He’d made a decision not to pursue her, to go have sex with someone else and dismiss the idea of him and Addi in any relationship other than the one at the office, but now...
Hell.
Now.
Screw the justifications he’d been making. Work was important, but hadn’t he also argued that play was just as important? Plus, he and Addi weren’t at work right now, were they? He’d thought she’d been offended about Taylor’s suggestion that they should date each other—that Addi didn’t want anything to do with him. Now he knew that wasn’t true and it opened up a whole host of ideas, none of them rated PG.
The real bitch of it was that Taylor had been right. Hell, Royce had been right. He’d been the one to tell Bran that a woman who liked him was right under his nose. Bran had blown off the comment, convinced that the hearts-in-their-eyes couple had sipped from Cupid’s Kool-Aid cup.
He parked and shut off the engine, leaning forward to take in the building in front of him. The inn was swanky and posh, smaller than he’d expected and fairly secluded. Surprising, considering the tourist-rich town. On the lake below Jet Skis and boats zipped along its surface.
He retrieved his bag from the trunk and, after a back and forth of “you don’t have to” and “I got it,” also won the right to carry in Addison’s bag as well.
They were adults. They could navigate attraction. Especially away from work. Here, Royce and Taylor and Gia, or even his father Jack who popped in on occasion, weren’t lurking around every corner. Here, they were just Addi and Bran. Which was new...and exciting.
At the front desk, Addison gave her name. The woman behind the counter consulted her computer.
“Lucky you!” the woman exclaimed. “We have a king-size room available. You two won’t have to share a double.”
The laugh that’d been trapped in his chest nearly escaped. This poor lady and her horrid timing...
“No, no,” Addi told her. “We’re not sharing. He’s my boss.”
“Yowch,” he said in response. Addi ignored him.
“My apologies for the assumption.” The woman—Ava, her nametag read—tapped her computer. “In that case, I’ll put one of you in the king room and one of you in the double. They’re the last two rooms we have available for occupancy, and side by side. So you’re still lucky.”
She took this mix-up a lot better than his coworker, who appeared, at best, mortified.
Ava smiled at him. “Are you with the Joseph Hart group as well, sir?”
“Sort of.”
Ava flicked her gaze from him to Addi and back again.
“Uh, thanks for the ride.” Addi grabbed the handle of her suitcase and her key card. “I’ll settle in.”
She fled the scene and he watched her, half bemused, half confused.
“Will you be staying the entire weekend, Mr. Knox?”
He’d planned on staying the night and driving back tomorrow morning, but that was before Addi admitted she “liked him.” Not to be an eighth grader about it, but that seemed significant. Especially since she hadn’t looked him in the eye since.
What the hell? He’d committed to playing harder, hadn’t he?
“Yes, the entire weekend.”
That overthinking part of his brain could stay dormant for all he cared. There was another side to him that hadn’t been around nearly enough lately. The fun guy. The laid-back guy. That guy would have leaped at a spur-of-the-moment weekend in Tahoe. And with a woman who was as attracted to him as he was to her.
Ava slid a sheet of paper across the counter. “Here is the itinerary for Joseph Hart’s life celebration. In case you and your employee cross paths this weekend.” There was pure mischief in her smile.
“Thank you.” He looked over the schedule. Cocktail hours, dinners, water activities and a masquerade ball. Weirdest funeral he’d ever heard of. “Looks like I’ll need to pick up an outfit or two while I’m here. Can you point me toward the best shops in town?”
“Certainly, Mr. Knox.”
He finished checking in and strolled to his car, his bag in hand. He had no idea how Addi would react to hearing he wasn’t going anywhere. Guess he’d find out tonight.
She’d agreed to dinner regardless of what had happened during their car ride from River Grove, and he was holding her to it.
“You’re the one who said you liked me,” he said aloud as he turned over the engine. “No denying it now.”
Whistling, he pulled away from the inn and toward the shopping area the clerk had told him about. Tonight was proving a lot more fun than his original plans, after all.
* * *
After Addison hung her dresses in the wardrobe and tucked the rest of her clothing into the dresser, she hopped into the shower. Just a quick rinse before she changed for dinner with Bran.
He was holding her to it—he’d texted her to confirm the time. She thought about canceling but canceling would be less mature than sprinting away from him like her hair was on fire. She couldn’t hide forever.
But she could concoct a believable story.
Tonight, she would be courteous and professional...and apologize. She intended on remedying that rogue moment of stark honesty the only way she knew how.
By lying about it.
Blaming her outburst on grief would work, even if it wasn’t fair to Joe. But grief was the only excuse she had. She couldn’t erase what she’d said from Bran’s memory, so she was forced to explain it.
This uncomfortable mess would be over in a few hours. One dinner with Bran and then he’d leave come morning. There would be a nice lengthy gap between today and Monday at the office. Which reminded her, she needed to book a rental car so she could drive herself home.
