His Naughty Lessons -
Chapter 129: Moon-Eyed
Chapter 129: Moon-Eyed
** Eli **
For the Nth time today, Eli felt like he needed to pinch himself hard to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming. And if he wasn’t, he would need to go mark his calendar asap, because this day would surely, positively, undoubtedly turn out to be one of the most important days in his life.
It was such a silly, moon-eyed thought that made him feel utterly unlike himself. But as always, Harper had the magic to turn him into an utterly different person ... in the best way.
In his arms, Harper rubbed the top of her head against his chin, like a happy cat satisfied with the unreserved affection she was receiving. "You should take advantage of your luckiness and hold me like this all night then," she murmured into the crook of his neck. "Heck, or all day tomorrow too. What a luxury it’d be if I get to sit in your lap instead of a chair in all those meetings."
Eli chuckled. "I’d be overjoyed to be your furniture any time. Though your coworkers might end up losing all their jaws if they see us actually do that."
Harper let out a cute snort. "Oh, they might surprise you. Rumors can get quite creative in our office sometimes, and I’m pretty sure every possibility of our relationship has already been imagined. It’ll only be a matter of who wins the bet."
The half joke about a potentially very real situation gave Eli pause. Slowly, his mind shifted gears, returning to the space of reality, and his brow knitted a little at the thought. "Your coworkers think we’re dating?"
Harper looked up this time. "Why, do you not want them to know?"
Oh shit. The slight uncertainty in her tone made him realize that he had given off the wrong impression with that question. "God, Harper, of course I’d want everyone to know who my girl is!" He tightened his arms around her. "I just don’t want them to think that’s the reason why I signed off on your project proposal. Your work deserves to be seen for what it’s truly worth, not as some benefit coming out of unspeakable personal favoritism."
The look in her eyes turned softer with every word he said. "I ... really appreciate the thought," she said. "No one gets how much my work means to me like you do ... But don’t worry, I don’t think they will. And even if a few might, those who actually understand the value of my project will know it for what it is. Those who don’t — their opinion doesn’t really matter anyway."
The confidence and wisdom that she spoke with was so dazzling that Eli wondered if his heart might burst with awe and pride. How could he possibly not be drawn to a girl like this, so brilliant and sharp and so sure of exactly what she wanted at every turn in life?
"Though I wouldn’t mind breaking the news to them in small doses ... for other reasons," Harper continued. "I mean, I barely know how to talk to you at work, since you’ve been either catching me completely off guard with surprises or avoiding me altogether ... So maybe we should at least start with seeing each other more in public? And act like we actually like each other while we’re at it?"
Eli winced at the completely justified complaint. He had made quite a few ass moves there, and he’d have to put some real effort into redeeming himself. "Come join me for the luncheon tomorrow at Sterling Trust’s table," he suggested. "I’ll introduce you to my team. There will be no more surprises from anyone after that."
"Or you can come join me at my table," Harper offered. "My team will be so ecstatic and wide-eyed to have you."
"... I’m not so sure if they will be. There is a very high chance that if I see that Warren guy sitting next to you again, he’ll get a black eye instead of a wide eye."
Harper blinked. Then a small chuckle left her lips. "It’s Wallace," she corrected him. "I think I have a couple of the same meetings with him tomorrow morning, actually. I’ll find a chance to talk to him." She nudged her face reassuringly against his chest. "No more awkward situations with that guy, I promise."
Eli looked down at her in puzzlement. "I thought you said you were waiting for the end of this trip to talk to him."
"I was, but that was before I got myself a boyfriend ... and a very jealous one at that." She laughed when he raised an eyebrow at the judgment. "As much as I find it cute, it’ll be too mean of me to put you through such torture every day for the rest of the two weeks, wouldn’t it? And besides, the sooner I deal with the explanations, the sooner we can level up our PDA, which means" — she snuggled closer, tilting her face up so that their lips almost met — "the sooner I get to sit in your lap during meetings, or come visit every night without having to worry about being spotted."
The last word was a whisper into his mouth as her lips brushed against his. Before she could even think of pulling away, he cupped her cheeks and turned the quick peck into a long, lingering kiss.
It’d probably take him a while to get used to this sensation. This ridiculous quickening of his heartbeat at such simple things she said or did, like he was an idiodic high school boy lovestruck for the first time in his life. This gratefulness that he could now finally hold her and kiss her whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted, however he wanted. This greediness to latch onto this moment of happiness for however long it might last.
"You do have another option besides coming to visit me every night, you know," he breathed against her lips. "Stay. Move in here with me, the bed is definitely large enough for two."
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