Chapter Nineteen
Taylor
Seth’s cologne lingers in my bathroom as I finish drying my hair.
The world feels gentler this morning. Like everything between us cracked open last night and settled into place differently.
Not perfect or without complications, but steady enough to stand on.
We’ve got more work to do, things to figure out, and Lord knows I’ll probably screw up many more times, but not like I did.
I’ll never make the mistake of breaking Seth’s trust again.
I put the hair dryer under the sink and send a quick text to check on my father.
Me: Good morning, Dad. How are you feeling today?
Dad: Fine. You?
Me: Never better. Did you take your meds?
A thumbs-up emoji pops up.
Me: Promise me you’ll rest this morning. I’ll be there by noon.
Dad: Enjoy your morning.
His lack of a promise does not go unnoticed. Sometimes I think he likes frustrating me.
Me: Dad, please rest.
Dad: I will.
Me: Thank you. Love you.
A heart emoji pops up.
I pocket my phone and head into the bedroom.
Seth’s suitcase is open on the bed, his clothes neatly folded.
I learned on the island that he’s as tidy as I am and is just as neurotic about making the bed in the morning.
He’s standing by the window, buttoning a yellow plaid shirt, which he paired with rust-colored jeans and orange sneakers.
He snags a sweater from the chair beside him and puts it on—a blue cardigan with white and green diamonds scattered across it. Quintessential Seth.
He turns, a slow grin sliding into place as he drinks me in for the hundredth time this morning.
His eyes light up behind those black-framed glasses as they skim down my red sweater and dark jeans, tucked into my comfiest black boots.
That’s all it takes to get me fluttery inside.
There’s no better feeling than seeing him smile and knowing he forgives me.
But falling asleep and waking up in that beautiful man’s arms, and orgasms and a sexy shower before breakfast, rank a close second.
“Ready, sweets?” He reaches for my hand, pulling me into a kiss as we head out of the bedroom.
“I like your outfit.”
“Yeah? Me too. Thanks.”
It’s Friday, and my well-trained brain mentally ticks off my to-do list as we make our way downstairs. “Don’t forget, you’ve got a conference call with Jared and Wells tonight about the grand opening.”
“Bossing me around before breakfast?” He swats my ass.
“Someone’s got to keep you in line,” I say as we hit the landing.
He catches my wrist, tugging me back to him. His gaze dips to my mouth, his eyes turning molten, and then he takes me in a slow, penetrating kiss, turning my insides to liquid heat. Yup. Superpowers. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of this man.
When our lips finally part, he flashes a devilish grin.
“If that’s what happens when I’m bossy…” I poke his chest. “Get your butt downstairs, Braden.”
He laughs and kisses me again. “Careful, Nunnally, or I’ll carry your sexy ass right back upstairs and remind you who’s boss.” He leans in for another kiss, and his gaze catches over my shoulder. “Uh-oh, sweetheart. Looks like I owe you a clock.”
I follow his gaze to the pieces of my clock scattered across the floor. I was so caught up in us, I totally forgot it had fallen off the wall. “Guess time really did stop last night.”
He huffs a laugh and runs a hand up my back. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
“It’s okay. It stopped working a week after I got it,” I say, nudging a shard with my boot.
“Fell for you too hard, huh?” He bends to pick up a piece of the frame. “I feel your pain, Mr. Clock. I’ll clean up the crime scene.”
I step past him toward the kitchen. “Then I’ll make breakfast.”
“I just had breakfast in bed,” he reminds me.
I glance over my shoulder. “That was your morning delight. This is sustenance. You’ll need it later.”
He chuckles. “Do you have a broom?”
“Give a girl a second,” I call out from the kitchen as I turn on the coffee maker. I grab the broom and dustpan from the utility closet and head back to him.
“A second?” He scoffs. “That’s for amateurs. I gave my sweetheart a third.”
“Actually, a fourth.” I give him the cleaning supplies and a trash bag, then steal a kiss and whisper, “Shower.”
While he cleans up, I start making breakfast. My heart is so full, I’m afraid to think too hard about how good it feels to be on solid ground with him again.
The domesticity of making breakfast while this six-foot-something man cleans a mess we made with our sexy times feels like a scene from someone else’s life.
Someone lucky.
But it’s not someone else’s life. I’m the lucky one.
“Coffee smells good,” Seth says as he drops the bag beside the trash can and puts the broom and dustpan in the utility closet like he’s done it a hundred times before.
“Thanks. I harvested the beans myself right after I got the eggs out of the chicken coop.”
He comes up behind me while I’m pouring pancake batter into a pan and slides his arms around my waist. “If I’d known cleaning would get me breakfast, I would have volunteered sooner.”
“This is a new incentive-based system.” I turn, wind my arms around him, and go up on my toes to kiss him. “Thank you for helping.”
“The mess was my fault. I’m not built for gentle.”
“Lucky me.”
“I want to monopolize your time today. Think you can handle that?”
“You’re not leaving?” There’s no hiding my surprise.
He cocks his head. “Do you want me to leave?”
“No, of course not, but don’t you have to work? Finish the deal you were working on?”
“I will, as I can fit it in, and for the record, you have the day off.”
“That’s awfully nice of you, but my emails don’t stop because you give me time off. That takes some coordination and an out-of-office message.”
“Noted,” he says lightly, hugging me to him. “What do you say, sweetheart? Want to hang out with me?”
Grinning like a fool, I say, “I would love to spend the day with you, but I also need to take care of a few things and turn on an out-of-office message so your clients don’t get their feathers ruffled when I don’t respond right away.
