“I know, but you said you were addicted too. I don’t want you fiending for it all day. You might resort to biting a museum guest.”
I press my lips together to keep from saying the thought that comes to my mind.
You’re the only one I want to bite, and it’s not because I’m hungry.
She pulls the croissant apart down the middle, oblivious to my thoughts, and hands me the bag with the bottom half.
As I take my first bite, I soak in all the details of her office. It looks like an outward expression of her personality. She has happy plants on every surface and a few on the ground around her desk. The walls are covered in framed insect art and a picture of Millie with what I assume is her family. A sweater that looks like butterfly wings adorns the back of her chair.
Millie lifts the lid of the coffee cup, peeking at the spider inside. “Harmless wolf spider. Your office is safe.”
I nod. “So I should have that moving crew put all my stuff back?”
She laughs. “Definitely okay to return your things. We can take him out to the pollinator garden, and he can track down a good lunch for himself.”
Leaning back in her chair, she stretches her arms out to her sides with a low moan. The movement pushes her breasts against the yellow-and-white-striped fabric of her dress, drawing my eyes there like a magnet.
Fucking hell.
Save my poor soul and stop doing that.
I search her office for anything to distract me, and my gaze lands on the empty desk that used to be Calvin’s. It sits in the corner, awaiting the new department director.
Millie has never mentioned her job interview to me. She has never asked me a single question about it, and I admire her for being able to shut those thoughts down around me. But I’ve been dying to talk to her about it. I tried to the last time she was at my house, but she put her fingers over my mouth to stop me.
“How are you feeling about your second interview?” I ask, and her eyes snap to mine.
She swallows her bite. “Well, I have my week in charge in like”—she clicks the button on the side of her phone to bring up the date—“ten days. I need to get ready for that first.”
“Ah, yeah. I forgot about that step.” I nod, waiting for her to continue the conversation.
But her eyes look anywhere except at me, and her knee bounces rapidly, making me think she doesn’t want to talk to me about it. So I change the subject.
“Do you have plans tomorrow?”
Her leg stills and she lifts her brows. “Pretty sure I leave my Fridays open for you now.”
My heart swells. “Well, I have a surprise idea if you’re interested.”
“Perfect. I miss my girls.”
And that’s all it takes. My heart reaches the point where it won’t fit in my chest anymore.
Chapter 20
Millie
The sun stains the sky a deep purple as it sets over Wilhelmina’s city park. The grassy slope toward the amphitheater is full of families for an outdoor movie, andMoanahas just begun from the projector.
Finn laid out a pale yellow blanket on the lush grass and spread a picnic out around me and the girls. He has a cooler with sparkling water and juice, along with containers of fruit, cheese, lunch meat, crackers, and some chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert.
“This is perfect,” I tell him asMoana’s first song starts playing through the park while Avery and Eloise devour their snacks.
“I’ve been meaning to bring the girls to this, but I haven’t felt brave enough.” He grabs two jackets out of a bag and helps the girls into them then pulls out a woven blanket and wraps it around my shoulders.
Watching him fuss over us like a mother hen is almost too much for my heart.
“Thanks,” I murmur, reaching for a grape and popping it into my mouth, flooding my tongue with its tangy sweetness. Finn positions a pillow behind me, and I sigh at the immediate relief when I lean back into it.
