Chapter 63
STEPHANIE
“Good morning, beautiful.” Jeremiah smiled when I got into his car. He pulled up at the curb outside my apartment at exactly seven a.m. “Sleep well?”
“I did,” I said, immediately noticing a difference in him. “You seem to have slept really well.”
He smirked and leaned over to greet me with a deep kiss. “I would’ve slept better if you were there with me.”
Smacking him lightly on the shoulder, I couldn’t help but return his playful, yet passionate kiss. His tongue parted my lips and delved into my mouth, stroking until I melted into him and wound my hands into his hair.
He tasted like apples and mint and smelled of his expensive, masculine shower gel. It barely registered in my mind that he wasn’t wearing any cologne today. It was just him, clean and fresh.
One of his warm hands rested at the nape of my neck while the other was pressed to the small of my back, enveloping me in him and holding me there. Releasing my lips, he kissed my jaw and nuzzled my neck. “It definitely would’ve been a much better night if you were there, but I’m just happy to see you now.”
I pulled back from him just enough to make out the expression in his eyes. They were unlike how I’d seen them before. The guard that usually sat stoically in front of them was missing in action this morning.
It was more like the Jeremiah I got to see when we spent time alone together, never on the way to or at work. His facial muscles were relaxed, his smiles coming easily. “I can see you’re happy now, what gives?”
He reached across me to buckle my seatbelt. I’d gotten so lost in watching him I forgot we had to get going if we were going to have any hope of getting to work on time. Monday morning traffic could be brutal.
Jitters skittered through me at the thought of going to work. Facing Jance after everything that happened last week was not going to be fun.
Sure, I’d taken Tiana’s words to heart and decided that I was a badass who could handle anything the grumpy old bastard threw my way, but that didn’t mean I had to look forward to facing it.
Jeremiah pushed the button to start the engine when I was buckled in, but he kept his hand on my knee. “I’m just excited to be with my girl. Today’s going to be a great day.”
Excitement rolled off him in waves, but it seemed unlikely that it was all because of me. Especially since he was dressed so casually. Something was going on with him. Whatever it was certainly seemed good. Curiosity clawed its way from my chest to my tongue.
“What’s going on with you today?”
He glanced at me, eyes light and dancing. “I told you. It’s going to be a great day.”
“Yeah,” I said. “For a Monday, I’m sure it will be once we get done with dealing with your dad.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said dismissively. Unlike what usually happened when his dad came up, I noticed his muscles didn’t tense. He was as relaxed and easy breezy as he had been since he picked me up.
I didn’t want to be a killjoy, but I also didn’t understand. I felt my eyebrows knit as I looked his over, one of his arms resting on the window of his car with his hand casually on the steering wheel while the other sat on the gear lever with his fist open.
This was not the Jeremiah I’d come to know and lo—, like. Well, it was. It just usually wasn’t like this with him before work. “I know you said you’d handle it, but I’m going to have to speak to your father sometime.”
“Eventually? Yeah, I’m sure you will.” His hand traveled back to my knee and stayed there this time. “Relax, angel. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Nothing for me to worry about? I’m about to face my boss’s boss after yelling at him. That hardly seems like nothing to me.”
“It’s nothing,” he repeated, smiling reassuringly before turning his eyes back to the road. “I have it all planned out.”
“Is your outfit part of your plan for work today?” I asked, curiosity still burning about why he was dressed the way he was. Being the company owner’s son, I supposed he could take some liberties with the dress code occasionally. But I never saw him do it.
Jeremiah shook his head. “Nah. We won’t be at work long.”
“What are you talking about?” I mentally paged through our schedules for today. There was something wrong with my calendar app on my phone this morning. It showed nothing scheduled for either of us for the day, the whole week was clear.
I assumed I’d somehow lost synchronization during the night with the calendar I diligently kept updated at Williams Inc. I had looked over our respective weeks before falling asleep last night, and it was as hectic a week as any. “We haven’t been there for a couple of days. It’s going to take us all day just to catch up. We can’t go playing hooky, not today.”
He shrugged, the corners of his mouth tilting into a mysterious smile. “I have other plans than work in mind for today. You’ll see. It’s going to be great.”
“Jeremiah!” I exclaimed, exasperated. “We have a ton or two of stuff to get done today, not the least of which is dealing with the fallout from last week with your dad.”