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Chapter One
Being called to the boss’s office was never a good thing. Especially when said boss sat entirely too close to the doe-eyed pastry vixen from the bookstore café.
But she wasn’t jealous. Not in the slightest.
Kelly Crossman inhaled deeply and knocked on Spencer Galvin’s partially open door, interrupting the Hallmark moment on the loveseat. Spencer and Leigh stared at her silently. Looking guilty as hell, the both of them.
“You wanted to see me, Spencer?” Kelly asked when her vocal cords unfroze.
Had she just interrupted them on the verge of a clutch? Forget verge. Leigh had practically been in his lap and her graspy little hands had been an inch away from his dark blond curls.
Petite and adorable, Leigh Cory was the kind of woman men loved to fawn over to feel big, strong and capable. Kelly had never figured Spencer as the type to need that kind of ego stroking.
If he did, well, bully for him. That would explain a lot about why he’d never looked her way. She was as far from petite and fawnlike as a sheep was from being sleek. And God, she’d never felt more tall and gawky and completely out of her element than she did right now.
“Yes, Ms. Crossman, I did. Come in.”
Everyone else in the store got the first name treatment, she got Ms. Crossman. What did he call Leigh when they were alone?
Maybe he just groaned unintelligible words. Who really needed names then?
Wincing at that image, Kelly propped her hands on her hips and strode into his office. She’d be damned if she shrank away. Not here, not now. And for damn sure, not with him.
Not only was Spencer the big boss man, he’d been her crush since oh, the moment she’d laid eyes on him. The first time he’d argued with her in that alpha male I always know best way she’d been in serious lust, which probably proved the depth of her dysfunction. But he never talked down to her. Much. He just liked to poke holes in her ideas until they resembled swiss cheese.
He was brilliant, ruthlessly so. An amazing boss. And his ass was a thing of beauty.
She hooked her thumbs in her belt loops. “Sure I’m not intruding?”
“No.” He gritted out the word. “You’re not.”
Kelly almost said, Tell that to Doe Eyes, who looked as if she’d been socked in the stomach. But somehow she held her tongue.
Leigh reluctantly slid away from Spencer and rose. She lifted her chin and shot Kelly a look that spoke volumes.
Hands off.
Kelly smiled again, this time icily. As if she’d pay attention to Leigh’s warnings. She’d seen her type before. They radiated that don’t hurt me, I’m so wittle and defenseless vibe and then put out the minute they were behind closed doors.
And wow, this one must be a method actress because her cheeks even looked wet. Had she actually been fake crying to get into Spencer’s pants?
Maybe she should file that idea away for later. Hey, whatever worked…
“Have a nice day, Lisa,” she said as Leigh booked for the exit.
She always called Leigh the wrong name, helpless against her urge to needle Little Miss Perfect. Did she really think no one noticed the way she simpered around Spencer? He seemed immune to her attempts at flirtation, or at least that’s what Kelly’d thought.
Then again, Leigh had just been in his arms. A place Kelly had never been.
Would never be.
She shook off that thought as the door closed behind Leigh. She’d never be in his arms for lots of reasons, number one being they worked together. Her job meant everything to her. She wouldn’t jeopardize that for a one-night stand. Even if there were times she was sure she’d climb out of her own skin if she couldn’t get her hands on him, she wouldn’t risk her position in the store. She had her priorities.
Spencer skirted his desk, giving her a glimpse of his toned ass showcased in perfectly cut slacks. Her mouth watered.
It didn’t hurt to look.
He sat in his captain’s chair and steepled his hands on his stomach, a pose intended to radiate relaxed confidence. Normally it might have. But she’d become adept at reading him over the years and there was no mistaking the deep lines of tension etched around his eyes. She imagined those eyes warming like hot coffee, steam rising in their hidden depths. Scalding her if she got too close, like she was now. Here in his inner sanctum with another woman’s fresh-cut-apple scent a tart tang in the air, she wanted more than ever to push the limits between them.
They worked well together. Mostly well. They disagreed from time to time, occasionally saw things differently. The Book Nook was his life, as it was hers. When he was in town—as regional manager, he attended to The Book Nook’s other stores in Maryland as well as the new stores they were opening in Virginia and South Carolina—he was at work bef
ore sunup and remained there long after closing. Nights she made sure to work an extra shift, just in case she’d get to tease him. She loved doing that.
And she’d never once seen him loosen his tie.
Then there were the other nights she stayed late, when he wasn’t around. One of them stood out in her mind in particular. When he’d left his office unlocked and she’d been alone in the store—and lonely. Feeling more than a little reckless. Weeks later she still couldn’t believe she’d taken things so far. But exploring his office had led to imagining he was there with her, and then exploring herself…
