The Boss Project

CHAPTER 12

Evie

I didn’t even realize I’d been staring until a slow, sexy smile spread across Merrick’s face.

He was halfway across the room, talking to two men. In my defense, he was almost directly in my line of sight, so how could I not look at him? It had nothing to do with how good he looked in his black tuxedo, or the way he slipped one hand into his trouser pocket, his thumb staying casually hooked on the outside. And it definitely had nothing to do with how broad his shoulders looked in the suit, or the way his shirt tapered down to a narrow waist. Nope. He was just standing right where I happened to be looking. At least he had been, anyway, because now he was walking right toward me.

He put a hand on the back of Will’s empty chair. “You haven’t danced all evening.”

“I didn’t see you out there either.”

He held out a hand. “Fix both of those right now?”

I hesitated but then realized I was being ridiculous. Colleagues had been dancing together all night. This was a work function, not a date. So I put my hand in his and smiled. “Sure.”

Merrick led me to the dance floor and pulled me close. Suddenly I realized he was the first man I’d danced with since the night of my wedding fiasco. I’d had to dance with Christian at the reception when we’d been announced—ten minutes before all hell broke loose.

Merrick must’ve noticed my face. He loosened his grip and pulled back. “We don’t have to dance.”

“No, no.” I shook my head. “I want to dance. My head was just somewhere else.”

He looked into my eyes. “You sure?”

I nodded. “Positive.”

I didn’t get the feeling he believed me, but he nodded, nonetheless, and we went back to dancing. After a minute of awkward silence, I sighed.

“The last time I danced was at my wedding.” I smiled sadly. “I love to dance. It just brought back a memory. That’s all.”

A look of understanding came across Merrick’s face, and he nodded. He opened his mouth to say something but then shut it and looked away.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

I assumed he was going to make a comment about my wedding, so I prodded. “No, you were going to say something and stopped yourself. I want to know what it was.”

Merrick frowned. “I was going to say you look beautiful tonight.”

Definitely not what I’d expected. “So why did you stop yourself?”

“I didn’t want to be inappropriate.”

“Need I again remind you that you told me you only wanted to hire me because I wasn’t qualified?”

“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

“I doubt it.” I smiled. “But thank you for the compliment. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Merrick’s eyes twinkled “Is that why I caught you staring at me a few times?”

“Oh my God.” I laughed. “Full of yourself much? You were standing right in front of me.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And to think I was going to compliment you on your cologne, too. But you’d probably think I want to marry you.”

Merrick twirled me around the dance floor. “Nah. It means you want to make out with me, not marriage just yet.”