“Open those big brown eyes.”
That warm pressure I felt on my forehead moved down my face, spreading across my cheek. It felt good against my cool and damp skin, so I leaned on it.
“Open them for me. Please, Catalina.”
My eyelids fluttered open for an instant, finding two blue spots that made me think of the ocean. I felt a sigh escape my mouth, that hollow and void sensation receding for an instant.
“There you are.” I heard the voice again. Even softer now. Relieved.
As I blinked slowly, my vision started to return in flashes. Deep blue eyes. Hair as dark as black ink. The hard line of a jaw.
“Lina?”
Lina.
There was something funny about that voice calling my name. The one everyone called me.
No, not everyone.
I blinked some more, but before my eyes could focus on a fixed point, I was lifted in the air. The movement was slow, so gentle, that I barely noticed it at first, but then we started moving. And after a few seconds, the motion was enough to send my head spinning again.
“Mi cabeza,” I said under my breath.
“I’m sorry.” I felt the words rumbling against my side, becoming aware of how my cheek was resting against something hot and hard. Something with a heartbeat. A chest. “Just stay with me, okay?”
Okay, I’ll stay. And I burrowed into the chest, ready to lose myself to the exhaustion rocking my body.
“Eyes open, please.”
Somehow, I complied. I let them fall on a shoulder that looked terribly familiar as we moved. And gradually, my vision eventually cleared. My head, no longer whirling, locked back on my shoulders. The sweat on my skin cooled down.
My eyes roamed around as recollection of what had happened spilled down my mind. I fainted, for not eating enough. Like a total dumbass. Sighing, I looked up, my gaze zeroing in on a chin that stretched into a jaw that was topped by lips that were pressed tightly.
“Aaron,” I whispered.
Blue eyes met mine for an instant. “Hold on. Almost there.”
I was in Aaron’s arms. His left arm around my legs, hand spreading on my thigh. His right one around my back, his long fingers splayed across my hip. Before I could delve into that or on the comforting and amazing warmth emanating off him and into my skin, he was putting me down.
Confused, I looked around me. My gaze stumbled upon that horrible, disturbing framed piece of art of a kid with huge eyes. I had always hated it, and I knew exactly where it belonged. We could only be in Jeff’s office. He was the only person I knew personally who didn’t find that frightening.
My ass settled on a plush surface, and my back followed, resting on something that felt a lot like a pillow. I placed my hands on my sides, noticing the fabric beneath my fingers. Leather. A sofa. Jeff had one in his office. It was one of those leather settees that looked all pretentious and classy.
Aaron’s palm brushed my face again, and my attention returned to him. He was close, really close. Kneeling on the floor in front of me. His touch was comforting, but his expression didn’t match the soothing quality of his fingers against my skin.
“Do you want to lean back?” he asked, an edge on his voice.
“No, I’m okay.” I willed my voice to convey the strength I wasn’t feeling. His eyebrows draw into a scowl. “You look so mad.” It was an observation that should have been kept as a thought probably, but I guessed that, given the circumstances, I wasn’t in the disposition to be picky with what left my mouth. “Why are you mad?”
“When was the last time you ate, Catalina?” His scowl deepened, and he shifted on his knees, straightening his back. I watched him pull something out of his pocket.
I grimaced. “Lunch? I think. Maybe more like brunch because I didn’t have time to get breakfast, so I just had something at around eleven.”
His hand froze midair in front of me, allowing me to see that something he was holding. It was wrapped in white wax paper. “Jesus, Catalina.” He shot me a look that would make anyone else cower. One that would definitely help with his soon-to-be new position.
But even if my tank was literally empty, I wasn’t anyone else.
“I’m fine, Mr. Robot.”
“No, you are not,” he shot back. Then, he very carefully placed on my lap what I already knew was a delicious Aaron Blackford homemade granola bar. “You fainted, Catalina. That’s really far from being fine. Eat this.”
“Thanks. But I’m okay now.” I looked down, my gaze getting acquainted with the gifted snack one more time. With shaky hands, I snatched it. Unwrapped it with clumsy fingers. “Do you always carry these on you?” I hesitated, my stomach complaining for some reason.
“Eat, please.”
So odd, how he could say please and make it sound like a threat.
“Jeez.” I took a bite. Then, I spoke with a mouthful—because who cared? He had literally just picked me off the floor, white-lipped, sweaty, and on my way to dramatically passing out—“I said I’m okay.”
“No,” he thundered. Pinning me down with a warning. “What you are is a dumbass.”
I frowned, wanting to be upset but agreeing with him. He didn’t need to know I was on his side.
“Stubborn woman,” he muttered under his breath.
I stopped chewing, making an attempt to stand up and stomp out of that office. He stopped me with oddly gentle hands on my shoulders.
“Do not test me right now.” That damn scowl was back with a vengeance.
I gave up under the soft vise of his large palms and let my body fall back.
“Eat the bar, Catalina. It’s not nearly enough, but it’ll do for now.”
Feeling the ghost of his hands on the skin covering my shoulders, I shivered. “I’m eating. No need to boss me around.” I averted my eyes and resumed chewing, trying not to think of how much I wanted those palms back on my skin. Or those long and big arms around me. I needed the comfort. My body felt stretched too long, my skin chilled, my muscles overworked.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I nodded, not looking up. I simply limited myself to chowing down the snack.
Only a few moments later, Aaron was back. All determined strides and stiff back. “Water,” he announced, dropping a bottle on my lap. He placed my phone beside me too.
“Thanks.” I unscrewed the lid, chugging down a quarter of the bottle.
When I was done, I looked up again. Aaron was standing in front of me now. Still looking all angry and bunched up. I let my gaze fall off his face, feeling extra tiny, sitting there while he towered over me.
“So, I guess this will be your office soon. I hope they let you redecorate.” I eyed the horrible painting behind him.
“Catalina.” The way he said my name held a warning.
Ugh. I was not down for a lecture.
“That was so stupid. Not eating, risking hypoglycemia when the whole building is deserted. What if you had lost consciousness and no one was around to find you?”
“You were here, weren’t you?” I answered, still not looking at him. “You are always here anyway.”
A noise came out of his throat. Another warning. Don’t give me that shit, it told me.
“Why are you not eating?” His question felt like a punch, right in my stomach. “You always, always used to have something in your hand. Jesus, you used to pull pastries out of your pockets at the oddest and most inappropriate times.”
That had me looking up, meeting ice-cold eyes. I had; I was a snacker. That was part of the problem, wasn’t it?
“Why are you not doing that now? Why haven’t you done that for the last month? Why are you not eating like you usually do?”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I clasped my hands together. “Are you calling me a—”
“Don’t,” he hissed. “Don’t even try it.”
“Fine.”
“Tell me,” he insisted, his gaze hardening like stone. “Why are you not eating?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” My breathing quickened, every word costing me more and more effort to spit. To admit the truth. “Because I want to lose weight, all right? For the wedding.”
He reared back. Appalled. “Why?”