“The dating thing? Yes. Of course. He’s my boss. It’s just for the campaign.”
“Okay, but…” She tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy. “You talk about him differently than you talk about anyone else. You get this look when you mention him. And now he’s bringing you soup when you’re sick.”
“I was sick and he was being nice.” I waved my hand. “It means nothing.”
“I saw you two atCandelabra. You have a crush on him.”
“What I have is bills to—” I started to protest, then stopped.
Because I had been asking myself the exact same questions Abby was. Did I have a crush on Dane?
I thought about dinner at the restaurant. The way we’d talked for hours. It had all felt so easy and natural. It was so easy to be with him. It certainly didn’t feel forced or fake.
I thought about him showing up at my apartment yesterday with soup, sitting in my living room and risking his own health for mine. That was definitely a boyfriend move.
And more importantly, I had to acknowledge the way I looked forward to seeing him every day at work. That wasn’t a normal way to think about my boss.
“Oh no,” I whispered.
Abby’s grin widened. “Or is itoh yes?”
“I like him.” I said it out loud, testing the words. “I like Dane. Kind of a lot.”
Abby clapped once and pointed at me. “I freaking knew it. I brought you a triple-layer tiramisu and you only had eyes for Dane. You’ve got it bad, little lady.”
“But it’s fake. The whole thing is fake. It’s a business arrangement. He doesn’t want a girlfriend. He has made it very clear he doesn’t want a relationship in any way, shape, or form, and that was long before I came into his life. He’s not about to change for me.” I slumped forward onto the table. “I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot. You’re a romantic who agreed to pretend to date someone you’re attracted to. This was basically inevitable.”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I lifted my head. “He told me love isn’t real. That relationships are transactions. He built Cupid’s Arrow on the principle that everything is just give and take.”
“And then he brought you soup when you were sick,” she said, nodding. “What was Dane getting out of that, if this is all transactional?”
“Nothing, I guess. He was just being a decent human.”
“The man has a reputation for being about as emotionally available as a brick wall. But he brought you soup in the middle of what I imagine would be a very busy workday.”
That was a valid point.
“And he sat with you while you were gross and sick.”
I gave her a dry look. “Don’t make me cough on you. I don’t know if I can give you back the bug you gave me, but we can find out.”
Abby took two steps back from me. “I’m just saying maybe pay attention to what he does, not just what he says.”
I wanted to believe her. It would be nice to think he wasn’t just good at acting.
But I’d seen the NDA. I agreed to the terms. I knew this ended on Valentine’s Day, and then I’d go back to being his assistant and he’d go back to being my boss and we’d both pretend none of this had ever happened.
“I need to be more careful,” I said quietly. “I need to remember this has an expiration date. I’m Cinderella at the ball and the clock is ticking down to midnight.”
Abby looked at me with something like pity. “Honey, love doesn’t have an expiration date.”
I scoffed. “Who said anything about love?”
