have started the morning off with a joke, trying to maintain the status quo we’d once had, but deep down, she knew.

We were anything but normal.

Days had turned into weeks, and nothing had happened.

The glow of our trip slowly faded… and nothing happened.

Our flirty banter continued but still…

Nothing fucking happened.

I wasn’t a man used to waiting. I got what I wanted, and when I didn’t, I simply just took it.

She wanted me. She wanted us. I could see it in her eyes when she thought I wasn’t looking. I could feel it in the air, pulsating around us, as she’d delicately maneuver around me, plainly trying to avoid my touch.

She felt it just as much as I did, and that only furthered my desperation.

The only question was, Why is she denying it?

Anyone with half a brain could see that she wasn’t happy with Tyler. I knew I was a biased bystander with much to gain from their inevitable breakup, but it still brought nothing but pain to see her traipse into work each day with the color and life draining out of her.

What was she holding on to?

“You look rough today,” I finally commented, looking up from my morning coffee. I watched her drag herself from the elevator before plopping onto the chair.

“Thanks,” she answered halfheartedly, her eyes barely leaving the top of her desk. “You’re pretty ravishing yourself.” She huffed before meeting my gaze. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”

“Bad morning?” I guessed, gesturing to the cup of coffee I’d made her before she’d arrived.

She stared at it with a bemused expression before returning her attention to me.

“Bad morning, bad evening. Just bad altogether.”

“Ouch.” I didn’t know what else to say. I wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type. I didn’t have a go-to speech for empowering others, and I definitely wasn’t known for motivational talks.

But I also didn’t want to be a jackass—at least, not to her.

Never to her.