He’d been in Miami twenty-four hours, and he already felt like he was changing. Opening up. Lightening up. All because of one woman.
He took a needed sip of his drink, his mind still on Sienna and what he was learning about her. She was sweeter than his wife had been, cared more for other people and even less about her own needs than her family’s needs. Unlike Mandy, who’d wanted Ethan’s attention and sole focus, and when she’d lost that, she’d gone looking elsewhere.
Thinking back, they’d been a solid couple in the beginning. A smart match as far as her working at KTT was concerned. But she put her own needs first, worrying more about herself than she did about him or their marriage. And sadly, he hadn’t even been aware that things had gone south. He’d loved her, but had he been head over heels? Was she all he could think about? Had he been unable to keep his hands off her?
No.
Which was where his feelings for Sienna already differed.
But Sienna had made her choices clear, and she wasn’t interested in what he could or was willing to give. A clandestine affair. It sounded ugly now, even to his jaded ears. Because even he wanted more than that from her.
Yet he wanted to take care of Sienna, to know she was healthy and feeling good. When she’d fainted in his arms, his brain had spun into the past and fear had consumed him. Discovering she had had leukemia had definitely upset his equilibrium. The idea of losing her was not acceptable to him. She’d already gotten under his skin in ways not even Mandy ever had. He couldn’t just ignore her, nor did he want to.
But he needed to be careful. He didn’t want to insult her, didn’t want her hurt, but he couldn’t offer her more than what he’d proposed the other night. Despite wanting her desperately, he could not risk the business relationship with Ian Dare, and worse, he didn’t want to give her the wrong impression.
That he was available. Which meant he had no alternative but to respect her wishes and keep his distance. No more seduction. No more sex. No more getting-to-know-her time.
He frowned and finished off the amber liquid, then poured himself more. He needed the fortitude to stay away from the alluring young woman who was beginning to consume his thoughts and his desires.
* * *
Sienna made sure to do as the doctor instructed in his discharge orders. Rest when she could, keep herself hydrated, and eat small but frequent meals in an effort to maintain her blood pressure at normal levels. Unfortunately, he couldn’t guarantee her she wouldn’t faint again, and for sure the nausea wasn’t going away.
Still, she managed to power through the workweek with no one the wiser. Only Olivia, with whom she basically shared an office, gave her funny looks when she occasionally ran to the ladies’ room and returned looking paler and drinking a ginger ale. Sienna also didn’t think she did a good job of hiding the saltines she kept in her purse and munched on when she could.
As for Ethan, she did her best to keep her distance except for business. They’d rescheduled the meeting with his team and the app developer, and that had gone well, Sienna managing to act like her normal, cheerful self throughout.
And Ethan kept the respectful distance that she’d insisted on but hated at the same time. She often caught him watching her, though, eyeing her with concern when they passed in the hall, almost as if he was waiting for her to faint again. But so far so good, and if she wished for more between them, wishing was all she’d let herself do.
He might be interested in sex, and she might want the same, but she had too much self-respect to fall into the same trap her mother had been in, hidden away from the outside world. Maybe Ethan Knight wasn’t currently married, but he wasn’t available to her in the ways that she both needed and wanted. Too soon, she’d have to let him know he was going to be a father and accept less than she wanted out of her role in his life, as it was. At the very least, she intended to keep her dignity.
“Sienna?”
“Yes?” She glanced up at Olivia, who sat on the corner of her desk, waiting to catch her attention.
“I’m starving. Want to go get some Mexican food? I could kill for a quesadilla. Gooey cheese, chicken, and oh! Maybe some guacamole, too.”
At the too vivid description, her stomach churned uneasily. Dammit. “Umm … I’m not really in the mood for Mexican food.” She braced her hand against her stomach and forced herself to take deep, easy breaths.
“Okay, what gives? You’ve been acting strangely all week. I get that you fainted, but you’re still nauseous, I know you’ve gotten sick, and don’t think I missed those crackers you have stashed in your purse.” Olivia swung her foot back and forth from her perch on the desk. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were pregnant.”