I pushed the feelings from my mind. I was a professional. I grasped his chin once more so I could tip his face up and assess the damage.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said.
“You should. You’re a good mom.”
His words made me pause and I stupidly met his gaze. It was flirty and warm. Like he wanted me to know that he was complimenting me. It was a look that made me forget that I was his assistant and he was my boss. It was a look that needed to be stopped. Right now.
“Liam,” I said slowly as I straightened, effectively pulling myself away from him.
His half smile emerged. “Sabrina.”
I pinched my lips together and wrinkled my nose. “We—you need to stop doing that.”
He leaned back, propping his right elbow up on the toilet tank behind him. “I need to stop doing what?”
Needing something to do, I turned to the vanity to find a washcloth and flipped on the faucet. “You need to stop doing…that,” I said as I stuck the cloth under the warm water and used my free hand to draw circles in the air in his direction.
Then I rung out the excess water and flipped off the faucet before turning around.
“I need to stop…” He paused before he lifted his left eyebrow. “Complimenting you?”
My cheeks heated at his question.
“Telling you that you’re a good mom?” He frowned. “Telling you that I adore your son?”
Why did his questions sound so normal? Why did I have a problem with his compliments? Why was my first reaction to assume he was flirting and push him away?
Why was I being an idiot?
“Well…no,” I whispered. I stood in front of him with the washcloth in one hand, my other hand dropped to my side. I’d been so confident in myself and my ability to be his assistant when I’d marched over to the couch earlier to wake him up. Now I felt completely incompetent. I couldn’t even hold a conversation with this man without assuming that he had ulterior motives.
I was going to sabotage this job before it even got off the ground.
“I’m sorry,” I finally managed out. “I guess I just don’t know what to do when a guy”—I swallowed as a lump formed in my throat—“is nice to me.” The last few words were barely a whisper. Tears formed in my eyes, and I blinked hard to keep them at bay.
I didn’t want to be weak. I’d taken this leap to prove to Abigail, to the whole world, and really, to myself, that I could do this. I wanted to be that strong single mom that was depicted in movies. But here I was, messing up on the first day. Crying in front of my boss was not on the to-do list I’d made up for myself last night.
Suddenly, a warm hand engulfed mine. I glanced up to see that Liam had leaned forward.
He met my gaze. “Your ex is an asshole.”
I scoffed. Truer words had never been spoken. And even though I knew it was the truth, my body couldn’t process that he was the one saying it. He made it sound like he was inadvertently complimenting me. And I couldn’t handle that. I dropped my gaze to the floor.
“Sabrina, look at me.”
I couldn’t. I physically couldn’t.
He stood, bringing his body inches from mine. His fingers slipped under my chin, and he pressed up. “Sabrina,” he whispered, like he was worried he’d scare me off if he spoke too loud.
My face was fully tipped towards his, but my eyes remained downturned. And he waited. He didn’t give up. I hated how nice he was being. It took some mental coaxing, but I finally lifted my gaze slowly to meet his.
His bright blue eyes were light, like he wanted me to believe what he was about to say. “I wouldn’t have hired you if I didn’t think you were amazing. Any man who walks away from you has fumbled the ball, bad. And Samuel...” He glanced over at the bedroom while he sucked in air between his lips, creating a reverse whistle. “That kid is the G.O.A.T. And you are the only reason he’s as amazing as he is.” He chuckled as he returned his attention to me, pausing like he wanted his words to sink in. “And get used to me complimenting you.” He shrugged. “It’s in my DNA.”
I furrowed my brow.
His gaze turned more earnest. “Please?”
I waited. I wanted to keep fighting him on this. I wanted him to stop, but that wasn’t fair to him. He was just being nice, and I could be nice back. I studied him before I slowly began to nod. “Okay,” I whispered and then paused. “Professional compliments are fine. Compliments that borderline flirting are a no go.”
