Nova sighed and rested her chin on her knees. “Unfortunately, I do.”
“Why is that unfortunate?”
“Because it leads to disaster.”
“Couldn’t it lead to something great?” he asked.
“It could,” she said. “But I’m a will o’ the wisp. Our luck has never been stellar. Nor the luck of those we get involved with.”
Torin turned to face her and lifted a knee onto the couch. “Nova, I’m a selkie. I can’t get a woman to go on another date with me after they find out because they all think that I’ll wait until we’ve been married a decade and have three kids before I decide that my love of the sea is more important than my love of my family.”
Nova winced. “I suppose you understand then.” Then, she paused. “Wait, I just realized, you live hours away from the closest ocean. How does that work?”
He smiled at her. “I’m afraid the myths and stories have exaggerated some of the selkies’ traits. I do love the water, but it doesn’t have to be the sea. I’m not an actual seal, so a lake will do the job just as well as an ocean. If I start feeling itchy, I drive forty-five minutes to the closest lake and go for a long swim. At least twice a year, I try to go somewhere near an ocean and spend all the time I can in the water. I will go to cold water but I prefer warm like the Bahamas or Fiji. Thailand is nice, too.”
Nova blinked at him. “You take vacations twice a year?”
“Oh, yeah. At least seven days. Ten or fourteen is better. I haven’t been able to get away this year because Addie is running herself ragged to do everything. I need to hire an assistant manager, maybe even two. We’re getting more and more people into the restaurant and she shouldn’t be carrying that load by herself.” He shrugged. “I need to hire another chef as well. It’ll make it easier on the guys in the kitchen, too.”
He noticed the look on her face and asked, “What? You look surprised.”
“I am,” she admitted. “You seem extremely dedicated to Gallagher’s. I assumed you rarely took time away unless it was for business.”
“Traveling twice a year for vacation when I work sixty-to-eighty-hour weeks doesn’t feel much like time away. I’ve been wanting to slow down for a while now, enjoy my life more. I just haven’t put much effort into it.” He winked at her. “I find myself a lot more motivated to do that now.”
Nova blinked several times. That was…completely unexpected.
Torin put his hands to his thighs and pushed to his feet. “Now, I need to get back downstairs and help them close up.” He reached down and picked up one of her hands, pulling her to her feet. “But I want a kiss before I go.”
Nova got to her feet, put her hands on his abdomen, and lifted her face to his. “We’re going to need to have a chat about your bossiness,” she whispered just before her lips touched his.
He buried his hands in her hair again and opened his mouth over hers. She gave him what he wanted. Their tongues tangled, sending a rush of heat straight from his head to his groin.
It took all he had to lift his mouth from hers.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.
“Okay,” she whispered.
He smiled down at her. She looked dreamy and agreeable. “And I’m bossy because I’m your boss,” he said.
Her eyes widened before they narrowed into an angry squint. “Excuse me?”
He chuckled and gave her a quick peck.
Torin released her and headed toward the door. Nova followed.
“Seriously, do we need to discuss boundaries?” she asked.
It was definitely a rhetorical question because it was clear that she was seconds away from launching into a lecture about them.
“Nope. I like my boundaries just fine,” he said.
“Torin Gallagher, you are pissing me off,” she said.
He glanced back at her. “Nah. If you were really mad, you’d have little blue lights dancing around your head.”
She pinched his side just hard enough to make him hurt. “You’re a pain in the ass,” she complained.
