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“Things,” I repeat.
“Under normal circumstances, there’s a process if twoemployees are dating,” Harrison says, smirking at Caleb. “You guys would just sign an agreement, since neither of you supervises the other, but I’d prefer you waited, because it could be used against you in court.”
“In court?” I ask. “How?”
“In your case, I think Jeremy will simply be harder to deal with. In Caleb’s, the process server’s having a hard time locating Kate, and until she’s gotten the paperwork or we can prove we’ve made a sufficient effort to inform her, she could still accuse him of adultery.”
“Kate would never do that,” Caleb says with quiet, unerring conviction and there’s a soft thud in my chest, as if someone’s tapped me there slightly too hard. Is a guy leaving his wife supposed to be so adamant in her defense?
Harrison’s gaze flickers to me before it returns to Caleb. “You have no idea what she’d do until she’s done it. Divorce can bring out a whole new side in people. Anyway, my point is that it doesn’t benefit either of you to make this public knowledge right now, especially in a county where we could easily be facing a judge who played golf with Jeremy’s uncle the day before. So, whatever you two are doing, do it in private. Don’t send non-work texts, and if you’re out in public, make sure it’s a group setting.”
I nod, and when Harrison rises, Caleb fights a smile, eager to have him out of the room.
Harrison groans. “You two might also want to cut it out with all the secretive looks. I’m going to leave and shut the door behind me, but please don’t use that as an opportunity to work anything out of your system.”
The moment the door closes, Caleb rises and walks to my side of the desk, pulling me to my feet. I smile against his lips as he lifts me, his hands wrapped around my waist, and sets me on his desk. “I thought we weren’t supposed to work anything out of our systems.”
“Harrison is overcautious,” he answers, stepping between my legs and kissing me again. And again. Opening my mouth, stealing my breath. He does not push, he just kisses me until I find it’s me who wants more, who wants contact, who needs his hands on my skin.
We jump at the knock on the door. I rise, smoothing my skirt. Caleb returns to the other side of the desk to hide the fact that he’s got an erection. “Come in,” he barks.
Kayleigh enters, raising a brow as if she knows exactly what was going on and does not approve—I’m surprised she’s put her phone down long enough to notice anything. “The accountant is here,” she says, lips pursed.
“Send him back,” Caleb replies, looking only at me.
She hesitates, as if she’s waiting to see me leave.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I tell him.
He nods, his mouth hitching a centimeter to the right.
I’m just passing Kayleigh’s desk when she speaks up from behind me. “He’s very busy. You need to stop wasting his time.”
My tongue prods my cheek. Kayleigh is terrible at her job, so I seriously doubt she’s saying this out of professional concern.
“He asked me to come down to his office, Kayleigh. And I’m not sure why you think his interactions with employees areyourconcern.”
“Fine, keep making a fool of yourself. A guy like Caleb is never going to be interested in someone like you.”
“Like I said, I was only here because he asked me to come to his office,” I repeat between my teeth. “But I’m very curious what you mean by ‘someone like you.’”
“Lots of things,” she says with a disdainful once-over. “Like, his wife has an MBA fromWharton. Where’s your master’s degree from?”
“Where’syourmaster’s degree from, Kayleigh?” I snap backas I walk away, pretending that there wasn’t another smallplinkin my chest when her target struck its goal.
IPLAYwith the twins that afternoon on the beach, excited for Caleb to get home, excited to watch the kids’ faces light up as he walks down the hill. Harrison wasn’t wrong—Jeremy will definitely make my life harder if he discovers this—but I wish we could just jump six months into the future and arrive at the point where we don’t have to hide a thing.
It’s dusk when Caleb steps onto his back deck, still in work clothes...and freezes as his gaze lands on the twins. He gives me an awkward, unsmiling wave and turns to go back inside.
What the hell was that? He was clearly on his way down here until...what?He remembered I had twins?
If he hadn’t met them yet, indifference or uncertainty would make sense. But he’s spent lots of time with them…he’s seen nearly as much of them as he has me over these past months. So why is it only now that he’s acting like he wishes they weren’t around?
The twins and I go inside and move through the rest of our night with no sign of him. It’s only once I’m back downstairs in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher, that there’s a tap on the back door.
His smile is wide. He pulls me toward him and presses his lips to the top of my head. “At last,” he says, and hesoundslike a man who is happy to see me.
I pull away. “What happened this afternoon? You kind of weirded out on us.”
