“Good morning.”
“Last night actually happened, right? I didn’t dream the whole thing?”
“If you dreamed it, then I’m having the same dream. Which seems statistically unlikely.”
She laughed. “Always with the statistics.”
“It’s how my brain works. I can’t help it.”
“I know.
My fingers trailed up and down her arm. Her skin felt like silk and she smelled like heaven. I was certain I could stay in bed forever. Yes, dehydration and starvation would get me, but I would die a happy man.
“I need to tell you something,” I said.
She tensed slightly. “That sounds ominous.”
“It’s not bad.” I traced patterns on her shoulder. Her fingers were dancing across my chest, gently pulling the thatch of hair in the middle. “The Christmas party. When I saw you for the first time.”
“Yeah?”
“Before that. When you walked into the venue.” I could still see it clearly in my mind. “I was disappointed.”
She pulled back to look at me. “Disappointed?”
“When Norma told me she wanted to hire you, I looked at your resume with your application photo. You were wearing pink sparkly glasses and had a nose ring. You looked safe. Like someone I could work with without complications.”
“I don’t wear the glasses anymore. And I took out the nose ring when I moved here because I thought it looked too unprofessional.” She was studying my face. “You were disappointed I didn’t have my nose ring?”
“No, because you were beautiful.Arebeautiful.” The words came out rough. “And I knew immediately that you were going to be a problem. I was attracted to you from the very beginning. I knew working with you every day was going to be torture. I knew I should have told Norma to move you to a different department before I did something stupid.”
“Like have sex with me?”
“Exactly.” I pulled her back against me, needing her close. “I tried to avoid you.”
“I noticed. I thought you hated me.”
“I hated how little self-control I had around you.” I pressed a kiss to her temple. “You make me feel things I didn’t think I was capable of feeling.”
“Good things?”
“The best things.”
I swatted her hip. “I need coffee.”
“You do know it’s not even six, right?”
“I’m usually up much earlier.”
“Why on earth would you do that?”
I laughed and got up, then pulled on a pair of sweats and went downstairs. Making coffee was automatic. I’d done it thousands of times. But this morning felt different. I was making coffee for two.
I grabbed the power-pink mug and grabbed a black one from the cupboard. The black one I used to use until I was informed the pink one would essentially make me invincible.
Ina appeared wearing my T-shirt from last night, her hair tousled and her face still soft with sleep. She looked adorable.
I gestured to the blender on the counter. “Want a protein shake?”
