Page 23 of Under Pressure

“You’re taking up two spots. And you’re too far from the curb.”

“When did you go look at my car? And how did you know which one was mine?”

“Well, you’ve been here for hours now, and it’s the only one that hasn’t moved.”

“And you just so happened to go exploring outside to take note of the parked cars?”

I look away, once again feeling too exposed. “Beck.”

“Did you know that my full name is Beckett?” he asks, dunking a tiny yellow plate under the water.

“No.”

“My mom liked Beckham, but my dad vetoed it because he’d gone to school with a Beckham, and he was a right cockhead. His exact words.”

I roll my lips together, unsure how to respond to that.

“Beckett isn’tthatpopular, but I started going by Beck once Igot to high school because it was easier for everyone. Plus, I enjoyed seeing people guess my full name wrong.”

My skin prickles with nerves. Is there a reason he’s mentioning high school right now?

“Why would you like people getting your name wrong?” I ask tightly.

His smirk is filthy as he stares directly into my eyes, bold and unaffected. “Keeps me on their mind longer. I revel in being the sole focus of someone’s attention.”

“That is probably the least surprising thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“See? You know me so well already. We can even talk civilly. It would be a shame not to let me take you out on a date now. Don’t you think?”

“I think that would be a terrible idea.”

Maybe even more so now that I know the way my body reacts to him when we’re alone.

I no longer expect him to get offended or angry when I turn him down. Not like I did the first time. But that’s Beck, I guess. I know I can’t get mixed up with a guy like him, yet I’ll admit that he’s not the worst one I’ve ever met. He has a calmness to him that’s refreshing, albeit frustrating at times.

“I’m not in a rush,” he states confidently, letting that statement settle like a thick fog around us.

Instead of battling my way through it, like I have a gut feeling he’s hoping I do, I let it grow heavier, feeling the way it sticks to my skin like a breeze on a balmy night. I bite the inside of my lip, ignoring it for a moment longer before blowing it away with my words.

“I was serious about the puddle. And the park job,Beckett.”

His eyes cut to me, surprised. I don’t give him the chance to respond before I rush from the kitchen and yank open the office door instead of going back to the front. Squeezing my eyes shut so I don’t risk another look at him, I slam the door behind me.Only then do I pry them open and stare at the familiar sight of my office, releasing a slow breath.

Then, I’m beelining it for my apartment, needing to put as much space between me and Beck as possible.

10

Ruthie has stayed far longertoday than she has in all the years she’s worked here.

It was my first thought when I came back from my doctor’s appointment and found her moving like a turtle in the kitchen. Already annoyed with having to go into the clinic for something as small as getting my birth control refilled just so that I could be lectured by an old man about getting an IUD instead, I was a bit of a bitch to her. My concern showed itself in a less than kind way before I could control my frustration and try to ask her what was up without biting her head off.

She didn’t like that I immediately assumed something was wrong, as if I had committed a crime by wondering why she suddenly couldn’t complete her tasks by the usual time. It’s not like she’s the closest thing to a grandmother I have now and I want her to be healthy or anything.

The fresh muffins on the silver racks made my stomach growl furiously, and she all but shoved the biggest one into my mouth before telling me to take my worry elsewhere. I inhaled crumbs and, for a long moment, worried I’d wind up coughing them up all day. Clearly, that was her plan to shut me up.

“You’re still hovering, Quinn,” she says sharply, the bite in her tone less jarring now than it was an hour ago.

“If something’s wrong, you can tell me. I think I deserve to know.”