He sighed with a resigned look on his face, wiping his hands on the fabric of his shorts. “I understand.” He stood up, yawning again and meeting my eyes. “I think I’m going to head out. I’m exhausted.”
“Okay. I’ll walk you out.” I went to stand, but he held out a hand for me to take. It was entirely unnecessary, but I put my hand in his anyway. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He motioned for me to go first, which I got a wonderful whiff of his cologne. It was subtle, wearing off most of the day, but I hummed in response. He walked through the doorway and took a couple steps down.
“Wait,” I barked.
“What’s wrong, Grace?” His face immediately went into concern, and my heart broke a little bit at his expression. It was perfect. I continued to hold up my hand and build up my courage. I stood to face him entirely, but my height forced me to look up to meet his eyes. “I wanted to thank you. Sincerely. You went above and beyond what most people would do. I owe you, majorly.”
“I had a good time. So, you’re welcome.” He grinned, and his eyes widened when I wrapped my arms all the way around him. I squeezed him tight. I always hugged like it would be the last one, and he hesitated at first. Then, he enveloped me in an embrace that somehow put some pieces back together that broke throughout the years.
He took his time pulling away and put his hand on my shoulder with a squeeze. “You give a hell of a hug.”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“No, I liked it.” He smiled sheepishly before yawning again.
“Go home. You’re dead on your feet.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He ran a strong hand over his jaw as his eyes pursued my outfit. “You rock the sweatpants and fuzzy socks look, by the way.”
“Bye Brock!” I yelled, shutting the door on him. His chuckle made my chest get warm, and I leaned against the door scolding myself. I was not falling for my boss. Not at all.
* * *
I slept like a damn baby.I woke up before my alarm and decided to walk to work since it was beautiful outside that day. It was my favorite weather in the Midwest, cool and crisp in the morning but perfect in the afternoon. Days like this only lasted for maybe two weeks before winter took control of October. So, I chugged my coffee and left early enough to enjoy the walk.
I didn’t expect to see Brock sitting in the breakroom with a steaming cup of coffee and a crossword as soon as I walked in. He somehow made crosswords sexy.
“Hey.” He set the paper down, turning to face me. He wore the pullover, damn him. His eyes danced like he knewexactlywhat he was doing.
“Hey, Brock.” I stared at him a second longer with one brow raised before grabbing my mug and getting my own cup of steaming coffee. Yes. It was a two-coffee day because I’d lost so much sleep the past two nights.
I took up my normal spot, the chair closest to the door, and waited for Logan to arrive. It was our routine, and I wouldn’t give Brock the satisfaction of including him. I took a sip, damn well noticing his lack of movement. He did not write anything with the pen, nor did he take his eyes off me. I felt that piercing stare and forced myself not to react. There was no way he was doing that damn crossword, and we both knew it.
“Grace, you cannot ignore me like that again. I was worried,” Logan said, coming in hot. His eyes darted from me to Brock with questions brewing. “Hey Brock, what do we owe this pleasure? You a part of our gossip coffee talks now?”
“Yeah,” he said, his gaze finding mine. They were serious and protective. Ugh. Logan shrugged and soon joined me at the table like it wasn’t totally weird.
I winced as the meaning of his words took root. “I’m sorry for ignoring your text yesterday, Logan.”
“Where were you?” he asked, and I tried to fight a smile at how proud Brock looked.
“I was finishing up a major project for my class. The original file was corrupt or something.”
Logan nodded. “The one with the nice professor or the asshole?”
“Nice professor.”
“Oh, that’s right. Yourbossis the asshole.” He got that jibe in, my face breaking out into a smile. I glanced at Brock, amusement dancing in his eyes, but other than that, he had no expression.
“Can be, that’s for sure,” I added, causing Logan to chuckle. “Any new stories for me? Still need me to pretend to be your girlfriend?”
Brock stiffened at my joke, but I had no inclination to explain.
“Yeah, God. Tuesday night, was it?” Logan stared off into the distance earning a major eye roll from me. He was so over the top. He chewed on his lip when he said, “Yeah, I found this girl on Tinder, but she ended up being an ex from high school. Talk about awkward. I showed up at her place, bolting as soon as she opened the door. Hell to the no.”
“You’re a mess, Logan. A mess.” I laughed, taking a large sip of my brew. “Did she say anything?”
