She’d nibbled on her lip, and after a way too long pause, she’d said it was fine with her. And even though I believed it, I knew those nerves would get the better of her. It was why we’d blasted BTS songs from the minute we got home.
Quickly closing the door, I hurried to Millie’s side. “Yeah,” I said. “This is Tristan. We work together.” To Tristan, I said, “This is Millie. The most amazing six-year-old you’ll ever meet.”
Millie liked that introduction. The corners of her mouth twitched with the beginnings of a smile. She wasn’t quite ready to set it completely free, but when Tristan stepped forward, I hoped he’d manage to coax it out of her.
I wasn’t prepared for him to kneel, putting himself almost at eye level with Millie. And when he held out his hand for her to shake, a tsunami of emotions flooded my system.
“Nice to meet you, Millie.”
She didn’t take his hand. Her gaze drifted from Tristan to me then back to Tristan. Her expression had my stomach dropping. This wasn’t good. I was about to tell Tristan it might be better if he left, but he spoke first.
“Are you a princess, Millie? Because you sure look like one.”
That smile I’d been so hopeful for came out in full force. Her dimples even popped.
But Tristan wasn’t done. He handed her a gift bag I hadn’t noticed until that moment. Millie tore into it with as much gusto as any excited six-year-old, and when she pulled out the plush toy and held it in the air triumphantly, I could have freaking hugged Tristan.
“Kate...” Millie shoved the odd-shaped plushie toward me. “Pancakes.” She jumped on the spot and let out a happy squeal. “And there are blueberries on top...”
“I see that.” My smile mirrored hers. “How cool.” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Tristan was on his feet again. He wore a strange expression—a mixture of joy, shock, and...sadness.
No, that couldn’t be right.
“Can I go play?” Millie’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
Shaking off the confusion, I smiled at her. “Sure you can.” As she skipped away, I quickly added, “If you’re going to listen to more music, maybe turn down the volume a bit.”
With a quick nod, she was off, leaving me alone with Tristan and an uneasiness I hadn’t felt before.
“So, uhm...”
“I hope...”
We spoke at the same time.
I laughed and shook my head. “You go first.”
He stared at me; those dark eyes boring into mine like he was about to argue. Thankfully, he didn’t. “Is it okay that I got her something? It didn’t feel right showing up empty-handed.”
“It’s fine. Perfect, actually.” My gaze drifted to the living room for a few seconds before shifting to him. He was still watching me. That uneasiness from earlier multiplied tenfold.
I licked my lips. “Thank you. Not only for the gift but for making her smile.”
“Welcome.”
Wecontinued to stare at each other. In the back of my mind, I knew I had to say something, but my brain was too trapped in the weirdness of having my boss in my home to come up with words of any kind.
“Anything to drink?” I finally found my damn voice. Pity it was all soft and squeaky.
“That’d be nice.” He nodded. “What do you have?”
“Follow me.”
Annoyed with whatever the heck was going on inside my body, I headed for the kitchen. With every damn step, I was extremely aware of his gaze on me as he followed. Or maybe it was my imagination tricking me into thinking that. Whatever it was, I needed it to stop.
“Your options are water, wine, beer, and juice.” I looked up from the open fridge just to find the man studying me.
Again.
