“Practice makes perfect.”
“I had a foster mom who always said that.” The words popped out before she could censor them.
He studied her for a long moment.
Her face heated, but she resisted the urge to squirm.
“Foster mom?”
There was no taking it back now. “I was in the system for a while.” He wasn’t getting any more than that. She never brought up her childhood. It made people see her differently, like some kind of underdog. Some kind of pitiful project.
“Must’ve been difficult.”
“It made me stronger.” That’s what she told herself. And it was the truth.
He set his fingers on the tattoo at her wrist, his touch stirring every skin cell to life. “Is that what this is all about?”
Most people didn’t recognize the fawohodie symbol. They assumed it was some kind of simplified butterfly.
“I looked it up.The desire to chart one’s own course or determine one’s own fate.”
“Right.” She shifted her weight. She usually just told people it meant independence. His knowing the more specific definition made her uncomfortable. She hoped he wouldn’t press her about it. She hadn’t much enjoyed her childhood, and she sure wasn’t interested in reliving it.
“You’re strong and ambitious,” he said. “I have a feeling you’ll reach all the goals you set for yourself.”
Relieved he’d shifted the subject, she smiled at him. “I won’t stop until I do.”
“I’ll just bet you won’t.”
Their gazes met and clung. They were closer than she’d realized, their shoulders touching. His fingertips lingered on her wrist. In the shade of the trees, his eyes were the color of worn denim. They softened as the moment hung, suspended and mesmerizing. Awareness crackled between them.
His attention dropped to her mouth and her lips tingled with want. She leaned forward.
Or he did.
Somehow they met in the middle and his lips brushed hers, gentle and warm. Her skin hummed at the touch.
He lingered there for just a breath, then brushed her lips again. Testing, searching.
She tilted her head and returned the kiss because she couldn’tnot.His lips were perfect, his kiss drawing her out. It was a giving kind of kiss, not a taking kind. She hadn’t realized there was a difference until now.
It was soft and slow and still somehow managed to send her nervous system into overdrive. Her heart was about to leap from her chest and her body buzzed with want. She held herself back—just barely—from drawing closer. She wanted to feel his chest pressed against her. She wanted to touch that freshly shaven jaw and see if his skin felt like velvet.
What was she doing? He was a friend. He was herboss. She shouldn’t develop feelings for someone she couldn’t have. She had a job waiting inBoston and she was only here through December. The reasons this kiss was a bad idea just kept coming.
As if sensing her resistance, he ended the kiss. But he didn’t move away. Their breaths mingled between them.
She kept her eyes closed, unwilling to let go of the magical moment just yet. “I’m leaving at the end of the year.”
“December’s a long way off. And those weresomesparks.”
She couldn’t argue with either of those sentiments. Air stirred between them. She opened her eyes and found his half-lidded gaze as sexy as anything she’d ever seen. But she didn’t need a distraction from her work. From her goals. She’d come too far to be thrown off course by an attractive boss. “This is a bad idea.”
He blinked and that sexy look was gone, replaced by an expression far less threatening. He put space between them. Turned to lean back against the railing, as casual as a backyard barbecue. “Can I tell you what I’m thinking?”
“Sure. Go for it.”
“We haven’t talked much about our previous relationships, but my last one was pretty serious and ended with her leaving for greener pastures.”
