Too Late To Regret.

Chapter3

“You didn’t tell me you were moving back to New York to work with your ex-husband, Olivia.”

I recognised the voice immediately, even before he came into view.

“s**t, Joshua! What was that for?” I exclaimed, pressing a hand against my chest as I tried to calm my racing heart. “You could have told me you were coming!”

He stepped out from the shadows with both hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers. He was shirtless with a small smile tugging at his lips, but I could clearly recognize the hurt he was trying so hard to hide behind that smile.

Joshua was undeniably handsome. Tall, broad-shouldered with well-defined chest and abs, he carried himself with an effortless confidence that was difficult to ignore. His dark hair was slightly tousled, as though he had run his fingers through it several times and the faint stubble along his jaw only added to his appeal.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

“Waiting for you, obviously.” He said lightly, but his eyes told a different story.

I sighed.

Joshua was not exactly my boyfriend, at least, not in the official sense of the word. We did practically everything couples did, except commit to each other, and that particular clause was entirely my doing.

After what Brian had put me through, I had promised myself I would never allow another man to have that kind of power over me. I had loved once, trusted completely and ended up paying dearly for it. I had no intention of putting myself in that position again.

Joshua knew this from the beginning and he had agreed to my terms even though I suspected he wanted much more than what I was willing to give him. He was attractive and undeniably good in bed and so I enjoy his company and the time we spent together. But I had never promised him my heart and I had no intention of starting now.

“You didn’t tell me you were working with your ex-husband, Olivia,” he repeated.

I sighed and walked closer to him.

“I had no intention of telling you, Joshua. And honestly, I don’t see why I should have to explain every single thing I do to you.”

His jaw tightened.

“And how exactly did you get into my apartment?”

He ignored my question, his gaze fixed on mine.

“I never said you had to tell me everything,” he replied. “But I travelled for business. We haven’t spoken in weeks and when I came back, I found out you’d moved into a new apartment. Then I hear you’re about to start working with your ex. Your ex-husband, Olivia.”

He paused, shaking his head.

“Don’t you see anything wrong with that? At the very least, out of respect for whatever it is we have, I thought a little heads-up would have been nice…..”

His words struck a nerve, mostly because I could hear the disappointment beneath them but I refused to let myself feel guilty.

“We have nothing going on, Joshua.” I cut him off, the words coming out sharper than I intended.

His expression changed immediately and my stomach tightened.

I hated these conversations. We had been through them too many times and somehow, we always ended up right back where we started.

“You do understand that we have nothing going on between us, right?” I repeated, this time more slowly.

I stepped closer until there was barely any space between us. Then I lifted my hand and traced my index finger lazily down his chest. His eyes dropped to my hand before returning to my face.

“Olivia,” he warned quietly.

“What?” I asked innocently.

I continued the slow movement, watching the way his expression shifted despite his obvious attempt to remain annoyed.

It was always like this with us. The attraction was undeniable, and neither of us had ever been particularly good at resisting it.

But attraction was easy, commitment was the problem.

I let my hand drift lower, testing just how much of his anger I could distract him from but he caught my wrist before I could go any further.

“Don’t do that,” he murmured.

“Do what?”

“Act like you don’t know exactly what you’re doing.”

I smiled up at him.

“Maybe I don’t.”

He stared at me for another second, as though he was trying to decide whether to argue with me or kiss me.Then he pulled me against him and pressed his lips to mine.

I barely had time to react before my arms were around his neck. The kiss began with all the frustration he had been holding back, but it quickly softened into something that made it difficult to remember why we had been arguing in the first place.

I had missed him. I wasn’t going to admit that aloud, but it was true.

His hand settled at my waist as he kissed me again, and I found myself responding without hesitation. I rose onto my toes, pulling him closer, and he let out a quiet laugh against my lips.

“What happened to having nothing going on between us?” he murmured.

I drew back just enough to look at him.

“Don’t ruin the moment.”

He laughed and kissed me again.

After the day I had endured, I definitely needed this.

At least, that was what I told myself as I pushed away the thought that I was doing something dangerous. I knew Joshua wanted more from me. I knew he was slowly growing tired of pretending that what we shared was enough.

