“A nanny with benefits?”
It sounds so much worse when she puts it like that, yet I don’t argue her point.
“Hear me out.” Jesus, could I be any more cliché? What the fuck am I doing? “We’re attracted to each other. We’ve been trying to deny it for weeks, and obviously, that didn’t work out so great. You said you aren’t looking for a relationship. God knows I’m not.” Except a piece of me knows when it comes to Ember, there’s more to it.
“That sounds like an amazing and terrible idea.”
She’s right. It is a terrible idea. A huge mistake. An amazing mistake. One I had been trying so hard not to make but now feel compelled to do. The truth is, nothing about Ember is a mistake. The woman is the real deal.
A woman’s voice shouts from the other side of the door to open up.
“Looks like time’s up,” Ember says.
I step in front of the door, my hands on her arms. “Just think about what I said.”
A curt nod, then she moves around me and opens the door. She apologizes to the woman as she skirts around her.
The woman’s anger fades as I follow Ember out of the bathroom, replaced by a look of understanding.
Ember’s already at the bar, a glass of champagne in her hand.
“You know you want this.” Taking the flute and setting it on the bar, my action sets off something in her.
“Don’t you dare tell me what I want. You don’t know me.” She picks up the flute and downs the drink, then stalks out of the ballroom and out of the building.
“Where are you going?” I call out after her.
“To Hazel’s. Amelia and I will spend the night there.”
She stands on the sidewalk, arms wrapped around her body, the chill of the night air leaving goosebumps on her skin.
"Please, don't go."
“This was a mistake.” The air hasn’t seemed to cool her off. “We just need to forget it and move on.”
She’s right, we shouldn’t have done this. We should move on, but that’s not what I want.
“I don’t want to forget it.” I urge myself to shut up, to quit putting my foot in my damn mouth and making matters worse.
“You’re my boss, and I’m your employee. This won’t work. And let’s not even talk about what it would do to Amelia.” We stare at each other for a moment. “We agreed.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Change it back. This was a stupid idea.”
Running my hands through my hair, I look Ember directly in the eye.
“The only stupid thing we’ve done is deny our feelings for each other.”
“No feelings. Just sex.”
Her reminder stings. Just sex.
“Desire is still a feeling, sweetheart. One we both have plenty of.”
Why am I working so damn hard to convince her of something that is so wrong?
Because it feels so damn right.