Written in Stone (Heart of Stone: Book 3)

Chapter 10: Soph

Chapter 10: Soph

As I was replying to an email from a fellow blogger who'd asked if I wanted a weekly column on her site, Ed sauntered through the conference room doorway.

"Hey." He placed a takeaway coffee on the table to my right and slumped into the chair opposite. "How'd you sleep?"

There was nothing untoward or snarky in his question, so I answered honestly.

"Shit." I pushed my laptop lid shut and wrapped my fingers around the warm corrugated cardboard cup.

"Same." His eyes met mine across the table, soft and sincere. "Can I take you for lunch later?"

"Are you sucking up?"

"Partly." One shoulder flexed in a half-hearted shrug. "I do want to apologise, but I also want to talk it over properly with you. I appreciate my behaviour wasn't acceptable, and I know it's putting you in a difficult position. I want us to find a compromise, so you understand how I feel without needing to excuse the way I acted."

I pursed my lips as I studied him. Relaxed. One arm draped over the backrest of the seat next to him, the other lying flat on the tabletop. If I looked underneath, I might see a foot tapping out his anxiety against the floor, but the top half of his body seemed totally at ease. Maybe he'd rehearsed that mini speech. It didn't make it less genuine. If anything, I appreciated that he'd taken the time to think it through.

"Fine," I said, "but can we order in? I'd rather spend my morning working than getting ready."

"Sure. Let me know what you fancy, and I'll put in an order."

A few hours later, he returned with gourmet burgers, sweet potato fries, and onion rings. We sat on opposite sides of the table and spread out the food between us.

"I think Helen wants to talk with us tomorrow about some events." Ed glanced up at me and slipped a fry between his lips.

"Sure. As long as none of them involve you talking to men I've previously slept with."

He swallowed his chip and wiped a thumb across his mouth. "Okay, we're getting straight into it, then."

I quirked a brow. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yep." He rubbed his palms against a napkin and leaned back into his seat. "I'm sorry for how I acted. I want to start off by saying that it wasn't entirely to do with you sleeping together, and it was absolutely nothing to do with possessiveness."

A bubble of laughter escaped from my throat. "Fuck. Sounds like something a lawyer would tell you to say."

"It's not. I just spent most of last night planning it, and now it's evolved into something that sounds overly formal."

"Right, okay. So, the distinction is important, is it?"

He nodded. "Yes, I can be uncomfortable that he's seen you naked, without demanding that you belong only to me and you're not allowed to spend any time with him."

I took a bite from my burger as I digested his words. Apart from the one chip he'd already eaten, Ed's own food sat untouched in front of him, as if waiting for this conversation to be over. I pushed the wrapper away from me and focused.

"I appreciate the distinction," I said, "and the thought you've clearly put into it, but my issue was more to do with how you acted on those feelings."

Ed's mouth scrunched as his eyes shifted away from me. There was maybe a little guilt there, but also frustration and defiance.