I can take care of all that after breakfast. But my father wore himself out last weekend, and his MS is flaring up.
I need to spend some time with him, try to get him to rest, make him lunch, and I scheduled a walk with Barney, a dog from the shelter that really likes my dad.
I think my dad really likes him, too, although he won’t admit it.
I was going to take Barney to the park to wear him out, then bring him to my dad’s for a visit.
I can probably reschedule Barney, but I need to see my father. ”
His brows slant. “I don’t want you to reschedule anything. I’m sorry about your dad. What are his flare-ups like?”
“It depends on how bad they are. Sometimes it’s just a few days of being really tired and achy, but if he refuses to rest, he can end up in the hospital, and recovering can take a few weeks.
Thankfully, he’s not that bad this time.
Last night he was really tired, and I think he’s having trouble with numbness in his fingers, but he won’t admit it. ”
“Then how do you know?”
“I noticed he had trouble holding on to his fork, and he asked me to change the channel when the remote was right beside him. My father is a control freak, so that’s always a tell.”
“Poor guy. That’s got to be hard to face. I’d like to come with you to the park with Barney and to meet your father, if that’s okay with you.”
“You want to meet my father?” I ask carefully, surprised that he does.
“Absolutely,” he says without hesitation.
“I’m not just here for a booty call. I want to be with you, and I want to get to know about your life and more about your family.
I want to meet the man who raised you, the sister who pushed you to come to the island, and my furry competition as your bedmate. Unless you’d rather I didn’t.”
My heart does a little happy dance, but my mind is slightly more hesitant. I have no idea how my father will react to me seeing a client. But I want to be with Seth, and if we’re going to do this, I want to do it right on all fronts. “I’m okay with it, but my father isn’t exactly a warm guy.”
“Then it’s a good thing I brought a jacket.”
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I say, turning to flip the pancakes.
He slides his hand beneath my sweater, above my T-shirt. His hand is warm on my stomach. He kisses my neck, and his hand slides up, cupping my breast. I’m mid-flip when he nips at my earlobe, and the pancake slips off the side of the spatula, folding in half. He chuckles against my skin.
“You’re going to make me ruin breakfast.”
“Then I’ll buy you brunch on the way to get Barney. Problem solved.”
I glance over my shoulder at him. “You think you can charm your way out of everything, don’t you?”
“So far the data supports my theory.”
I turn around and bring up the thing I’ve been trying not to think about. “We should probably talk about work and figure that out before you meet my family.” I take a deep breath and say, “I resigned, remember?”
“Ah, yes, the letter that nearly broke me.”
My heart squeezes. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It lit a fire under my ass.” He kisses my forehead.
“I don’t want to make things complicated—”
“Too late for that, sweetheart.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. I need to let you know that I accepted a temporary assignment with a previous client—”
“You already accepted another job?” he asks with shock. He reaches around me to turn off the stove and moves the pan off the burner. “That fast?”
“I had to. When I didn’t hear from you, I thought you were done in all respects, and I kind of freaked out, because I have bills to pay. I went to see Becca at LWW, where she works for Aubrey Stewart.”
“Knox’s wife?”
“Yes. I was working with him and another client when you and I first started working together. When your work required more time, I stopped working for my other clients. His VA recently had a baby, and the timing worked out.”
“Shit.” Seth shakes his head. “I don’t want you to screw over Knox, but I don’t want you to stop working with me, either.”
“You don’t?” Hope swells inside me.
“No. I can’t imagine working with someone else. I was hoping we could make it work, but if it makes you uncomfortable—”
“It doesn’t,” I say, relief flooding me. “I love working with you and was going to say that I think I can handle both. He only needs me for two months, but he’s got some big projects underway, and you’ve got the expansion, so I’ll probably be very busy.”
“I’ll get you an assistant,” he offers.
“That’s awfully generous, but I don’t need an assistant. I can handle being busy, but if we’re going to continue working together, we should probably have some ground rules.”
He cocks a brow. “Are you going to hit me up for a raise?”
“No, but I might ask for hazard pay.”
“For what, exactly?”
“Dealing with you.”
He brushes his lips over mine. “That’s unfair. I’m an excellent boss.”
“And an excellent distraction. We’re supposed to be talking about ground rules.”
“Okay, what are you thinking? No sexual harassment charges if I text you something dirty?”
I smile at that thought. “Definitely no charges for that. But seriously, we need to think ahead. If we don’t stay together, I don’t want either of us worrying about what’ll happen. So if that happens, I’ll resign and help you train someone else. Done deal.”
“And I’ll pay you six months’ severance so you don’t have to worry about your bills.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m being serious.”
“And I’m being practical.”
“Practically insane, maybe.”
He wraps me in his arms, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “You already admitted that you like my insanity.”
“I don’t remember using that word, and I’m not taking your money if we break up.”
“Then I guess we’re staying together. Because I’ve already drafted the contract in my head.”
I roll my eyes, and he kisses me.
“Seth, thirty days, that’s all I’ll need, and if it takes me less time to find a job, then you’ll be off the hook sooner. Are you sure you’re okay with continuing to work together? You’re sleeping with your assistant. You should think about that in case people find out.”
He holds me tighter. “People will find out, because I will never hide what’s between us, but as far as I’m concerned, I work with my assistant.
” He kisses me softly. “But I’m dating”—he nips at my neck—“making love to”—he brushes his nose along my cheek—“and fucking”—he locks eyes with me—“my girlfriend.”
My heart stumbles. I didn’t think I’d ever want to be anyone’s girlfriend again, but I never thought I could be his.