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She spun around, her mouth pulled into a soft “O” of surprise. “Brannon. Hi. I was... I couldn’t sleep.”
“That’s funny. I could barely wake up.”
“I noticed. You snore.” She poured cream into her coffee.
He started to argue, but she spoke before he could.
“Would you like coffee?”
“Sure.”
She poured him a mug, then added cream and the perfect amount of sugar. She knew how he took his coffee and he had no idea how she took hers. She’d been paying attention to him for the last year she’d been working for him and he’d been... Well, not ignoring her, but definitely not paying close enough attention.
She handed him the mug. “Here you go.”
Before she vanished a second time, he gripped her arm. “Where are you going?”
“The pool?” A closer look at her white linen dress showed the shadow of a yellow bikini underneath.
“How about some breakfast?”
“I thought you might be in a hurry to leave for River Grove so I was going to grab a quick swim before we check out.”
One of them was in a hurry today, but it sure as hell wasn’t him.
“Now that you mention it, I could use a swim. After breakfast. Join me.”
She turned and walked to a table, her spine straight and her shoulders pulled back. Proper. Elegant. She was icing him. No easy smiles or flirtatious side-eyes any more. Even her offer of coffee had been as generic as if they were back at the office already.
They’d barely lowered into their chairs when a waitress approached and took their breakfast order. There were limited choices on the menu, which made choosing easy.
“Pancakes sound good. I almost ordered that,” Addi said conversationally after the waitress left. “Just let me know when you’re ready to leave. I can be packed in a matter of minutes.”
Again, so formal.
“What gives?” He knew when he was being dismissed. He didn’t care for it.
“What do you mean?”
“You left my bed.” And now that he’d said it aloud, he realized how much it pissed him off. Not because she owed him anything, but because he’d invited her there. She could have done him the courtesy of telling him she was leaving. Or hell, leaving a note. “I had to scour the grounds to find you and when I do, you treat me like we’re in the middle of a business transaction. So again I ask, what gives?”
He sipped his coffee. It was perfect, which irked him for some reason.
“You knew what this was.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “One night and a clean break.”
He felt his eyebrows jump. “I didn’t realize there was such a defined line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.”
“I said midnight—”
“We went well past midnight.” Last time he’d checked the clock over Addi’s naked, sated body, it was nearly 3:00 a.m.
“I was trying to be practical.” Her cheeks stained pink as she studied her coffee.
“I’m not big on practical any longer. Remember?” Practical hadn’t helped him land CEO. Practical had him asking out a woman he had no sexual chemistry with whatsoever. Practical had him purchasing an engagement ring for the same woman, one he didn’t love. As far as he was concerned, practical was damn impractical.
He’d insisted enjoying the weekend with Addi for one reason: he wanted to. Granted, he hadn’t expected to enjoy himself as much as he had or he never would have agreed to her one-night rule.
“I don’t want it to end like this,” he grumbled, frustrated. “Not over pancakes before a four-hour car ride home.”
