“There are a few things I need to say.”
“I figured,” he said, and then his hand reached out, clasped my calf, and tugged me across the middle cushion toward him.
I let out a small squeak of surprise as his hands settled on my waist and he lifted me onto his lap.
It was effortless. My knees fell on either side of his waist, pressing into the cushions with ease.
He didn’t kiss me. Instead, he simply looked at me, his eyes drinking me in. His hand slid up my spine, over my neck, and into my hair.
I leaned into his touch, loving the way it felt to be so close to him.
“You were too far away,” he said simply.
“What does this mean for us?” I whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment but too overwhelmed to keep the questions burning in my head to myself.
“Whatever you want it to mean,” he murmured, his nose trailing along my neck again.
“For my job, I mean. And everything else?—”
He pressed a gentle kiss into the small divot of my throat, and I gasped softly, fighting the urge to melt in his arms completely.
He was making it very hard to keep my cool.
“Jay,” I said.
He murmured against my skin. “Hmm…”
“Work. My job.”
“Nothing has to change with your job. We keep things professional at work,” he said finally, pulling back so he could look at me fully again.
“Is it even possible to date your boss and not have weirdness? Like what if I need a raise and you say no?” I bit my lip, all the fears coming back suddenly.
“Hope,” he said, completely serious. “You can have as many raises as you want.”
“See, but that’s not fair. That’s favoritism.”
He groaned and leaned in, his head falling to my shoulder. “Hope, you just finally admitted you’re falling for me. Do you really need to know what happens next, or can we just enjoy this moment?”
I thought about that for a second. “Well, I don’t know.”
He sighed. “Do you want me to be completely honest with you right now?”
“Yes. Please,” I said, feeling myself spiral and needing him to ground me.
He reached up to cup my face, his large hand splaying across my skin with his thumb resting beneath my chin.
“I don’t plan on having you work for me forever, so this boss issue is going to be irrelevant.”
“What do you mean?” My brow furrowed.
“You don’t want to work as a hygienist forever, do you?”
“Well, not exactly.”
“What do you really want to do for a living, Hope?”
I looked down, but his thumb pressed under my chin, giving me no choice but to meet his eyes.