She swept her hair into a chignon and smoothed her hands over her jade-green cocktail dress. She’d had no idea how to pack for a funeral disguised as a party. Her closet at home was choked with bright or pastel colors, but she’d packed her lone black dress just in case. She couldn’t very well show up in fuchsia for the official goodbye. She’d die of humiliation.
Don’t be dramatic, Ad, said Joe’s voice in her head.
He was right. If she hadn’t died admitting to her hot boss she liked him, humiliation wasn’t going to be what took her out.
She’d just finished applying her lipstick when there was a knock. Heart hammering in her chest, she gripped the handle, took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. When she opened the door, there was no one standing outside of it. She leaned her head into the corridor and looked left then right. Empty.
The knock came again, this time from behind her. From the shared door between their rooms. Of course he’d do that. She resteeled her spine and replastered her smile before opening it.
Bran was, unsurprisingly, suited and sexy, his hair a tempting mess. His smile, unlike hers, wasn’t manufactured. His stance mimicked hers, his hand resting on the handle of his own dividing door as if they were looking at each other from either side of a fun house mirror.
“You didn’t have to give me the king bed,” he said.
“You’re bigger than me.” Her eyes trickled over his shoulder to his room. The clothes he drove here wearing were folded neatly on top of the stark white bedding, his shoes side by side on the floor. His suitcase was open, still packed, which made sense. He was only staying one night. She took in each of the details as an observer, trying her damnedest not to imagine him sleeping, mostly naked, on that bed just a breath away from her room. She wondered if she’d hear him showering through the walls...
She silenced the thought since fantasizing about him while standing in front of him was poor form.
He shut his own door and strolled into her room, breaking that invisible fun house mirror glass to stand in her space.
“You’re as organized as I imagined you would be,” he said. “Clothes put away, suit
case tucked into the closet.” Her heart fluttered when his eyes scanned her from head to toe. “Outside of work, I’m allowed to tell you you’re beautiful in that dress, right?”
“Thank you,” she managed. Barely. Outside of work and inside of her hotel room, there were a lot of things he could say and do that she could allow. Like a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth or a roll on the bed that would leave the comforter twisted into a knot.
Wait, no.
She had a plan and it didn’t involve acting on her feelings for him. This weekend was about reclaiming her heart as much as her independence. He’d stated clearly that tonight was nothing more than two coworkers hanging out and she was going to honor his wishes. Just because she’d foolishly admitted she liked him didn’t give her carte blanche to coerce him into her bed.
Suddenly hot, she stepped away from him—and the bed—to grab her purse. “We should get going.”
“I booked a reservation on the balcony, if that’s all right.”
Sounded romantic, but then again when it came to him, even “good morning” sounded romantic to her. He offered his elbow and she placed her hand on his corded forearm and let him lead her from her room. Soon they’d be on the same page again and she could lull her feelings for him into a deep, forever sleep.
Eight
When Bran knocked on their attached room doors and picked Addi up for dinner, he didn’t count on his body tightening at the sight of her standing in front of a bed. Seeing her, rosy cheeked and smiling up at him, had been the stuff of his recent fantasies—if she were wearing a lot less clothing.
Tonight, she wore a bright green dress the color of jungle leaves. The color made her eyes appear piercing turquoise rather than blue. Her pale blond hair was swept up, revealing her neck, and the dress had a demure square neckline that didn’t show what she was hiding beneath. Unlike Tammie, Addison was a mystery. Not knowing only made him want to unwrap her more.
White wine poured, their appetizer arrived. Crab and cream cheese wrapped in cigar-shaped, deep-fried wonton wrappers served with sweet chili sauce. Bran wolfed down three of them before coming up for air.
“Damn, those are good.”
“They really are.” She blotted her mouth with her cloth napkin, having only made it through one.
“So, tell me—” he leaned back in his chair “—what’s it like to eat somewhere other than Pestle & Pepper?”
Teasing her about her favorite restaurant in River Grove was low-hanging fruit. A takeout bag from P&P was sitting beside her desk at least three times a week. He’d needled her about it before.
“Have you been to Pestle & Pepper?” Her smile was confident, her voice strong. He liked this much better than her wide-eyed and dashing away from him.
“Never. Though considering how many times you come back with leftovers or carried-in lunch makes me wonder if I’m missing out.”
Their dinners arrived—fish and vegetables for him and a chicken pasta dish for her. They each ate a bite before she spoke.
“You only know half of it. I eat there as many times for dinner as I do for lunch.” Her nose wrinkled. “I’m not much of a cook.”
“Me, neither. I love to grill.”
They shared a not-uncomfortable beat of silence. Progress.
“What’s so great about that place, anyway? Do they have some signature dish I should know about?”
“Their food is incredible. But the atmosphere, the people, are even better than the food. After college, I ate dinner with my parents a lot, but that changed.” She was silent while she wound pasta on her fork. “I missed that feeling of home—a home-cooked meal. Pestle & Pepper is a close second.”
