The room was dim, they were rushed, he did more work than her, but she’d been just as willing and eager.
“It worked,” he said. “You know you wanted to.”
“Duh,” she said. “The chicken doesn’t look too bad if you take the top layer off.”
“I’ll leave that to you and start the pasta and veggies. Ready for that wine now while we talk?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’ll need it for this embarrassing conversation.”
Her head was down while she got to work on the chicken.
He took the knife out of her hand and set it down, forcing her to look at him, then pulling her into his arms for a loose hug.
“Nothing we’ve done is embarrassing. Not even you having mayo on the side of your mouth.”
“Thanks for that,” she said drily.
“I mean it, Nora. I know this is… complicated.”
“Layers of complication,” she murmured. “I’ve spent most of my life avoiding it. Moving back here, I knew there’d be some, but not like this.”
“I’m sorry for that. You’re not the only one caught in it.”
“I’ve got more to lose,” she said quietly. “You’re the boss.”
“You’ve got nothing to lose.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If working for me ever becomes too much for any reason, I’ll make sure you’re placed somewhere equal in pay and position. And I’ll take the blame for being ‘difficult.’”
“No one would believe that.”
“Yes, they would,” he said with a faint smile. “Because I’m the boss, and people expect that. But that’s not the point. I’m saying set that part aside.”
“I don’t feel like I have much of a choice.”
“We all have choices, Nora. Just like we made one to spend the day together and ended up in my room. Don’t be naïve. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel where this was going.”
“Not today,” she protested softly.
“Then I’ll take that as I’m irresistible.”
“Now you’re being cocky.”
“Persistent.”
“Impossible is more like it,” she said, moving out of his arms and picking the knife up.
She was relaxed enough to talk reasonable and that was better than her bolting.
He turned the stove on to get the water to boil, then got some oil in the pan for the peppers to go in first.
“This thing we’ve got. Let’s focus on separation.”
“The workweek versus the weekend?”
“Yes.”
“So that’s the only time we see each other?”
“I’m going to see you daily,” he said, grinning.
