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Nina breaks off, bending over to look at a plant or a flower or something.
I follow her and put my arm around her. “I’m glad you like it so much up here. Like I said, any time you want to come back here, just let me know.”
She looks up at me and nods, a smile lighting up her face.
It takes us around an hour to make a full circuit of the lake. When we get back to the cabin, Mom and Dad are sitting outside, reading in the sun.
“We’ve got to make a move,” I tell them. “Work stuff, unfortunately.”
They try and get us to stay, but I have to turn them down. Too much to do, too many meetings to attend.
We say our goodbyes, and my Mom tells Nina that she’s welcome up here anytime, and then we climb back into the car and start the drive back down to the city.
Nina’s quiet in the car—noticeably so. She stares out of the windows at the passing scenery and doesn’t really seem inclined to get into any conversation.
“Is everything okay?” I ask her. “You’re really quiet this morning. I’m . . . Are we moving too fast? You know, with what happened in the hotel room last weekend, I didn’t want to push you or anything, get you out of your comfort zone.”
She doesn’t answer for a little while, deep in thought.
“I wanted to be taken seriously as this job,” she eventually says, her voice soft and contemplative. “I mean . . . my brother got me the job in the first place, and now I’m sleeping with my boss? What are people going to think?” She laughs nervously.
“Screw what people think,” I say. “Let them think what they like. We know the truth. You’re great at your job, and I would have hired you even without Dean sending you my way. You saw that pile of paperwork that was on my desk when you started. I’d be lost without you there.”
She nods, looking a little comforted. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I want you to know, Nina, that you’re more than just my assistant. You’re . . . well, you mean a lot to me. You’re special.”
She smiles. “You’re special to me too.”
“I really mean that. After what happened with my last relationship, I’m not someone to say it lightly.”
She reaches for my hand and squeezes. I squeeze her right back.
I know, now more than ever, that I need to tread carefully.
I completely understand where Nina’s coming from with her concerns, and I don’t want us to become a topic of gossip in the office either. We need to keep things discreet between us at work.
I tell myself to take things slowly. There’s no need to rush into this. Just let it play out naturally. Our feelings for each other are real, and this weird fake engagement is turning out to be so much more.
Eventually, we pull up outside her apartment, and she gathers her things.
My plan was to drop her off here then head home because there’s something I need to grab from home before work tomorrow. But as she gets out of the car, I feel a strong longing for her, like I can’t bear to be away from her.
I kill the engine and get out, wrapping my arms around her.
I kiss her on the cheek. “How about I stay here tonight?”
Nina
I raise my eyebrows at Brock. “Didn’t you say you needed to get something from your house before work tomorrow?”
“Well, I guess we’ll need to get up early then, won’t we? We can swing by there on the way into the office.” He shoots me a playful grin.
“I’m really not much of a morning person. If you want me at peak performance in the office, I’m not really sure it’s such a good idea to have me wake up at the crack of dawn,” I protest, despite the smile playing on my lips.
I have to admit, the idea of Brock in my bed—preferably naked—sounds appealing, to say the least. Last night was amazing. I can’t help but wonder how much better it would be if we did it on a surface softer than the wooden planks of an old dock.
“Oh, I know all about your morning proclivities, Little Miss Late-on-Her-First-Day-of-Work,” he teases. “In fact, that’s all the more reason for me to stay over tonight, just so I can make sure you wake up on time.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Oh? So you’ll be doing that for me then? Waking me up, I mean. No need for me to set an alarm, right?”
Brock’s gaze darts down, and a smile curves his lips. Hunger flashes in his eyes. “You know, when you fold your arms like that, it makes your tits look amazing.”
I stare at him and turn around, starting to walk toward the entrance to my apartment building before he can see the smile I can no longer hide.
