7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Desmond

I 'd never met anyone who watched Ash Soul. IRL. Hec said he didn't need to see it since it was pretty much his life with his partner with more drama, and yeah, maybe he had a point. Most of my guild watched it religiously.

No need to be this giddy though! That's probably the only thing you have in common.

"Yes, let's. What do you need me to do?" She folded her legs under herself, then rested her laptop on her delicious thighs.

Damn it, first I called her out for feeling the need to do something for me in return for my help, then I sexualised her.

Great job, asshole.

Making sure not to invade her personal space—which was difficult when we sat next to each other and I sort of had to see her screen—I leaned in.

A whiff of her sweet scent filled my nostrils.

Fuck. It was a mixture of vanilla and cinnamon and something fruity I had never smelled before, and it was as delicious as the shortbread she baked. "Uh, how about I walk you through the most important apps and you just ask your questions as they pop up?"

"Okay, that sounds good." She took a deep breath as if to steel herself.

"No need to be scared, this is a no judgement zone, okay? No question is too silly to ask. And if you're not sure you get what I mean, I can try and explain it differently." I was in half a mind to rest my hand reassuringly on her forearm but thought better of it.

"I think sometimes I'm standing in my way, or I overcomplicate things when they're really straightforward. Aspen tried to help me but he always said I was testing his patience." Amelia huffed a self-deprecating laugh.

"There's nothing wrong with needing a bit more time," I blustered, suddenly feeling indignant on her behalf. Whoever Aspen was I wanted to punch him in the face.

"Maybe he just couldn't explain it in a way you can understand, has he ever thought of that? I bet not. But of course it's never the fault of someone who fails to simplify it enough, it's always the other person who's"—I raised my hands and sketched quotation marks in the air—"‘too thick to get it'. Ugh." A low growl rumbled in my chest.

God, chill the fuck out, Des!

When I looked around to check if she was getting ready to kick me out, I found her staring at me. Amazement sparkled in the depths of her eyes.

"I've never seen you in white knight mode before. Wow." She giggled.

White knight?

"Nah, I'm not a white knight, I'm more the monster in the dark."

What are you saying? She'll be terrified of you.

"What?" She shook her head so vigorously the tip of her ponytail whipped her cheek. "You're no monster, Desmond, don't be silly. Nobody's ever defended me like that." Her smile turned sheepish. "Asp meant well, but he eventually gave me up as a bad job. Big brothers, eh?"

Oh. Aspen is her brother.

"I don't have any siblings." I shrugged apologetically. My parents had tried but hadn't been able to get pregnant again.

"A blessing and a curse." She cocked her head at me. "We get along quite well, Aspen and I. He's nearly three years older than me and has two amazing kids."

"Aw, that's great. So you're cool Auntie Amelia?"

"Auntie Mia. When I was born, Asp couldn't say my name properly and he kept calling me Mia. It stuck."

"I like it," I blurted out without thinking, before her dazzling smile rendered me momentarily speechless.

"Me too." Her front teeth dug into her lip, exposing the gap between them and making me wonder if I could feel that when I kissed her.

No . If I kissed her, not when.

The deep breath I took had been intended to ground me, but I got another noseful of her scent that did the exact opposite.

How did I never realise how pretty she is?

"Okay, your laptop."

"Right," she mumbled.

Focusing on work helped.

Sort of.

We sipped our Earl Grey and nibbled on shortbread while I explained first the basics, then her writing app, before moving on to spreadsheets.

At some point our upper arms brushed. Mia didn't pull away, on the contrary. With every minute that passed, she leaned more into my bicep.

She doesn't even realise she's doing it .

I kept exactly where I was, not daring to pull away and make her feel bad about herself. Not when she'd just had a breakthrough about the functions we were discussing. And not when I secretly enjoyed the feel of her warm body against my side.

"I have no idea how you do it, but I actually understand what you're telling me, Desmond," she sighed happily, turning her head around to me. Her eyes dropped to our arms pressed to each other. She stared at them for the longest five seconds of my life, then flinched hard and jumped back. "I'm so sorry, I didn't notice. Bathroom. Be right back."

I watched her fling her laptop aside, get to her feet and flee from the room.