Chapter 8 Kissing My Hot Boss
KISSING MY HOT BOSS
PAIGE
My eyes snagged on rule number two, and heat crept up my neck. Kissing. We would have to kiss. In front of Jack. The thought made my stomach flutter with confusing feelings.
Yeah, I could do the kissing part. I was an adult. I could kiss my hot boss and my best-friend. The brush of his warm breath on my lip, the proximity of his mouth, the feel of his stubble against my skin...
Yeah, I could do that.
Right?
“These seem... reasonable,” I said, handing the phone back. “Though rule four might be optimistic.”
“How so?”
“Fake dating is a romance novel trope for a reason,” I shrugged. “People catch feelings. It usually gets messy.”
“Then we’ll be careful,” he said, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “We are both adults. We can handle this professionally.”
Professionally? Uh-huh. Sure. Because this was a business arrangement. Nothing more.
So why did that thought make my chest ache?
A cry echoed from upstairs. I started to move, but Derek held up a hand.
“I’ll get her. Finish your coffee.”
“Derek, you don’t have to—”
But he was already climbing the stairs, and I was left standing in his kitchen, a coffee mug warming my hands, trying to figure out what the hell was happening to me.
Ten minutes later, Derek returned with Lily on his hip, and I nearly dropped my mug.
He had changed her diaper. Put her in a clean onesie.
And now he was preparing a bottle with one hand while bouncing her gently with the other, whispering something that made her giggle.
His biceps strained slightly as he balanced her, and the sight of his powerful arms being so gentle made me feel weird.
“How do you know how to do that?” I asked.
Jack never managed to change her diaper, and he always needed my help even though I had taught him multiple times.
“YouTube,” he said, looking sheepish. “I watched some videos around three this morning when I couldn’t sleep.”
My chest tightened. He had stayed up watching parenting videos for Lily. For us.
I watched as he settled onto the couch with my daughter, cradling her with unexpected competence as he offered her the bottle.
Lily latched on immediately, her little hands reaching up to touch his face while she drank, and Derek smiled down at her with such genuine warmth that my throat went tight.
No.
No, no, no.
I couldn’t think of him that way. I couldn’t let this domestic scene get under my skin.
Derek was a playboy who went through women like tissues. I had spent the last year scheduling his dates, for God’s sake. Three months was his record, like the engagement with Kelly. He had never had a relationship last longer, never shown any interest in commitment or anything resembling a future.
He was my boss and the man who signed my paychecks and made me redo reports when they weren’t up to his standards.
And most importantly, I had just caught my husband cheating on me less than twelve hours ago. My marriage was in shambles and the last thing I needed was to develop feelings for another man. Especially one who had proven over and over that he couldn’t commit to anyone.
“Paige?”
Derek’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He was looking at me with concern, Lily still drinking her bottle in his arms.
“You okay? You seem lost in thought.”
“I’m fine,” I lied, forcing a smile. “Just thinking about everything I need to do today. I have to go back to the apartment, get my things, talk to Jack about… about everything.”
“You don’t have to do this alone. I’m coming with you.”
“Derek, you’ve already done more than eno—”
“I’m coming with you,” he repeated, and his voice was firm and commanding. It might have been funny since he was still feeding Lily. “You don’t have to do this by yourself, Paige.”
I should have argued and insisted I could handle it myself. But the truth was, the thought of walking back into that apartment, seeing Jack…
It terrified me.
“Okay,” I said softly.
The doorbell rang, making us both jump. Derek carefully transferred Lily to my arms and went to answer it, returning a moment later with a woman who looked to be in her sixties, with kind eyes and salt-and-pepper hair pulled back in a neat bun.
“Paige, this is Donna, my housekeeper,” Derek said. “Donna, this is Paige and her daughter, Lily. They’ll be staying here for a while.”
“Oh, what a sweetheart!” Donna’s face lit up when she saw Lily. “Don’t you worry about a thing, dear. I raised four children of my own. This little angel will be in excellent hands.”
I hesitated, my arms tightening around Lily.
“Donna’s been with me for five years,” he whispered. “I trust her completely. And we won’t be gone long. Just long enough to pack your things.”
I looked down at Lily, who was happily grabbing my hair. Then back at Derek, who was watching me with patient understanding.
“Okay,” I said, even though leaving Lily felt wrong.
But it was necessary. I’ll have to find her a babysitter.
Thirty minutes later, I was in Derek’s car—a sleek black Mercedes that smelled like leather, rain and him—heading towards the apartment. My hands were shaking in my lap, and I couldn’t seem to make them stop.
