Thirst (The Calvettis of New York 1)

I almost rise to my feet to give her a standing ovation.

“Impressive,” I say quietly. “Your approach is impressive.”

“I have to choose the partner who will complement my approach. I know that you understand.”

“You think Rhoda is that person?”

She draws her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes searching my face. “I think a partnership with Rhoda would be less...”

“Complicated?”

Her cheeks bloom pink. “I don’t live next door to Rhoda.”

I lower my voice even though we’re the only two people here. “You mean Rhoda hasn’t seen you almost naked.”

Working on a quick swallow, she bats her long eyelashes. “I was stunned when I saw you at the pitch session.”

“The feeling was mutual.” I inch forward on my chair. “Imagine my surprise when I walked out of the conference room and found you sitting there. It took my breath away.”

Chapter 24

Dexie

Rocco knows the impact of his words.

I see it on his face. His mouth curved up when I swallowed hard after he told me that seeing me in the waiting room at the pitch session took his breath away.

Breaking our gaze, I glance down at his desk and the take-out containers and chopsticks.

I ordered food from the same place the first night I moved into my new apartment.

I was surprised to see he’d ordered it for lunch, although the restaurant is only a few blocks from here.

I was more taken aback by the way he’s dressed. He’s wearing a light blue button-down shirt that’s open at the collar and a pair of black pants.

Part of me wonders if he traded in the T-shirts and jeans to impress me.

“Dexie,” he says my name gently, luring my head up. “Let’s talk about this. Let’s talk about what’s going on between us.”

I study his face. It was so much easier when he was a nameless stranger that I watched through my window at night. Now, he’s my potential business partner.

“What’s there to talk about?” I try to sound flippant, but I know the expression on my face gives me away.

I’m confused.

I’ve never been this attracted to a man before. If I hadn’t run into him at the pitch meeting, I would still be racing home each night to stand at my window to stare at him.

“You liked what you saw when you looked into my apartment.”

It’s a declaration that I can’t deny. I was practically drooling all over the pane of glass when he had the towel wrapped around his waist.

“I liked what I saw,” he goes on, his gaze drifting over my face. “I want to see more.”

So do I but I want a business partner more. At least, I think I do.

I lean back in the chair. “Things are different now, Rocco.”

“Why?”