Who's the Boss Now (Managing the Bosses 3)

"I don't know. I'm scared." Tears burned her gaze again.

"Well, if you love him, then he should know that. It's silly to hold that inside. You're already vulnerable because of the feeling. Share it, and I bet it changes things."

"Maybe you're right."

"I'm always right, silly girl," he laughed, and Jamie forced out a tight chuckle.

"Thanks for the talk."

"Any time. Go win my brother back. I want him with the best, and, for him, that will always be you."

Chapter 18

Jamie changed into a blue cotton dress and pulled her hair down, brushing through it a few times before slipping on a pair of pretty sandals and heading up to Alex's. She pulled the key out from under the potted plant on the deck, wondering if he would ever give her one of her own. Maybe having a key to his place was too much, too intimate for him.

She turned the alarm off inside the house and went through the living room and kitchen, opening windows to let in the fresh air. It was far too gorgeous outside not to invite it in. She needed an ambiance of serenity around them for the discussion that was headed their way. She wasn't leaving without full resolution of everything facing them. He was too important to put it off and act as if it didn't matter.

Murray, Alex’s chef, had made a meal that was in the fridge. Jamie checked the pantry and inside the refrigerator. She needed something to do. Murray’s food could be eaten tomorrow. She could make dinner now. Something simple, yet elegant. Jamie started a pot of rice and worked to sauté mushrooms and onions before slipping the chicken into the oven. She put some soft jazz music on her phone and danced around the kitchen, feeling better all of a sudden.

The fact that her parents were going to try to work through things was a huge weight off her shoulders she didn't even realize she was carrying. The idea of them being apart was, funnily enough, a good thing,

but maybe that was just what she wanted to believe. After so many years of them being together and most of them being decently happy years, there was something there to save.

The door closed in the front foyer, and she paused from cutting tomatoes for the salad. Her heart started to race as butterflies danced in her stomach. She needed to tread carefully. Their parting words were quite terse and hateful to one another.

"Jamie?" His voice was deep, but somehow soft.

"In the kitchen." She wiped her hands and set the towel down before walking toward the living room. She stopped in the doorway as he held up a bottle of wine and a bouquet of red roses.

"Great minds think alike?"

She laughed as tears blurred her vision. "I'm sorry. For everything."

The plan was to let him apologize first, but seeing him standing there, with flowers in his hands, looking sexy in his slacks and button-down shirt with the look of a thousand apologies on his face broke her in two.

"Me, too, baby." He moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her, his hands still full.

Her fingers tugged at the roughness on his cheeks as she pulled him in for a long kiss. She breathed deeply and opened herself up, wanting him to penetrate her deeply with his warm tongue. She groaned at the taste of need she found on his tongue.

The firm press of his body to hers was almost too good, and though breaking the kiss seemed a tragedy, she pulled back and smiled. "I'm tying you up and spanking you if you actually write me up at work." She moved back and took the flowers before walking into the kitchen and searching for a vase.

"I wrote you up. Spank me?" He stopped behind her, set the wine down on the counter, and slid his arms over her hips. His large hands cupped her sex and he ground himself against her rear, whispering softly in her ear. "I'm an asshole, but I wanna be your asshole. Forgive me. Please. I got scared and, honestly, I'm still shaken."

She forgot her task of getting the roses set up and turned in his arms, snaking hers around his neck and lifting to her toes to pepper him with kisses. "I'm scared, too, but you and I have to stop beating each other up. If we're going to move forward together, then know that, no matter what... I'm here for you. I'm going to be beside you to help with the Annette situation, to raise the baby with you, to take care of you and anything else you need. That's me, Alex."

He pressed his forehead to hers, closed his eyes, and took a shaky breath. "And I want that to be me for you. Not a shell. Not half-assed. I want to be everything to you."

"Good." She pressed against him. "Let's eat dinner and figure out a few things, and then we're getting in the shower. I need someone to wash my back."

"And your butt?" He opened his eyes and smiled wickedly.

"You have a tool that can do that?"

"Oh, hell, I’ve so many tools that’re waiting to drill into you." He wagged his eyebrows and chuckled.

"I want all of them. All of you." She nipped at his lips and turned to focus on the task of the roses. She set them in the sink when she couldn’t find a vase. "Open the wine for us and let's have salads first."

"Okay. Smells delicious in here." He walked to the stove and took a few minutes to taste everything. The small sounds he made while burning his tongue or fingertips caused her lips to turn up in a smile. She watched him over her shoulder, falling more in love with him by the minute.