6 Mountain Brothers for Christmas

Means nothing. Yeah, right. I couldn't stop my ego from growing larger, knowing that Violet Maddox thought I was hot. Me. A man old enough to be her father. Sure, Jessica was younger than me by a few years and that boosted the old self esteem a bit. But Violet was a fresh out of college young woman with the world wide open to her – and boys her own age undoubtedly beating down her door, begging for a date. And she thought I was hot.

So yeah, it meant something to me. Even if it was just a passing comment that didn't mean a lot to her.

Violet was making copies when I walked by her desk. She was facing away from me and probably didn't even see or hear me come over to her cubicle. She was distracted, bent over and fighting with the machine in front of her. I chuckled as I listened to her cursing under her breath as she tried to get the machine to cooperate with her. I stood there for a moment without saying anything. All I could focus on was the nice curve of her ass in that tight, pencil skirt. I caught myself staring a little bit too long, and when she turned around, the color rose in both of our cheeks.

“Oh God,” she said, putting a hand over her heart, “I didn't hear you behind me or I wouldn't have said those kinds of things.”

“It's okay, the copy machine can be a pain in the ass sometimes,” I said with a laugh.

“Still, I need to be more careful.”

“The hell you do, Violet,” I said, “It's me. You know that shit doesn't bother me. So relax. It's okay.”

I was purposefully throwing around swear words to lighten the mood for her, and to make her laugh. Because when she laughed, she laughed all the way to her eyes and it was a beautiful sight.

“Well if you say it's okay,” she said, biting her lip and looking up at me through her thick, black lashes, “You're the boss after all.”

“And don't you forget it,” I said with a wink.

As I said it, I couldn't help but hear the flirtatious undertones, but that's not what I meant. Not at all.

Or was it?

Because the fact of the matter was, if this hadn't been Violet Maddox, the daughter of my best friend, I'd have been all over her in a heartbeat already. Her age didn't bother me, not for a fling or just some fun. Hell, I might even consider dating someone her age if she was the right girl for me. No, the only reason this one was off-limits was because my loyalty to her family meant more to me than nailing a fine piece of ass.

And because Violet was more than just a fine piece of ass. So much more. She was also smart, caring, sweet, innocent – she was the whole package. Some guy needed to treat her right, treat her like a queen, and I knew that guy wasn't me.

“Let's go to lunch,” I said. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Anything,” she said. “I'm not picky.”

I predicted that she was going to say that. Being her first day and all, she wasn't going to impose her own tastes on me. Plus, she was a typical, indecisive female, which was why I had a few places in mind already.

“How about sushi? Think it's too early for a little sake?”

“It's never too early when you're the boss.”

“Or, when you're the boss's assistant,” I added. “Come on, I think we could use a break. We're working too hard.”

“We've hardly done anything today,” she said with a laugh.

I shrugged. “One of the benefits of being the boss, I guess.”

CHAPTER FIVE - VIOLET

Here I was having lunch with Sebastian at a fancy sushi restaurant in Beverly Hills. Who'd have thought this was going to be my life? Sure, it was a working lunch and not exactly a romantic lunch date I'd fantasized about for so many years, but it was nice and it would do.

Besides, he looked stunning, as always, sitting across from me. So much so, I caught myself staring far too long into his dreamy eyes at times, and had to remind myself to look away. I also caught myself looking around and noticing the glares of envy on the faces of some of the other women in the restaurant. I had to restrain myself from smirking and taunting them.

“So, about Bali,” I said, bringing up the trip we'd barely discu

ssed since my interview, “How long do you think we'll be gone?”

“Five days, I expect,” he said, taking a long sip of his sake.

He'd ordered some for both of us, but mine sat untouched and I sipped from my glass of water. I still wasn't sure I should be drinking on a work lunch, especially when it was with Sebastian. My mouth could get me in trouble even when I was sober. I couldn't imagine the things I'd say with alcohol in my system.

“But we could always stay a few extra days to look around or enjoy the beach. If you want,” he added.