I Speak...Love (A Different Road #3) by Annalisa Nicole Page B

wrong. As phenomenal as her cookies are, her lips taste like pure heaven.
    I pull away, then remove one of the lunch containers from my desk. I remove the lid and hand it to her. She reaches in the side of the bag and removes silverware and napkins, while I remove the lid from the other container.
    She hands me a fork, and I dig into my lunch. Maddy’s eyes dart back and forth from me eating to her camera sitting on my desk. I finish my food, then I pick up the camera.
    “How do you turn it on?” I ask. She reaches over and turns it on for me, then I ask, “And how do you take a picture?” She again reaches over and points to a button. I look through the lens and don’t see anything but darkness. “I think it’s broken?” I say. She covers her lips with her fingers, then softly giggles.
    It’s good to hear her laugh.
    She leans in toward me and removes the lens cap from the front of the camera, and I feel like an idiot. I look through the lens again, and now I clearly see the beautiful woman sitting in front of me. I push the button that she pointed to, but it still doesn’t seem to work.
    “It needs a memory card,” she says.
    “Ah yes. I did get one of those too,” I tell her. Her delighted face immediately falls. “It’s just little, it doesn’t count,” I tell her showing her a fraction of an inch with my thumb and forefinger. She looks at my fingers, then bursts into giggles again and turns the cutest shade of pink. “Wait, I’m talking about the memory card . . . not my . . .” I say, then she erupts in uncontrollable laughter.
    She continues to laugh as I get up and walk to the bags sitting on my chair. I remove the memory card and quickly take it out of the package. Thankfully, I quickly figure out where it goes and slide it in. I aim the camera at her and snap a few photos of her laughing. She’s completely let her guard down, and she’s living in the moment. She still hasn’t stopped laughing, and she laughs so hard, she lets out the cutest snort. She immediately stops laughing, and her hand quickly comes up to her mouth. She slaps her palm over her lips, and her eyes go wide with embarrassment. I set the camera down, then sit in the chair next to her. I reach for her hand and remove it from her mouth, then I kiss her lips.
    Sensing her slightest unease I back away, then gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. I hand her the camera, then gently smile at her.
    “I took the first photo. So, technically now it’s used.”
    For the first time, instead of her eyes darkening they lighten and turn a brilliant, radiant shade of green. She looks at her watch, then she gasps.
    “I have to get going. I have a client at one,” she says.
    I help her pack up the lunch containers, then she places them in her catering bag. While she packs everything up, I pick up the camera and walk back around my desk. I remove the backpack from the bag and unzip it. Maddy immediately freezes, and her eyes slice across the room and go to the backpack. She watches my hands as I place the camera inside. With her eyes still on the backpack, she gathers her hair in her hand and twists it back up into a bun, then she secures it with the pins. I zip up the backpack, then take it with me and walk back to her. She hoists her catering bag over her shoulder, then I hold out the backpack to her.
    “It’s for safety,” I tell her. For the first time, her eyes leave the backpack and come up to mine. “Can I walk you down to your van?” I offer, slinging the backpack over my shoulder.
    “You don’t have to do that,” she replies.
    “I know I don’t have to, but I would like to.”
    “Mr. Mason, I’m sorry to interrupt. River would like to see you in his office immediately,” Caleigh’s urgent voice calls through the intercom on my phone.
    I exhale an irritated sign, then walk Maddy to the door. I shrug off the backpack and hold it up between us, but now she’s back to just looking at it.
    I slip one of the straps