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“I need to ask you a question before we finally go to sleep,” he tells me.
“Sorry, I’m not a virgin,” I joke.
My sass earns me a squeeze of my waist, right in a spot where I’m most ticklish. I try to squirm away, but he doesn’t let me get far. “If Piper learns how to speak like that, I’m going to take you over my knee.”
“A little sass never hurt anyone.”
“Neither does a little punishment. Now, we have something important to discuss. There’s a big event coming up at my firm. Would you be my date?”
“Who’s going to watch the kids?”
“I’ll have to hire a babysitter for the evening.”
My brain starts churning out excuses. Didn’t he just say we should keep our relationship secret? What will his co-workers think? “I don’t think it’s a good idea. We’re supposed to be discreet, remember?”
“It’s on a weekend when you’re technically off. We can tell the kids you’re going out or something. Say yes and I’ll figure everything out.”
“Okay,” I relent. “I’ll be your date.”
He kisses me, quick but packed full of heat, and then extracts himself from me. Being on the other side of the couch seems odd now. What I wouldn’t give to spend the night wrapped up in his arms. Maybe that will happen someday.
In the morning, things seem to return to “business as usual.” Though I’m technically off on the weekends, it feels silly not to do my job when we’re all crowded into the same small, albeit luxurious, condo.
Except, when he brushes against me to get a coffee cup, it doesn’t feel normal. It feels deliberate and intimate. And throughout the day, it keeps happening. He finds ways to touch me or to corner me for a kiss when the kids aren’t around. It’s sexy and dangerous, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t worry about the implications of dating the man who is technically my boss.
Don’t get too attached, I keep reminding myself.Keep your boundaries firm.
It’s hard to do when he keeps smashing through every wall I try to put up.
At dinner that night, Theo makes quite an unexpected announcement. “You’re going to stay with Papa and Grammy this week,” he tells Colton and Piper.
“Why?” Colton asks, a hint of defiance in his voice.
“I need to get things settled with the house,” he explains. “It’ll be easier if I know you’re safe.”
“Can’t we stay here with you? What about Hadley?” He’s eight and incredibly perceptive. Even I can’t help but think there’s an ulterior motive.
“Hadley needs to be at the house to let in the workers and I have to work. Please don’t argue with me. I already talked to them, and they’re excited to spend time with you.”
Piper’s been quiet and when I glance at her, I notice she’s pushing her food around the plate. I nudge Theo under the table with my foot and motion toward her.
“Are you okay, peanut?” he asks once he picks up on my message.
“I don’t want to be away from you or Hadley,” she murmurs.
He reaches out and strokes her hair, a sweet smile on his lips. “It’s only for a week. And when the house is fixed, we’ll have a big bonfire on the beach and make s’mores.”
Her eyes light up. “Really? We haven’t done that in forever!” Gooey, chocolatey treats are apparently the way to win her over.
He finishes going over the rest of the plan, telling them their grandparents will come in the morning to pick them up and take them to their house for the week. His gaze keeps sliding over to me, flickers of heat dancing in his eyes, revealing his true intent. I can’t decide whether being alone with him for the week excites me or scares me.
Probably a bit of both.
After the kids are settled in bed, I work on getting their bags packed. Theo comes up behind me, slides his arms around my waist, and draws me back against his chest. “You don’t have to do that,” he says, nuzzling my ear.
“It’s my job,” I remind him.
“Then, finish it in the morning.” His hands come up to cover mine, pulling the backpack I’m holding out of my grip. He sets it on the table and then spins me until we’re nose-to-nose. “We’re going to figure out this thing between us while the kids are gone this week.”
