Dane(32)

She held up the resignation form. "I'm not signing this."

I don't know why I thought she'd sign it, but I hadn't contemplated this  situation turning out differently. I must have mistaken her affection  and attention as something other than it was, and I'd allowed myself to  find happiness in someone who didn't feel the same toward me. I should  have known better. I wanted to believe it was the timing, but I knew  that was nothing more than wishful thinking. For the first time since I  was fifteen, I put myself out there. I hadn't expected the sting of  rejection to be so painful, but it cut me to the core like a  double-edged knife.

"I understand," I said, disappointment heavy in my voice.

"I don't think you do. If I sign this, then that means I'm quitting my  job so we can be together. My dream job. The one I relocated to Florida  to get. So where would that leave me? I need to work. I have an  apartment to pay for and bills and a credit card to take care of. I have  a degree and would like to use it somewhere other than a bank."

I hadn't even thought about that. I was too busy thinking about finally  being with her that I hadn't given her job any thought. "Well, I am the  boss. I own the place. If you want to work here, then stay. I made the  rules, and I can break them."

"No. Things could get messy. That's a bad idea. You set the precedence and that wouldn't be a good example."

"What if you still worked here-but in a different department? Or  assisted someone else?" Honestly, I hated the thought of her being  someone else's assistant, but I had to find a solution. One that would  allow us to be together without compromising her job. "I could move you  over to the accounting department or set you up in legal with Heidi to  work on contracts. You could do billing or something. Payroll … "

"So … I could stay at Kauffmann, but in a different department? You don't need me to resign?"

Suddenly, my brain comprehended what she was saying. I'd been too  wrapped up in figuring out the job situation that I didn't fully take in  what that meant. "Are you saying you're willing to give this a shot?  You want to see what this is between us?"

She hesitated for a moment, causing my lungs to fail me before she spoke  again. "You haven't been single in twelve years. Maybe you should take  some time for yourself. You know … live life for once. We don't have to  rush into anything."

"I don't need to take time for myself." I looked her straight in the  eyes in the hopes of convincing her. "I want you. I want the things  you've given me since that first night at the bar. I've come to work  excited, knowing I get to see you. I've gone to the pier, hoping you'd  be there. My day completely turns around with one text message from you.  Don't you see? The only times I ‘live life' is when it involves you.  You said I deserve to be happy. Well, you do that for me."

Her cheeks burned crimson and she dropped her gaze to the floor. I  placed my finger beneath her chin and made her look at me while I waited  for her to answer. Finally, she said, "I don't want to do this and then  have it fall apart in days or weeks. I need to make sure it's right."

"We could wait, give it time, and the possibility of it falling apart  would still be there. There are no guarantees in life. If anything, the  last twelve years has taught me that. You just have to go for it and see  what happens. I want to see what will happen. I want a chance to be  fulfilled. I want you. All of you. I've finally found someone who gets  me, who appreciates me, who doesn't expect anything in return. I'm not  giving that up. Please. Take a leap of faith with me."

She stood in front of me and stared, taking shallow breaths. I could see  her thinking it through, and I couldn't recall ever being so anxious to  hear words before in my life. Even if she didn't agree with me, I'd  never stop. I would keep trying until I won her over. She was all I  wanted. She put a smile on my face, made my heart beat, and filled me  with contentment-joy, bliss … happiness.         

     



 

"But then you won't be my boss anymore," she whispered with a slight grin.

"No … but we'll be together."

"What I mean is … " She placed her hand on my chest and toyed with my tie.  "I'll never be able to find out what all the fuss is about. Sneaking  around in the office, stealing kisses, touches behind a closed door … all  of it. How will I ever get to check that off my bucket list?" Her sly  grin widened and stole the air from the room.

"I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Okay," she said on an exhale. "Let's see where this goes."

I imagined this was what it felt like when a kid opened the only gift  he'd wished for forever. Utter bliss. Complete elation. Pure, soul-deep  exhilaration. I never wanted to let go. And I had a feeling Eden would  give this to me every day. I'd gladly take it, and in return, give her  the world.

"See ya on Monday, boss." She winked and turned around to pick up her purse.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her into me. A giggle erupted from her  chest and her eyes lit up, shining like the rays of the sun as she  stared up at me with lips curled into a contagious smile. Those lips.  Painted red like the night we'd met. I'd studied them so many times,  watched them move as she spoke, but now, I could finally taste them.  Feel them pressed against mine.

With my palm against her cheek, I lowered my head. Slowly, as if I were  afraid she'd vanish if I moved too fast. I wanted to savor the entire  moment. The seconds leading up to it, the beats of my heart as they grew  harsher the closer my mouth came to hers. I needed to lock it all away  in my memory in the event this wasn't real. Because this felt like a  dream-just like the ones I'd had for weeks, only to wake up and realize  I'd imagined it all. If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.

But then her breath fanned my bottom lip, and nothing could keep me away  from her. I closed my mouth over hers and shut my eyes, absorbing  everything. Feeling everything. Eden wound her arms around my waist and  held me to her. The heat of her palms seeped through my shirt and  ignited a fire inside. It enticed me, encouraged me, until I parted her  lips with mine and slipped my tongue into her mouth. She moaned and  pressed herself against me until our bodies couldn't possibly get any  closer with clothes on.

When the kiss ended, we held our foreheads together and heated the space  between our faces with our humid exhales. We hadn't done anything other  than kiss, yet our breathing sounded like we'd ran a marathon.

"Have dinner with me. Tonight. Right now. Let's get something to eat and talk."

Eden sank her teeth into her bottom lip and tucked her chin.

"None of that. You're not allowed to hide from me anymore," I said and  waited until she met my gaze again. "What are you hungry for? We can go  anywhere you want."

"I have to go home and change first." Her expression fell and her eyes  narrowed. "Where are you staying this weekend? You said you packed a bag  and gave her until Sunday to leave the condo, so where are you going to  sleep?"

I glanced over my shoulder toward my office.

"No. You're not staying here, Dane. What … you plan to sleep on the floor?"

"To be honest, I hadn't thoroughly thought about it. I left, not caring  where I'd stay. I'll probably get a hotel room or something for a couple  nights."

She reached for her purse and settled the strap over her shoulder. "Grab your bag. Let's go eat dinner and talk."



After running Eden by her apartment to change, we headed out to a small  hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. I had never been before, but Eden  swore the food was authentic and the best she'd ever tasted.

As much as I enjoyed the conversation and learning new things about her,  I hated having a table between us. I finally had the freedom to touch  her-even if it was only her hand-without the weight of guilt crushing  me, and I couldn't. Rather than dwell on it, knowing we had all the time  in the world to touch, I absorbed as much of her as I could while  eating.

On the drive home, I kept her fingers laced with mine. I refused to sit  this close to her and not hold her hand. And when we made it back to her  apartment, I helped her out of the car and kissed her-right there, in  her parking garage, in public for anyone to see. And I loved every  fucking second of it.

"You can't stay?" she asked, breathless after our heated kiss.

"I should probably go get settled into a hotel."

She bit her lip and glanced around before meeting my stare. "Why don't you stay here? Get your bag and bring it upstairs."         

     



 

I'm sure my jaw dropped and my eyes widened, but I didn't have enough  coherent thought to stop it. All my blood rushed south at the prospect  of spending the night with Eden-in a completely different way than in  Texas. "You're not going to make me sleep on the couch again, are you?"