Casual Affair

She seemed to sense his concern and rubbed his chest comfortingly. “I’m on the pill. We’re okay.”

He fell back in relief. Now that he knew, he never wanted to use a condom with her again.

They spent a few more minutes lying in bed in peaceful silence before they unlatched themselves from each other and began to get dressed. If they didn’t both have to go to work, he would have dragged her back to bed in a heartbeat.

“We have plans tonight, by the way, so don’t schedule anything,” he told her as he buttoned up his shirt.

She glanced up at him in question. “We do?”

He nodded. “With Paul and Holly.”

Her brow knitted in confusion. “Who are Paul and Holly?”

He rolled his eyes and tossed a small wrapped package to her, complete with red bow. She was beaming as she opened it, her giddy expression practically stopping his heart. When she saw what it was, she bounced up and down on her bare feet.

“We’re going to have a Breakfast at Tiffany’s night?”

“Don’t ever say I’m not generous.”

Out of nowhere, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, hugging him tight.

He chuckled. “I’ll have to watch romances with you more often if this is the kind of reaction I can expect.”

“You remembered it was my favorite.” The serious tone of her voice took him a little off-guard, his heart splintering at the vulnerability he heard.

“Of course I did, sweetheart.”

She released him seconds later, but it took him a good while to shake off that hug. She’d been genuinely touched by his gesture. “Want to grab something to eat real quick?” he asked.

She finished zipping up her dress and answered, “Sorry, I can’t. I need to get to the office. Felicity and I are transitioning the showroom to our autumn sets today, so it’s going to be a long day. I can’t believe it’s already almost fall.” She looked over her shoulder at him and winked. “I’ll just grab something at the coffee shop down the street from the office.”

Disappointment gripped him and he felt stupid for it. The woman could dictate his emotions so easily, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Pull yourself together. “You’re still coming to the store tomorrow to work on display placement, right?”

She laughed and walked over to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m not even gone yet and you’re already missing me?”

Lately, he felt like he was always missing her. Every minute of every day he wasn’t with her. Which was a frightening realization, considering the fact that their tryst—or whatever the hell this was—was on a countdown. His return to London was fast approaching. The closer the date came, the more he began to panic about his future with Bea, and whether or not he had one.

But no way could he tell her any of that. It would just scare her off that much quicker.

“I’m only making sure my employee stays on schedule.” He smacked her arse to emphasize his point.

She huffed and slapped his arm. “Coworker. We’re working together.”

“Yeah, but it’s much more fun to think of me being your boss. So many appealing images come to mind at the thought of you working under me.”

She rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse. “Uh-huh. Try to act out any of those images tomorrow in front of everyone and see what happens.”

He shot out an arm to pull her back against him. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her before she left him for the day. “You know you love the idea of me taking you over my desk,” he whispered. “As a matter of fact, we might have to try that soon. I’ve been thinking about it ever since that first meeting in the conference room.”

“You mean when you were coming onto me while you were hiring me?”

He hummed in satisfaction at the memory. “Don’t tell me you weren’t turned on. I saw it on your face. I know I made you wet.”

Her silence was all the answer he needed.

When he began to harden against her—he couldn’t help it—she pushed him away, shaking her head. “Come on, Casanova. We’re both going to be late if you don’t put that thing away.”