“Hey,” he said, his hand covering mine. It felt warm and soothing. “You’ve got this. And I’ve got you.”
I looked at him, at the determination in his eyes, and nodded even though my heart felt heavy.
Rule number four, I reminded myself. Don’t catch feelings.
The apartment was empty when we arrived. Thank God.
I had been dreading the possibility of seeing Jack. But his car wasn’t in its usual spot, and when I unlocked the door with shaking hands, the silence that greeted us was both a relief and… somehow worse.
Because the evidence of what I walked in on last night was everywhere.
The bedroom door stood open, and I could see the unmade bed from the hallway. The sheets were tangled, pillows scattered on the floor. I had to press a hand to my mouth to keep from being sick.
Derek touched my back. “I’ve got you,” he said, his deep voice and gentle touch calming me. “Just get what you need. We’ll be out of here in twenty minutes.”
I nodded and forced myself to move forward. Into the bedroom that had been mine for five years, which now smelled like unfamiliar perfume.
I grabbed my largest suitcase from the closet and started throwing things in. My hands moved on autopilot, pulling items from hangers without really seeing them like jeans, sweaters, and a few dresses.
“Do you want this one?” Derek asked. He was holding up my favorite lace chemise, something Jack never even looked at twice.
“Yes, thank you,” I said, biting my cheek. The sight of him holding my lingerie made me blush.
He folded it carefully and placed it in the suitcase, then moved to Lily’s nursery without being asked. I heard him opening drawers, his footsteps quiet.
I moved to the bathroom, gathering toiletries with trembling hands. Toothbrush, shampoo and everything else went into a cosmetic bag that I shoved into the suitcase.
When I returned to the bedroom, Derek had laid out several of Lily’s outfits on the bed, sorting them with surprising care. Onesies, tiny pants, and her favorite yellow dress with the ducks on it.
“I wasn’t sure how many to grab,” he said, glancing up at me. “I got about a week’s worth?”
“That’s perfect,” I said, clearing my throat. “There’s a crochet blanket in her crib—the blue one that Chelsea made. And her books are on the shelf.”
He nodded and disappeared back into the nursery. I heard him moving around, the soft thud of books being stacked, and I tried to focus on my packing.
My eyes landed on the photo frame on my nightstand. The one I had taken at Lily’s six-month milestone, both of us laughing at something Jack had said behind the camera. I picked it up, my thumb tracing over our faces, and carefully wrapped it in a shirt before tucking it into the suitcase.
Jack wasn’t in the photo.
Just me and Lily. Just us.
Derek returned with an armful of Lily’s things—the blue crochet blanket draped over his shoulder, books tucked under one arm, and he had also found her favorite stuffed elephant. He arranged everything in the suitcase with careful precision.
“Is there anything else?” he asked gently. “Anything important you don’t want to leave behind?”
I looked around the bedroom that had been mine, trying to figure out if there was anything here I actually wanted to take. Most of it felt tainted by what had happened. The furniture Jack and I had picked out together. The curtains I had hung.
“No,” I said with a sigh. “I think that’s everything.”
Derek nodded and zipped up the suitcase, hefting it off the bed. As he did, I saw him pause by the bookshelf in the corner. His eyes landed on something, and before I could see what it was, he tucked it under his arm.
“Ready?” he asked, turning back to me.
I took one last look at the bedroom. At the unmade bed and the life I was leaving behind.
All I felt was relief.
“Yeah,” I said with a small smile. “Let’s go.”
We made it to the front door before I noticed he was carrying something extra, but hiding it from my gaze. “What’s that?”
Derek glanced down at the suitcase and the bag of Lily’s things, looking innocent. “Just making sure we’ve got everything.”
As he loaded everything into his car and I slid into the passenger seat, I let myself take one breath and then another.
The hardest part was over.
His hand found mine again when he started the engine, and this time, I didn’t pull away. It felt comforting how his hand was large and warm, completely covering mine.
“You did well,” he said proudly, his blue eyes soft and clear.
“Thank you for coming with me,” I said, squeezing his hand back. “I don’t think I could have done it alone.”
“You never have to do anything alone,” Derek said, and the promise in his voice made my heart skip. “Not while I’m breathing.”
As we pulled away from the apartment complex, I didn’t look back. There was nothing there I wanted to see. Nothing there worth holding onto.
Everything that mattered was either sitting beside me or waiting for us back at the penthouse.