But I stared out the window, wondering what my boss was doing in his office and thinking about his biceps. Not that he usually revealed them in the house, but I’d caught him coming in from a run yesterday, and as expected, he’d been disheveled. But weirdly, I was almost certain he’d left the house in a T-shirt,but when he returned, he was wearing a tank top, and I observed a burn mark on the top of his shoulder. He must have showered and changed in his office.
I’d written half a sentence, and I was leaning against the sink, waiting for the coffee maker to produce the best coffee I’d ever had, when the kitchen door opened. I’d been so lost in thought, I jumped, knocking a cup off the dish drainer and squealing.
“Ledger, what happened?” Theron was inside and cupping my elbow before I’d taken a breath.
Him appearing so suddenly made me yell again. His head darted around, and that faint smoky aroma became stronger.
“You.” The cogs in my brain were whirring, but not in a “let’s work this out” mode. Bells were ringing, and brain parts were moving in the opposite direction to what they were supposed to. His cologne or body wash—I wanted to know who made that stuff that smelled of burning—that clung to him, surrounded me, and us being skin to skin made my legs jelly.
“Me what?”
I gulped and tried to speak, but nothing came out. He grabbed me with both hands as I gasped, maybe thinking I was choking. Would he do the Heimlich maneuver, or better, mouth to mouth?
“You scared me.”
His face contorted as if I’d told him he smelled bad. “I’m sorry.” He released his grip on me. “I came in for coffee because, ummm, yeah, ummm.” He glanced at the coffee maker. “Right, because the machine in my office isn’t working.”
The machine stopped whirring, and I took my cup. “All yours.” Again there was a strange look on his face. “The coffee maker.”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
What did he think I was talking about? I forced myself to walk away, though my legs were wobbly, and I gripped theisland, the kitchen table, and the counter near the door. While I didn’t have eyes in the back of my head, I sensed his gaze on me, and I shivered in spite of the heat. There were those pesky goosebumps again.
After collapsing into my chair in the dining room, I listened for the back door to close. The strong aroma of fresh coffee drifted through the open doorway, but unless my boss went out much quieter than he came in, he was still in the house.
“Knock, knock.”
The coffee sloshed from the cup onto my notepad, and I wiped it with my shirt.
“Yeah?” I brought the cup to my lips because I needed something to hide behind.
He came in with his coffee in one hand and a slice of cake in the other. I’d never seen cake in the house, so had he whipped it up when I was asleep? Perhaps he had an oven in that office of his.
“I come in peace.” He held up the plate. “That’s p-i-e-c-e, as in I’m making a joke.”
Damn! Coffee spurted from my mouth onto the same notepad.
“Oh, shoot.” He whipped off his shirt at such a speed, my vision blurred. But once I focused on his chest, my mouth gaped. Holy shit, he was ripped, and after he mopped up the coffee with his shirt and left the room, I noted that burn mark again.
When Theron returned, I hadn’t moved.
“Did I destroy anything that can’t be replicated?”
I shook my head, not knowing if I still had the ability to speak.
“No, it was doodles. I was having a hard time concentrating.”
“Was that my fault?”
Why yes, it was. Your abs and pecs and your smile were responsible for discombobulating my brain.
“Nah. Don’t worry about it.”
“What are you working on?”
“My dissertation.”
It was obvious what I was doing. I didn’t want to elaborate and say it was focusing on communication, because he might think I was studying him or his kids, and I definitely wasn’t.