And I knew I was taking advantage of the fact that he kept coming back. But thinking about it meant confronting the possibility that I might hurt him and I wasn’t ready to deal with that.

His arms tightened around me before he lifted me off the floor. I gasped and grabbed his shoulders and he headed towards the bedroom. He then lowered me onto the bed and settled beside me, brushing a strand of hair away from my face before leaning down for another kiss.

I smiled against his lips, pulling him closer as I let myself get lost in his warmth and the familiar attraction that neither of us had ever managed to resist.

Over and over again.

“Not again, Josh!” I exclaimed with laughter and exhaustion when I felt his hand wandering towards my thighs again. I playfully shoved him away.

“Please, baby,” he said softly, catching my hand as he guided it towards his d**k. It was hard as f**k !

My eyes widened when I realised just how much he wanted me.

“Oh?”

He nodded, laughing at my reaction. “That’s what you do to me, babe.”

Before I could come up with a clever reply, he kissed my neck and my head fell back against the pillows as he spread my thighs open and pushed his finger in. I closed my eyes, surrendering to the moment as his lips moved slowly over my skin.

Then my phone started ringing.

I ignored it.

It rang again.

Joshua groaned against my neck.

“Please ignore it.”

I almost agreed. Almost.

“It might be work.”

“Work can wait.”

“Joshua.”

He lifted his head and stared at me, clearly unhappy with my decision.

I gave him an apologetic smile before reaching for my phone.

The name on the screen immediately caught my attention.

Mr Smith.

I sat up and answered.

“Good evening, sir!”

“Well, good evening to you too, Olivia.” He sounded unusually cheerful. “I’m sorry to give you such short notice, but Bruce Holdings has requested a dinner meeting.”

I frowned.

“Dinner?”

Beside me, Joshua sat up, and I could practically feel his displeasure radiating from him.

I gave him a look that clearly said, Get a grip, before rolling my eyes.

“Yes,” Mr Smith continued. “Think of it as a celebration. We’ve just secured a contract with them, Olivia. Apparently, it’s a tradition to have dinner after closing a deal like this.”

I glanced at the ceiling.

Of course it was.

“Do I have to attend?”

“Of course you do. You’re the one who led the negotiations. Besides, this is a good opportunity to get to know the people you’ll be working with. You do remember our deal don’t you?” His voice was stern.

I pressed my lips together.

He was right, and we both knew it.

“Fine. What time?”

“I’ll send you the details as soon as possible. Just make sure you look presentable and arrive on time.”

“ Sure, sir.”

“Good. I’ll speak to you later.”

The call ended before I could say anything else.

For a moment, I stared at my phone.

Then I slowly lowered it.

“Well,” I muttered. “There goes my evening.”

Joshua let out a humourless laugh.

“I guess you’re about to have dinner with your ex-husband.”

“It’s business.”

“Of course it is.”

I turned to face him.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Olivia.”

“Joshua.”

He shook his head and looked away.

That irritated me more than if he had simply said what was on his mind.

“Look, I understand that you’re upset, but I have work to do. I can’t refuse a business dinner just because my ex-husband will be there.”

“I never asked you to refuse.”

“Then what exactly is the problem?”

He looked at me and for a moment, I thought he was finally going to say what he had been holding back since I walked through the door.

Instead, he exhaled and shook his head.

“Forget it.”

I hated that answer and I hated even more that I knew what he wanted to say.

He wanted to ask me why I was so comfortable spending time with a man who had broken my heart, yet so determined to keep him at arm’s length.

And I didn’t have an answer that wouldn’t make me look like a hypocrite because I wasn’t going to tell him about my plan.

So I climbed out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. Behind me, I could feel his eyes following me so I paused at the doorway and glanced over my shoulder.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees.

His expression changed as I looked at him and a familiar cheeky smile spread across his face.

“Do you need some help in the bathroom?”

“Don’t you dare come in here, Josh!” I hurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

His laughter followed me through the door.

I shook my head, fighting a smile as I turned on the shower. But as I reached for the soap, an uncomfortable feeling crept into my heart.