“Oh my god, there was.” Mom claps eagerly, a wide smile across her face.
“No, Mom. There was no man.”
She studies me for a beat, searching for the lie in my words. I pray she can’t read the truth because there is a man. A man I shouldn’t be interested in. A man I should stay far, far away from. But I fear both is going to be impossible.
Cole is…well, so much more than I ever could have expected. And the more I learn about him, the more he seems to lure me in.
My heart beats wildly as I think about our day together. It was totally unexpected but so incredible.
If I didn’t suspect before, then it’s achingly obvious to me now that I’m developing a bit of a crush on my boss.
It’s far from ideal, and I have no doubt it’ll end in tears, but I’m powerless to stop it.
“Did you get drunk?”
“Uh…”
“As long as you were safe.”
“I was safe. Casey took good care of me. I got myself back to Cole’s in one piece.” Everything just went wrong from the moment I locked myself in his apartment.
“What’s the look for?” Mom asks, her brows pinched.
“Nothing. There’s no look.”
She leans closer. “Tell me you didn’t throw up in his fancy penthouse.”
If only. “No, I didn’t get sick. I was a little delicate this morning, but he was really sweet when he got back.”
“I’m glad he’s taking care of you. I understand it was a good game last night; your dad was going wild in the living room.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling fondly as I think back to watching it in the bar. “It was an exciting one.”
We end up chatting for well over an hour, and by the time I grab my purse from the hallway to head up to my room, I’m more than ready for my bed.
“Wait,” Mom calls from behind me. “Where’s your overnight bag?”
“Oh…um…Cole and I went out and I didn’t want to go back up to get it. I’ll grab it tomorrow.”
I begin climbing the stairs, but it’s pointless trying to escape after confessing that.
“Out? Out where?”
I sigh. “We went for dinner.”
“Dinner? I thought you were meant to be cooking that.”
A smile twitches at the corners of my lips.
“I was. But I was hungover, and he offered to take me out.”
“I see,” she muses behind me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, still refusing to look back so she can’t see my smile.
“Freya, I think he likes you.”
My heart clenches and my stomach flutters.
