I step out of the car and walk up to the front door, turning to wave goodbye to him as I slide my key into the lock and give it a turn. I have to give him kudos for staying to make sure I get in safely, even if he didn’t walk me to the door. One of these days, I’ll get that first date kiss, my first actual kiss.
My bed is waiting for me with open arms, and I flop down onto it, not bothering to take off my makeup or change my clothes. As far as I know, Dad is still out, so I’m going to get as much peaceful sleep as I can while I still have the house to myself.
SIX
Colt
“Happy Monday, Mr. Fowler!” Rowan calls to me as she rounds the corner into my office, toting with her the same massive water bottle she always carries, marked with the times of the day on one side, ‘today will be a good day’ printed on the other. She had said something about ‘manifesting the day you want’ and ‘the laws of attraction’ when I pointed out that she always had the same bottle with the same quote with her, every single day.
“Happy Monday, Rowan,” I echo, a grin tugging at my lips.
Every day for three months, she’s popped into my office upon her arrival, greeting me the same way. Every day for three months, that simple greeting has made me smile.
“Did you have a nice weekend?”
“I did,” she tells me. “I went on a date on Saturday.”
“Oh?”
“With Emmett, actually,” she tells me as she pulls a lock of hair behind her ear, her finger ever so gently tracing the angle of her jaw as she brings her hand back down. I can’t help the wandering of my eyes as I follow it.
I can’t help noticing the way her skirt hugs her hips or the sway of them as she moves around my office. Theway her blouse moves, teasing just the smallest hint of cleavage as she shimmies out of her coat and hangs it up.Shit.
“Good— for the two of you,” I say, “did it go well?”
If she’s with Emmett, that stops this. The staring. The thoughts I shouldn’t have about someone so much younger than me. I’m nearly twice her age, for fuck’s sake, she’s just a girl. This is good.
“Yeah, we had a good time.” Pulling a stack of paperwork from my desk, she adds, “But I think we’re probably just gonna stay friends.”
Shit.
“Did something happen?” I ask, trying not to sound too invested.
“Oh, no. He was a perfectgentleman,” she says with a wink. “It just wouldn’t be a match like that.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”
You have no idea how sorry.
She tucks the papers under her arm and, like she’s trying to reassureme, says, “It’s no biggie. There’s plenty of frogs in the pond.”
“Do you mean ‘fish in the sea’?” I laugh.
“No, ‘cause you have to kiss the frogs to get your prince. Come on, Mr. Fowler, keep up.” She throws me a playful wink, snapping her fingers, then she gestures toward the stack of paper under her arm. “I’m gonna get these faxed for you. Anything else on the agenda for the day?”
“We’ll be stopping by the new development later this afternoon, but aside from that, it should be a fairly quiet day for us,” I tell her.
“Sounds good,” she nods, “I’ll be in the copy room if you need anything. Just shout.”
I try and fail to peel my eyes away as she turns and walks out of my office, hips swaying with each step. My gaze stays glued to her ass until she’s out of view, and I lean back in my chair with a sigh.
I’m going to hell.
•
As Rowan settles into her seat and buckles in, I close the passenger door of my blue X5 then circle back to the driver’s side and climb in. I explain to her what the purpose of the visit is today, what to expect, what will be expected of her – anything that keeps the focus on work.
Her skirt has ridden up, just a couple of inches, but it’s enough to give me a glimpse of those legs, another pair of stockings – nude, today – that reach up to her thighs, just a sliver of the scalloped lace top peeking out from under the hem of her skirt.
