Yeah, I could do the kissing part. I was an adult. I could kiss my hot boss and my best-friend. The brush of his warm breath on my lip, the proximity of his mouth, the feel of his stubble against my skin...
Yeah, I could do that.
Right?
“These seem... reasonable,” I said, handing the phone back. “Though rule four might be optimistic.”
“How so?”
“Fake dating is a romance novel trope for a reason,” I shrugged. “People catch feelings. It usually gets messy.”
“Then we’ll be careful,” he said, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “We are both adults. We can handle this professionally.”
Professionally? Uh-huh. Sure. Because this was a business arrangement. Nothing more.
So why did that thought make my chest ache?
A cry echoed from upstairs. I started to move, but Derek held up a hand.
“I’ll get her. Finish your coffee.”
“Derek, you don’t have to?—”
But he was already climbing the stairs, and I was left standing in his kitchen, a coffee mug warming my hands, trying to figure out what the hell was happening to me.
Ten minutes later, Derek returned with Lily on his hip, and I nearly dropped my mug.
He had changed her diaper. Put her in a clean onesie. And now he was preparing a bottle with one hand while bouncing her gently with the other, whispering something that made her giggle. His biceps strained slightly as he balanced her, and the sight of his powerful arms being so gentle made me feel weird.
“How do you know how to do that?” I asked.
Jack never managed to change her diaper, and he always needed my help even though I had taught him multiple times.
“YouTube,” he said, looking sheepish. “I watched some videos around three this morning when I couldn’t sleep.”
My chest tightened. He had stayed up watching parenting videos for Lily. For us.
I watched as he settled onto the couch with my daughter, cradling her with unexpected competence as he offered her the bottle. Lily latched on immediately, her little hands reaching up to touch his face while she drank, and Derek smiled down at her with such genuine warmth that my throat went tight.
No.
No, no, no.
I couldn’t think of him that way. I couldn’t let this domestic scene get under my skin.
Derek was a playboy who went through women like tissues. I had spent the last year scheduling his dates, for God’s sake. Three months was his record, like the engagement with Kelly. He had never had a relationship last longer, never shown any interest in commitment or anything resembling a future.
He was my boss and the man who signed my paychecks and made me redo reports when they weren’t up to his standards.
And most importantly, I had just caught my husband cheating on me less than twelve hours ago. My marriage was in shambles and the last thing I needed was to develop feelings for another man. Especially one who had proven over and over that he couldn’t commit to anyone.
“Paige?”
Derek’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He was looking at me with concern, Lily still drinking her bottle in his arms.
“You okay? You seem lost in thought.”
“I’m fine,” I lied, forcing a smile. “Just thinking about everything I need to do today. I have to go back to the apartment, get my things, talk to Jack about… about everything.”
