“What did you do before I saved you from the pigeon horde?” I ask, as if I don’t know her whole history.
She shrugs. “A lot of stuff. I went to a clown school.” She pauses, probably waiting for me to interject some kind of shock, but I merely nod and motion for her to continue as if clown school is perfectly natural. “I delivered pizzas but that didn’t work out because the GPS was broken and I kept getting lost. I asked for a different GPS system, but they said it wasn’t broken.” Her small chin tilts upward as if she expects me to challenge this.
“I’m certain it was broken.”
“Right. It was. I worked retail, which was okay but they had to let me go because whenever someone asked if their clothes looked okay, I’d give them an honest opinion instead of lying so they’d buy more. My boss didn’t like that.”
“It’s important to be ethical.”
“And then,” she says, picking up steam, “I signed up for a singing telegram service, telling them I had this clown background. I got fired, and honestly, it was for the best.” She raises her palms. “I can’t juggle. I hit my head with a lemon so hard I got cut. See?” She sweeps her hair aside. “This is my scar.”
I lean in until my lips are against her sweet skin. “It must’ve hurt,” I murmur. “I’ll put out the order to cancel all lemon trees.”
I want to do more than press my lips against her forehead. I want to lick her from head to toe. I want to nuzzle the secret place behind her ear and see if it makes her shudder. I want to lay the flat of my tongue against her pert nipples until they harden like bullet tips. I want to ease her back against the leather sofa cushions, push up her skirt and feast on the nectar between her legs until she’s crying for mercy.
A small hand rises to press itself against my chest. I don’t know if she’s pushing me away or bracing herself. Either way, I force myself to back off. This is her first day with me. I don’t want to scare her away. I reach for the HR folder.
“Here is our HR manual. If you have any problems, you are free to report them to Cathy. She’s a former vice squad detective and takes every complaint seriously. If you ever feel uncomfortable, you report it to Cathy immediately. She has power over everyone here, including myself.”
“Wow. Okay. That sounds like a good system.” She takes the manual. “What is it that you want me to do?”
“I need you to plan an event for me. It will be an intimate gathering for my family and friends and should seat about one hundred people. There will need to be food, a full bar, a band, a dance floor.”
“Sounds like a wedding.” She grins.
A broad smile stretches across my face. “Exactly like a wedding.”
7
Luna
“You picked out flowers and set up a cake tasting?” MJ asks as her knife comes down on the vegetables. She slices and dices away, not even looking as she does it. She has all of her attention focused right on me. It used to freak me out when she would zone in on me but now I expect it. Her knife acts as another limb to her. She has no need to look at what it’s chopping. She knows exactly what it’s doing.
“I picked Buttery Bake Shop for the bakery.”
MJ moans, dropping her head back to look at the ceiling. “God, that place is so good.”
MJ can cook but she can’t bake. It’s the only thing she couldn’t master in the kitchen. I can barely load the dishwasher without breaking something. Never mind bake a cake or cook anything, for that matter. MJ and I really like the place we live in so we both agree that I should stay out of the kitchen. I may have burned a thing or two in my time but who’s actually counting?
Today was fun. Maddox stood next to me asking me what I thought would look nice. Each thing I would point to he would nod in agreement. He’d smile and look proud of my choices. I felt like I was actually doing something right. I didn’t want the work day to end and I felt bad turning him down for dinner, but I already promised MJ I’d be home to tell her about my first day. I swear he looked disappointed for a moment but he told me family was important. As sad as I was for missing a meal with him, it warmed me that he understood family was important. I know he came from a larger one than mine. It has always only ever been MJ and me.