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Uh-oh. The jig is up. I shove the Reese’s into my face because I know I’m about to get fired and this is the last bit of sustenance I’ll see for a while.
Swallowing, I ask, “Hi! Are you okay?”
Buck is pacing the room now like a caged animal. Shit. He’s super mad about my stupid lie. God, why did I lie?
“I can explain,” I say, standing, my stomach in my throat. I’m about to lose it all. The office, the snacks, the assistant, the job…my brand new boyfriend.
I fucked everything up, and on top of that, we won’t be friends after this. I can see that right now. I’ve betrayed him, and he will never forgive me for leaving his project behind.
Buck marches up to me and stops an inch from my face. “You,” he says, low and soft, gently tipping my chin up to meet my eyes, “do not have to explain anything.”
I suck in a shuddering breath. Being this close to him and knowing we’re about to break up makes a knot appear in my throat. I am so close to crying I could pinch myself. I refuse. I don’t need to cry; I just need to admit what I did. But for some reason, Buck doesn’t want me to do that.
“I don’t?”
“No,” he rumbles, his eyes scanning my face. “Because I believe in you, Grace.”
“S-so, you’re not mad? You’re not breaking up with me?”
Buck’s beautiful forehead furrows in confusion. “Why would I do that?”
“B-because you look pissed, and I thought—”
“Babe, no.” Without another word his lips are on mine, and I melt into his kiss. His mouth claims me, and his arms hold me tight against him. He smells like wood shavings and his natural spice, and I’m intoxicated by the sheer intensity of this man.
I’m surely a mess when he pulls away from the kiss to say, “I just needed to see you,” he says softly, eyeing me like a precious jewel, carefully smoothing my hair with one big, meaty hand.
Oh my heart. He’s going to tear it to pieces.
“It’s wonderful to be seen by you,” I say, blushing at how dumb that sounds.
The anger I saw a second ago seems to have abated, and his whole demeanor has changed. Buck closes his eyes and brushes his nose against the tip of my nose, a low hum emanating from his throat.
“Tell me some good news,” he says.
That, I can do. “I have a working plan for the primary bed and bath, the main salon, and the kitchen. And the best part is that between the junk stores and a couple of the higher-end places that just popped up downtown, I should be able to source everything locally. I made some calls, and some of the stuff can be delivered free of charge.”
He smiles. “I like that word, free. You just earned yourself a raise, baby.”
This makes me laugh. “I’m a contractor, not your employee, and you already offered a ridiculous fee to keep me exclusive while I’m on this project as it is.”
He squints down at me, thinking for a moment. I wonder what could be going through his mind, but I’m more interested in the distracting movement of his hands on my lower back.
“How would you like to be a permanent employee with full benefits?”
This is…shocking. “Buck, are you serious? Is that normal? Stagers employed by one company and one company alone?”
He chuckles softly and kisses my forehead. “Nothing about this is normal. You’re extraordinary, and I want you.”
“But you haven’t even seen my work.”
“Babe. You work for me. Do you think I don’t know how to pick my employees?”
This is the most ridiculous suggestion I’ve ever heard. “Do you always kiss your employees until their knees can’t function properly?”
“Only the cute ones,” he replies teasingly.
I playfully swat him on the chest. “How dare you?”
