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I squinted suspiciously. “But people would expect us to sleep together.”
He chuckled in such a charming way that I thought maybe I had cracked a kind of joke or something.
But then his face got serious, and he walked around the desk without smiling at all. The smile was there in his eyes. There was a hint of hunger there too.
I swallowed my fear as I shrank into the chair, unable to move anywhere else. “You don’t expect that…do you?”
“Oh, sweet Sadie,” he rasped as he leaned on both armrests. He had me trapped—much like he had a couple of days ago in the doorway of the office. “Are you shy about sharing space with a man like me?”
“I’m not shy about anything.” But my quavering voice betrayed any confidence I might have had about my statement.
His eyes sparkled like rich blueberries winking with sun after a summer rain. “I’m sure you mean that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“If you truly wanted change in your life, you’d make it happen.”
I met him head-on, using my shoulders to carve space for myself where he kept blocking me. He didn’t relent, but he allowed me some charge of the situation. “Iammaking changes.”
“Prove it to me.”
“I’ve been following all your instructions perfectly.”
His brows rose with interest. “Is that so?”
“I don’t complain about anything. I take the lead in making sure your appointments and meetings are perfect.”
One more inch of space made me feel like I could breathe again. It wasn’t that he was taking all my air—okay, maybe itwasthat, but it wasn’t that he was choking me.
How would it feel if he were to wrap his fingers around my throat and—?
I stood up, smiling when he stepped back a couple of more inches. “I’m not letting my mother boss me around. I’m not letting anyone do that ever again.”
Somehow, the way he gazed down at me didn’t feel condescending at all. The lead-up sure felt like that for a second. It felt like he was mocking me. But now? He almost looked like he was proud of me.
He took my shoulders firmly but gently and met my fierce stare. “Sadie, you are a triumph in every way. Think it over. Come to my house tonight and tell me your answer then.”
“But—”
Buthe was already out the door and away from the office.
He didn’t want to hear anybuts, and that was true of any boss. I had enough hang-ups to make a list scroll out across Silverdawn. Hell, it could have probably spanned Wolfcreek. What if I couldn’t handle it? What if I made a move on my boss?
But what if he didn’t takenofor an answer?
***
As I skipped along the path toward Andres’ house, my brain went through a serious tumble. I was making a list, and I would probably check it more than twice if I was being honest with myself. Whether I accepted the offer or not, our relationship was about to change. Andres and I had plenty to discuss in that case. So, a list would do the trick while I walked to his house.
Lists were my calling card in situations that made me want to hide. I used to make them night and day up in my bedroom whenever my parents were going at each other’s throats. Column A held the pros and Column B held the cons. Sometimes, there was a middle ground for compromise. Most times, I just wanted to see my options written out on paper.
That was how I decided to move out the first time around.
I’d gotten to be such a whiz at comparisons that I hardly needed to write them down anymore. Things could look good in my head or on paper, but in reality, they would definitely look different. I had to consider that with this situation.
I had to consider how it would look.
On one hand, gaining immunity from my pestering mother would give me tons of relief. She’d let me plan the luncheon, talk to family members, and leave without bugging me for much more than a grandchild. Indulging her little whims would get me through the night, and then I could go home—go to Andres’ home—and plan for my wonderful future without a man to hold me back.
