I bit back a laugh. “All right. I’ve learned, through a whole lot of therapy, that you can’t look at things like that kid anymore. Step back and pretend it wasn’t you. Would you still be mad at that child?”
“I don’t know.” He set his glass down. “Regardless, I’ve wanted to apologize for over a decade, so I’m sorry, Anna.”
There was a sweetness in Nick that caught me off guard and was way too appealing. “You’re forgiven,” I said softly. Sometimes that’s all a person needed.
“Thank you.” Now his smile was charming and boyish. He slid a hand into my hair. “You really turned out beautiful.”
That was the booze talking, for sure. I had good genes, odd ones that didn’t identify with either side of my family, but pretty was on my best day. Both Donna and Tessa were beautiful in totally different ways from each other. I should’ve backed away from him, but I felt all warm and gooey, and his hand was strong. Not as calloused as Aiden’s, but close. “What are you doing?” I asked, my gaze dropping to his mouth.
“This.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across mine.
Desire danced through me right before warning. Oh, man, he felt good. He slowly kissed me, his mouth coaxing, his lips firm. My head swam, and I kissed him back, just for a second. Well, I meant for it to be a second. Nick Basanelli, not surprisingly, knew how to kiss.
He tasted like whiskey. The good kind.
But he was my boss.
I drew back, almost in slow motion. “We can’t do this.” For one thing, he was drunk. For the other, I couldn’t be the woman who slept with her boss. There were no secrets in my life. But it would probably be totally worth it in the short term.
He released me; his gaze slumberous. “You’re right. Completely.” He moved back, still graceful after drinking so much. “Now you have to sober up before driving home. How about we put in a movie?”
The switch caught me off guard, and now my body was all on fire. “Good idea.” I didn’t care which movie he chose.
He turned on the television and pivoted to kick his feet out onto a couple of boxes. “Just so you know, I’m not always going to be the prosecutor and your boss.”
I blinked. Was that a promise or a threat? “I’m aware,” I murmured.
And boy, was I.
Chapter 20
Working hungover sucked, and Nick hadn’t kept his promise to treat me to breakfast, instead opting to take warrants to the judge again. Worse yet, it was Wednesday. The anniversary. So I sat in my office chair, my head aching, waiting to hear from Nick about work.
Donna popped her head in the door. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Everything inside me perked up at the twin lattes in her hands. “God bless you.”
She chuckled, a light tinkling sound. Then she moved inside, shut the door, and handed over the coffee.
I took it gratefully and drank several gulps. Hazelnut—my favorite. Then I studied my oldest sister. Donna looked a little like a young Isabella Rossellini with her black hair and intelligent eyes. Her hair was in a bob and her lipstick a muted mauve, and she wore a pretty pink suit with to-die-for purple pumps. “Are you showing a house today?” I asked.
She nodded. “Three of them. Two are big commission houses on the lake.” She’d been a realtor for about five years and kicked ass.
Since it was the day of the dreaded oncoming letter, I’d see a lot of my family just dropping by to make sure I was okay. It was awesome when they brought treats. “I’m sure you’ll sell both,” I said, meaning it.
She nodded. “If your boss is staying in town, he should look at a couple.”
Heat flared into my face.
Donna took notice, daintily sipping her drink. “That’s a pretty blush.”
I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I accidentally kissed Nick last night.”
“Accidentally?” As usual, Donna took a moment to think through her response. “Did you trip and fall on his face?”
A laugh burst out of me, followed by amusement that lifted the cloud that had been pressing down on me all morning. “Well, that’s one way to get a promotion.” Then I sobered and told her the entire story.
She wiped lipstick off the lid of her cup. “You know, that does sound rather romantic. Those Basanelli boys are known to be good kissers—along with everything else that comes after the kissing. Well, except for the commitment part.”
