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Biting back the words she wanted to fling at him, she quickly buttoned her shirt, and in her haste she did it all wrong. There was a good six-inch disparity between one side and the other. Before she could fix things, the leather squeaked and suddenly Deacon stood in front of her.
“You want to tell me what happened in the last few seconds to have you in such a fluster?” Brushing her hands away, he unbuttoned her shirt and buttoned it correctly. The man was like a space heater, his hot fingers branding her bare skin.
“Nothing happened,” she said as she tried to keep her gaze off his nakedness. It wasn’t easy when his naked chest seemed to fill her entire vision. She would’ve looked down at her toes, but something else blocked that view. So she turned her head and looked out the window. “I just need to get back to work.”
He turned her chin with his finger and tipped it up. There was a sparkle of humor in his eyes that really annoyed her. “I’m going to make a guess and say that you heard the name Francesca and assumed the worst.”
“I wasn’t thinking any such thing,” she lied through her teeth. “It makes no difference to me if you have some Italian girlfriend at home.” She pulled away from his heated finger. “But don’t expect the same from me. I’m an adult woman with her own mind who understands that what happened here was nothing more than an office fling—”
Her words were cut short by a deep, wet kiss that brought her to her toes and had her arms looping around his neck. When she was thoroughly dazed, he pulled back and pinned her with his laser gaze.
“Let’s get something perfectly straight. I don’t do flings—office or otherwise. If I want to be with a woman, I want to be with her for more than just one night—or one really amazing hour on a desk. And I want to be with her exclusively.” He released his breath, and his eyes softened. “Now I understand that getting naked with someone and sharing what we did can make a person feel a little insecure. After the comment you just made, I’m feeling that way myself. So if you’d like to revise your statement, I’m listening.”
It was pathetic how much she wanted to believe him. “So why are you leaving?”
“I have a business.” For a second he looked almost embarrassed. “It’s just a small development company, but I’m building these condos and I need to get my foreman started on them while I’m working here.”
“So you’re coming back?”
A smile bloomed on his face. “What happened to the woman who couldn’t get rid of me fast enough?”
Relief welled, along with a feeling that was almost giddy. Which was probably why she let her guard down and told the truth. “Maybe she finally figured out that she needs you.”
“To save French Kiss?”
That wasn’t the only reason, but Olivia wasn’t willing to examine the other reason too closely. “Among other things,” she said. Standing on her tiptoes, she trailed kisses over his chin that was already dark with stubble, but before she reached his sweet mouth, he pulled away, his eyes serious.
“I don’t know if I can save French Kiss, Livy.”
This vulnerable side of Deacon made her want to kiss him even more. “I do. And so does everyone else in the company.”
“I find that hard to believe. Nobody likes the boss.”
She smiled. “I didn’t say that they liked you. I said that they believed in you—something they never did with me.”
“Maybe you didn’t give them a chance.”
She shook her head. “Maybe I’m not a good boss.” She paused as she remembered Grayson’s sketch of her working on the corset, and a realization hit. “But I am a good designer. And it just took the Beaumont brothers to inspire me.”
He effortlessly picked her up in his arms and carried her to the desk. “If that corset is an example, you’re not a good designer, you’re a great designer. And as far as you’re concerned, it’s not the Beaumont brothers. It’s the Beaumont brother. From now on, I want to be the only one who gives you inspiration, Livy. Got that?”
She did.
