Page 75 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

The forced proximity of this job had seemed theoretical before. A concept. A trope in a romance novel Luci would absolutely force into my hands with wine and bad commentary.

Now it feels real.

The lights are low.

The kitchen is warm.

His tie's gone somewhere.

He’s looking at me like I’m not just temporary in his house but someone whose opinion he actually wants.

And I…

I hate how much I want to stay in this moment because there are so many reasons I shouldn’t.

He’s older than me. A lot older, if I'm being honest. He's my boss. He has a son, a life, a whole history I can feel around him even when he's not talking. And I’m still, whether I like it or not, a woman who got dumped in an airport and ended up here half by grit and half by disaster.

This doesn't feel like safe ground.

“Addy.”

I realize too late that I’ve gone quiet.

“Hm?”

“You’re elsewhere.”

I laugh softly. “That obvious?”

“Yes.”

“That’s annoying.”

He doesn’t smile, but there’s warmth in his eyes now. “Where did you go?”

That's a deeply unfair question. Especially in that voice. Especially now, so of course I deflect.

“Nowhere dramatic,” I say. “Just thinking.”

“About?”

“How weird this is.”

His gaze doesn’t move from mine. “Because I’m your employer.”

“Yes.”

“And?”

I set my glass down carefully. “And because we already crossed a line before there even was one.”

There. It's out, sitting between us like a lit match.

He doesn’t look away. He keeps that same still, assessing focus that made me lose all common sense on a plane.

“Yes,” he says.

Everything in me tightens. I should stop this, should absolutely stop this, but some reckless, traitorous part of me wants to know if he’s thinking what I’m thinking. If he feels this too. If the room has gotten smaller for him as well.