“Duke,” I warned. “Why are you here helping me when you have a girlfriend?”
He straightened. “You didn’t hear?”
“What?”
“We broke up. I figured Anita or somebody would have spread it all over the office by now.”
“You…you broke up?”
“A few days ago.”
I stared at him, stunned. My head had a hard time computing his words. Should I hug him? Offer condolences? Or maybe congratulations?
At my long and awkward pause he cleared his throat. “I should probably warn you, Kiss Cam, that RDM has a very strict no-dating-the-interns rule.”
Was mental whiplash a thing? Because I definitely had it. Shouldn’t this man be drowning his sorrows in a bar, or buying a puppy, or booking a cruise after breaking up with a girl he had dated for almost three years? Not staring at me like something was amusing him. Something wasn’t adding up, but he was moving the conversation too fast. I’d have to circle back to over-thinking at a later date.
“So, anyway, I’m going to need to make sure you can handle being in the office and not flirting with me. Especially now that I’m back on the market.” He twirled his keys lazily on his fingers.
“You’re worried aboutmeflirting with you?” I tilted my head, and raised one eyebrow. It was quite possible he was prowling for a rebound. Why not start with the girl he had already gotten to kiss him once before? Ew. Prowling wasn’t a word that fit Duke Webber, but three years and no tears?
“Yeah, see”—he pointed to my face—“that smile right there. The one you’re trying to hide. What am I supposed to think with that?”
I could feel the flush rising on my face, unable to help the delicious heat glowing everywhere inside my body. I bit my lip to attempt to rein in the smile growing wider once I realized what he was doing.
He groaned. “Don’t bite your lip.”
Immediately, my teeth dropped my lip, but I made the mistake of looking into his sweet, smiling eyes, and my hands flew to my cheeks, where an unfamiliar heat bloomed. I needed to stop this. It wasn’t just the fact that I was in a slightly sweaty shirt and stained work pants while he wore a suit and tie. Thatshouldn’tmatter. In a perfect world, that didn’t matter. The real problem was that I could get fired. He could not. He was my boss. I needed this job. Correction: I needed to WIN this job. I’d have to be careful before he weaseled his way into my life and, more importantly, my thoughts. Things had changed for me in the three years since I’d seen him—and not for the better. He was officially off limits. If there was anything I loved to follow, it was rules, so I ignored the forearms and his crinkly brown eyes and assured him flirting wouldn’t be a problem.
“Great. One more thing. The elephant in the room,” Duke said, folding his arms. “Since you still owe me, I need to know if you can handle doing the lift without trying anything inappropriate.”
“I’m not doing the lift.” I crossed my arms now, gaining a little of my edge back.
“You worried about making me uncomfortable?”
I laughed, in spite of myself. Duke loved to tease. That was all this was. I gathered my purse and made my way closer, lightly elbowing him in the stomach while he opened the door for me. He then proceeded to ride the elevator down to the parking garage with me, telling me a funny story about him and Ryan back in high school, before walking me to my car, two rows down from his Toyota.
He inspected my new tires, kicking them once or twice for good measure.
“Easy. Those cost me a pretty penny,” I said, pleased I was now able to joke about the tires to some degree.
“They’ve got good tread,” he determined. “You’ll be glad you have them in the winter.”
“My car will probably give out before they do.”
Duke’s eyes left mine to rake in my gold, rusted Civic in all its glory.
“Nah. It’s a Honda. It will last forever—or 300,000 miles, whichever comes first.”
My heart lightened at his approval for some reason, which was strange. I didn’t need his approval, nor did I seek it out, but…it felt nice all the same. It was only a Civic, but I’d gotten it for a steal years ago. The car was one good windstorm away from demise, but his eyes were kind when he said it, giving me the space, once more, to feel completely at ease in his company.
Our eyes held a minute too long before I unlocked my car and opened my door. “Well, thanks again. See you tomorrow.”
“Are you sure you’ll be able to resist me?” he called, a teasing smile on his face.
“Try me,” I replied brazenly before my eyes popped, and I thought about what I was doing. “No! Wait. Don’t try me. No flirting.”
“You said it.”
