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“I wanted you to stay that night. I wanted to talk to you before you left.”
She nodded, but when she spoke it was like she was talking to her hands, or to her lap. “You were busy, and I wasn’t expecting anything to happen between us. That’s not why I was there.”
“It wasn’t the reason, but it didn’t change what happened that night after Stephen left. I don’t think it was really a surprise when I look back over the time we spent together.”
“Really?” Caroline lifted her face to look at him. Her expression was full of confusion. “It took me weeks, no months, to feel like you didn’t want to scrape me off the bottom of your shoe. When did it- did we become a thing?”
“I never wanted to scrape you off my shoe.” He sighed and pushed his hand through his hair. “There were times that I wanted to roast you over an open fire, especially when you would fight me in the kitchen.”
Her eyes widened then, meeting his gaze with what appeared to be an incredulous look, she replied back. “Fight you? I might have been driven to madness working under you in the kitchen, but I would have been crazy to fight you on anything.”
“You stood up to me.”
She took the statement almost like an accusation. “I only did that when I really believed that there was a better way to do something.”
The corners of his mouth pinched together.
“I didn’t appreciate it then.”
“No kidding, Boss.” There was a lightness to her tone, but a wary look in her eyes. “I just wanted to prove myself to you.”
“You did.” His smile seemed to surprise them both. “I told you so that night.”
The glitter of tears on her lashes was not what he expected that night. Seeing them, even in the natural moonlight was surprisingly easy.
“Why are you crying?”
Caroline blinked and tried to wave off his concern.
“I’m not.”
She started to look around and Lucas followed her gaze as it moved from the table behind her couch and then the coffee table in front of it.
“What are you looking for?”
Caroline didn’t answer and managed to grab a box from the table behind her. The tissue box had one tissue left. She yanked it from the box and started to wipe the tears from her eyes.
Lucas pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.
“Here,” he tried to hand it to her, “take this.”
She folded her tissue again and again until it wasn’t going to be much use to her.
Lucas took it away from her and dropped it into the empty box.
With that gone, he moved closer on the couch and touched the side of her face with his free hand. “Caroline, look at me.”
The way he said her name. How could she deny such a gentle request?
Leaning into his open palm, she tipped her head back and felt her hair fall back and away from her shoulders.
The way he moved the handkerchief across her skin wasn’t meant to seduce, but her body didn’t care about intentions. Having Lucas treat her more like a knight instead of the dragon he was out in the professional world was more than enough to heat her blood.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m not.” She tensed, but she didn’t pull away. “It’s late.”
She shook her head, hating how silly her words sounded.
