Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
James
“Hello? James?”
Winnie arrives exactly three minutes early. I got here an hour ago to set things up and have been hiding behind a bunch of boxes for fifteen. The boxes contain the metal shelving units that will hold supplies in the back, and I probably should be putting them together, not lying in wait for Winnie.
And no, I don’t want to talk about how ridiculous this is.
I hear the scuff and clack of her heels on the concrete as she walks inside the building.
I stay put, peeking around the doorway where I can just make out Winnie’s profile.
My heart does an embarrassing flip and leap at the sight of her high ponytail and the way her glasses rest against the curve of her cheek.
So far, she hasn’t seen the chalkboard window where I left it propped against the wall.
From wherever he’s been hiding, the one-eyed orange cat saunters across the room, stopping just out of Winnie’s reach. He might not want to be caught, but he sure wants to be seen. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s taunting her.
“You! My nemesis,” I hear Winnie hiss. “This is the week. I’m going to catch you. I will.”
The cat licks one paw, watching Winnie as he does. I don’t hide my chuckle well enough, and Winnie spins in a slow circle. “Come out, come out, wherever you are! I can hear you breathing.”
That’s an exaggeration, but it makes me chuckle again. Winnie turns my way. I step out from behind the boxes with my hands up. “I come in peace.”
Winnie’s hands go to her hips. “Is that so? Then why are you hiding?”
“I wanted to surprise you.” I tilt my head toward the chalkboard as I walk closer. In my blocky writing I’ve scrawled Answers in one windowpane, then written—you guessed it—answers to questions she didn’t ask me in the three others.
“Like Jeopardy! ,” Winnie says, grinning. “Okay, I’ll play. Fresh basil, roasted garlic, and black olives. Let’s see … favorite pizza toppings!”
“In the form of a question, please.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “What are your favorite pizza toppings?”
“Yep.” I slide my hands in my pockets, unsure if I should touch her but wanting to all the same.
I was the one who said we should be professional at work.
Stupid me. My finger finds the seed Winnie gave me, transferred into these pants just this morning.
I know one day it will get lost or disintegrate, but until then, I’m keeping it close.
Winnie beams at me, then returns her gaze to the chalkboard. “Dancing—hm. What is something you do surprisingly well?”
I scoff. “Yeah right. One of my biggest fears.”
Crossing her arms, Winnie narrows her eyes, studying me. “There’s no way. I saw you dance at Pat’s wedding. Your hips didn’t lie, Graham.”
Normally, knowing someone watched me dancing would make me flush with embarrassment. The thought of Winnie watching me, noticing me, makes a primal part of me very, very happy. From her comment, she clearly liked what she saw. It makes me want to pull her into my arms now.
Slow dancing—THAT I can do.
I take a step closer, still not touching her, but definitely invading her space. It’s slight, but I don’t miss the way Winnie shivers. I love having an effect on her. Seeing her react does something similar to me as a tingling electric feeling zips up my spine.
My voice is low and husky. “Have you been watching me, temp?”
Her attention moves from my eyes down to my lips and back up. “You’re kind of hard to miss, big guy.” She blinks a few times, then clears her throat. “Back to dancing—is it really one of your biggest fears?”
I nod, slowly. I wasn’t thinking about how vulnerable this question actually makes me feel when I jotted it down. “I’m not good at it. And I feel like everyone’s watching me.”
“A fear though? Dancing—not bear attacks or falling off a cliff or dying?”
As she asks, I realize there is one thing I fear more. Losing someone I love. My chest tightens, and I clench my hands into fists in my pockets.
“Bear attacks definitely aren’t on my radar, and I don’t tend to frequent cliffs.”
Winnie smiles. “Touché. For the record, I thought you danced well. And yes, I might have been watching you. I’ll admit it.”
“So, you didn’t hate me then?”
“Did you think I hated you?” Winnie asks, tilting her head.
I shrug. “You didn’t seem to particularly like me.”
“I didn’t not like you. I just thought you were … dangerous.”
Well, that’s an interesting tidbit. I want to ask more, but she keeps going.
“My question is, if you hate dancing, why did you do it?”
“Jo asked me.”
Winnie’s eyes soften, and she bites her lip.
She must like this answer because she steps forward, closing the last bit of distance between us and to wrap her arms around my waist. I hold her against me, stroking one hand up her back while the other gives her ponytail the lightest tug.
She feels so perfect in my arms, like all her curves and angles were designed to fit mine.
“You’re a big softy under all these layers of grump, James Graham,” she says.
“False. I am not a softy.”
I’m really not. That said, I would do just about anything Jo asked. I’m beginning to worry the same might be true of Winnie.
I nuzzle my nose into her hair, inhaling her sweet caramel scent. Definitely perfection . Sliding my palms down her arms, I bend and press a soft kiss to Winnie’s temple, then to the curve of her ear, then to her neck. Her eyes flutter closed.
“Is this how it’s going to be?” she asks
“How what’s going to be?”
I kiss the edge of her jaw.
“The job. Your text said you wanted to keep things professional at work.”
And now I’m totally rethinking my stance on that. “You hugged me first.”
“And you kissed me. And smelled my hair.”
I take another deep inhale. “Caramel perfection. My new favorite scent.”
Winnie hums, tilting her head to give me better access to her neck. I take full advantage, leaving a line of soft kisses up her throat.
“I’m not so sure I can work under these conditions.” Her voice is breathy, almost a pant.
“Perhaps you should write a strongly worded letter to the management.”
“I don’t think my boss would care.”
I kiss the corner of her mouth, and she exhales a soft sigh. I want to capture each of these sounds. Even more, I want to spend more time exploring, seeing what kinds of sounds I can draw out of her with my lips, with my hands.
“Oh, I think your boss cares. He cares very”— kiss —“very”— kiss —“much.”
“Well, then. I’ll get to work on that strongly worded letter—in a minute.”
I place another teasing kiss just shy of her lips, and she groans.
“Maybe ten minutes,” she says.
With that, Winnie pushes up on her toes and covers my mouth with hers. The kiss is searing and desperate, making me think she missed me the last seventeen-and-a-half hours as much as I missed her. I cradle the back of her head, drawing her closer as her fingers trail up and down my spine.
I don’t know what I was thinking—mixing a relationship with work is actually pretty fantastic. I can see a lot of benefits to this arrangement. Especially considering we’re the only two people here in this whole empty building.
When I pull back, we’re both short of breath and looking a little dazed. Winnie chews her lip and looks up at me with those fathomless blue eyes.
“James?”
I grunt a response, then press a kiss to the tip of her nose.
“I was thinking maybe we could revisit this cat-catching assignment.”
Cupping her face in my hands, I skim my thumbs over her cheeks and push her glasses back up into place from where they slid down. “Sorry. That part of your job is nonnegotiable.”
“James,” she pleads, and I’m tempted, I really am. But what I want more than to say yes is to enjoy watching Winnie continue her epic battle with the one-eyed cat.
“It’s character-building.”
“You don’t like my character?”
“I love your character. But I’m pretty sure all those self-help gurus say we should always keep developing.”
Winnie closes one eye, studying me like I’m a blueprint. “You listen to self-help gurus.”
“Oprah is my BFF.”
“Right,” Winnie says, drawing out the word.
“How about this,” I say, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll put in a good word with your boss. But from what I’ve heard, he’s not a very understanding guy. Best of luck, temp.”
With a final quick kiss, I force myself to back away before I change my mind and say yes to whatever she asks.