The tight sound of the tires pressing down on the snow rose above the quiet music, and he didn’t move his eyes from the road as he carefully maneuvered the car down the steep hill.
As Sadie searched her brain for something to break the silence between them, his low voice reverberated through the car.
“So you live over on Washoe Road, right?” he asked as he reached the bottom of the hill and made a left turn.
“Yeah, at Whispering Pines,” Sadie answered, naming her apartment complex.
“Oh, yeah, I know it,” Liam said, nodding his head and narrowing his eyes on the road. “I live just around the corner on Carson … at Bijou Woods.”
“Ahh, a fellow apartment dweller.” Sadie nodded her head while smiling knowingly at him, causing him to let out a low chuckle.
“Yeah, I don’t love it … but what can you do? I got this job in the late summer last year and had to find somewhere to live really quickly. And since it’s just me, the apartment works.”
Sadie turned to face him more fully, considering him. “You’re really young to be a principal,” she said bluntly. “You can’t be that much older than me.”
His mouth fell into a grim line and alarm rose within her.Did I offend him?
“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” she said quickly. “I think it’s really admirable. You’ve accomplished a lot.”
He glanced over at her quickly, smiling reassuringly before re-focusing on the road. “Thanks … and I’m twenty-eight.”
“Me, too…” Sadie whispered.
His lips were stretched in a tight smile, but he didn’t look over at her. Silence descended again as he drove cautiously down the snow-packed road. His eyes were focused on the road ahead of him with almost too much intensity, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
A Radiohead song started playing through the speakers, and Sadie looked over at him in surprise. “You like Radiohead?” she asked, her voice seeping in amazement.
“Yeah,” he said, smiling over at her. “Does that surprise you?”
“I guess not, but youarereally serious.” Involuntarily, her voice had settled into a flirtatious tone that she immediately regretted.This is your boss, Sadie.
“I’m not always serious,” he said in that quiet, low voice of his. A slight tone of warning infused the words that left Sadie a little breathless.This … is your boss? Sadie?
She repositioned her hands around the glass bowl on her lap and looked over at him curiously. Hewasher boss, but he was also a guy. Acuteguy—and he was her age. He liked Radiohead. He looked like Clark Kent. He had dimples.
Maybe it was the amount of carbs she’d consumed or the multiple glasses of wine she’d thrown back, but a recklessness started thrumming gently through her bloodstream.
She pictured herself lounging on her couch with a second serving of trifle and a sixth glass of wine, queuing up the next episode ofFriends. Normally, that would have been more than enough, but she was in the mood for something a little different tonight.
Your boss, Sadie? You’re in themoodfor your boss?
She studied his profile, set in a serious expression as he stared intently at the road ahead of them. They were pulling into her apartment complex now, and she quietly directed him where to park.
Putting the car in park, he looked over at her expectantly, a tight smile on his face, forcing his dimples to show themselves almost reluctantly, as if it was against their better judgment.
She knew he was waiting for her to get out of the car, but she didn’t move. She couldn’t move.
“You didn’t have any of my trifle tonight.” She said the words without thinking, and they rang through the car like delicate glass breaking on a concrete floor.
She’d noticed he hadn’t eaten any—just looked over at her as she shoved it into her mouth. She was hoping he would try some and enjoy it. Maybe then he would see some value in her.
“Yeah, sorry,” he said ruefully. “I was too full for dessert after dinner.”
“Do you want some now?” she asked, her voice coming out low and soft, not sounding anything like her.
His face fell into a deep frown, and his eyes came up to meet hers. Sadie’s heart was pounding in her chest so hard, she thought there was no way he couldn’t hear it.
“You can come in for a bit,” she finally said in response to his silent, heated stare. “Have some trifle … and maybe a drink.”