“I’ll warm up my car.”
As I get into my SUV and turn on the ignition, she gathers her things from the back seat of her car and carries them to mine.
She opens the rear door behind the passenger seat. “It’ll take me another trip to get everything, but I don’t want Powerfluff to get too cold.”
That’s when I notice her loading the cat crate onto my leather seats. “Powerfluff seems to have recovered from her Christmas tree excursion.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry about that. I’ve never brought her to work before, but I couldn’t leave her behind in my freezing-cold apartment or out in the car. I cleaned up everything in the lobby, and I promise she didn’t make a mess in my office.”
The cat stares at me as if I’m a peon, and she’s a queen. Having a name like Powerfluff no doubt affects the power dynamics between the cat and Abby. “Do you need help with your other things?”
“Nope.” She hurries to her hatchback and pulls out a small suitcase and a bag of presents. By the time she’s back at my car, her cheeks and her nose are pink and her shoulders are covered in snow. “This is all I have.”
“Get in before you catch a cold.” My voice comes out harsher than I intended, but I worry about her getting too wet.
Abby brushes her shoulders off and kicks her feet against the front tires before climbing in, which I appreciate and didn’t expect, since snow is just water, but I want her inside where she can warm up.
“Oh, wow.” She touches the seat. “It’s heated.”
“Comes in handy on days like this.” I try to sound like heated seats are no big deal, but I’m grateful the salesperson talked meinto the upgrade now. With all-wheel drive, the vehicle should be fine in these road conditions, too.
She gives me her parents’ address. As I pull out of the parking lot, I glance in the rearview mirror and see Abby’s car sitting amid tire tracks in the snow. “What about your car?”
“I’m calling a tow truck.” She’s on her phone before I can say I’ll take care of it for her, but then I remind myself it’s her car and I’m just her boss. Those last three words need to be my mantra for the drive.
Who am I kidding? The rest of my life or however long she works for me, which I hope is a long time since I’d miss seeing her every weekday in the office, would be ideal. Yes, she’s under my skin and has been since July.
The reason?
Yes, she’s beautiful, and her looks caught my eye first, but the real reasons I fell for her were her smile and her laugh when I made a joke not even a dad would make. Her reaction was so…genuine. The way her eyes lit up shifted something in my chest. A ball of warmth exploded right then and spread through me. I feel that way every time I look at her.
Which I’m not doing now.
Eyes on the road.
Grandma would be proud of me.
Abby speaks to whomever is on the opposite end of the line, stopping mid-sentence more times than I’d like. “I can’t stay with the car. It’s snowing. No, I understand you have rules, but what am I supposed to do? Great.”
Her tone tells me whatever she’s supposed to do about her car is the opposite of great. I grip the leather-covered steering wheel, reminding myself I shouldn’t get involved. Even though I want to. I really, really want to.
“Fine, goodbye.” She disconnects from the call and drops her phone onto her lap. “Bah-humbug. I pay for roadside assistance,but if you abandon your vehicle, they won’t tow you. Not that a tow truck is available for at least three hours, and in this weather, I’d freeze.”
“Leave your car in the parking lot and deal with it when you’re back.” The words stream out before I can stop them. “No one will touch the car, especially in this weather.”
“You’re right.” She half laughs. “On the off chance my car ends up being towed, that’s one less thing I have to deal with when I’m back.”
“Looking at the bright side of things.”
“At least for the next hour and a half.”
I hope her cryptic remark means she’s happy to spend time with me outside of the office. Okay, that’s the last thing I should want because I know how badly this could end. As I consider what to say, she yawns.
I remember that her electricity went off in the middle of the night. I wonder if she slept much. Most likely not, which means I know what to ask next.
“Tired?” I ask.
“A little, but I’m okay.” Another yawn.