It was the most he’d ever learned about Addi’s personal life. In his efforts to treat his assistant with professionalism, he’d unintentionally kept their relationship on the surface. Shame.
“Family dinners weren’t a regular occurrence in the Knox household. Dad worked a lot.” Jack Knox was far from an absentee father, but it wasn’t as if they were going to the zoo or the beach every weekend. Building ThomKnox had taken a lot of his dad’s dedication and time. Bran thought of his own brief obsession with CEO. Temporary insanity was the only explanation. No way did he desire a schedule that demanding or pressure that intense. “Dad was right about naming Royce CEO. I was the wrong choice.”
“Not wrong. Just...different.”
“You must’ve thought I lost my mind this year.” His eyebrows jumped as he considered her point of view for the first time.
She pressed her lips together like she had something to say but wasn’t willing to share it yet. They’d get there.
“Consider yourself lucky you won’t have the privilege of meeting my parents. They’re arriving tomorrow afternoon.” She lifted her wine glass and took a sip. “I assume you’ll leave for River Grove early?”
Again, he sensed there was something she wasn’t asking. Was she wondering if he’d be around for breakfast? Or attempting to ferret out his schedule in order to avoid him?
“Not sure yet,” he answered. Now seemed the wrong time to drop the “I’ll be here all weekend” announcement. “So, the staff at Pestle & Pepper treat you like family?”
“The owner, Mars, does.” Her eyes warmed. “Last week he asked me to taste a new dessert they were adding to the menu. He took my advice on the cinnamon. Always more cinnamon.” Her tempting lips curved into a smile of pride.
“I don’t have that sort of treatment anywhere. Don’t they know who I am?”
“It’s not about status.” She took the joke the way it was intended and consoled him by patting his hand. “I have a delicate palate.”
He imagined kissing her and having a taste of her delicate palate. As he held her gaze, the air snapped with a now familiar electric current. Then she broke eye contact and steered them onto bumpier terrain.
“I need to apologize for what I said in the car. Again.” She put her fork down and put her hands in her lap. “First off, you’re not an idiot.”
“Why, thank you.”
“A-and I meant it when I said I like you—” her cheeks stained pink “—but I hope you didn’t take it the wrong way.”
He wasn’t letting her off the hook that easily. “Which way would that be?”
“I like you. You’re a good boss. A good work friend.”
He felt his mouth screw to one side. Work friend made him sound like a balding, potbellied old dude.
“I think of you the same way you think of me,” she added.
Naked, sweaty and in his bed? Because that’s how he thought of her.
“Look at us.” She gestured at their shared table. “Just a couple of coworkers hanging out at dinner.”
That was verbatim what he’d said to her in the car. Satisfied with her speech, she smiled. She’d been so matter-of-fact while giving them the out they needed. She was hitting the undo button on accidentally admitting her feelings for him.
He could let her off the hook. He should.
But he wanted to live in the now, not the future. He wanted to work hard but play harder. Since learning the attraction to Addi was mutual, he couldn’t care less about steering himself to a safe and sandy shore. Bring on the rocks.
“My emotions were unstable. Probably due to my grief over Joe,” she continued, acting as her own defense counsel. “I was tired. Frustrated about my car. Worried about you leaving the office to drive me here. I didn’t really know what I was saying.”
The lady doth protest too much, methinks...
“I’m sorry. That’s what I’m trying to say.” She let out a soft laugh. “My reaction was completely out of context—I’m not sure why I said it.”
He returned her smile and she eased back into her chair. She’d said her part. She’d made her peace. All he had to do was accept her apology and return to his dinner. Instead, he
looked into her gorgeous cerulean eyes and said what he was really thinking.
“Bullshit.”
* * *
Addi stared at Bran, fairly certain she was about to have an out-of-body experience. If she could consciously detach from her body and float away from this table, she’d do it.
She felt as trapped as she had in the car this afternoon, but now he didn’t have to take his eyes off her to drive. Shouldn’t he be relieved to hear she hadn’t meant it? He was supposed to grab onto her explanation like a lifesaver and then float away, comfortable in the knowledge that his executive assistant expected nothing from him.
He wasn’t doing that.
He ate a bite of his dinner like nothing had happened. She watched him chew, swallow and go in for more. Completely unfazed.
“I’m staying the weekend,” he announced. Fork, chew, swallow. “Looks like I’ll meet your parents after all.”
Her vision doubled and she blinked at her wine. She’d drunk half a glass, so she couldn’t blame that.
“I had to find a costume for the ball on Saturday, but this town is equipped for strange requests. I also bought swim trunks.” He continued eating, listing various items on the itinerary as casually as if he’d been invited. “I’ll stand in as your date tomorrow at Joe’s wake. I’d feel strange being there alone since I never knew him.”
“What?” she finally said. “Why would you come to Joe’s wake?”
“For you.” He lifted his wineglass and took a drink and she stared at him some more. “I was going to take in the sights but hearing how upset you are about being here and how nervous you are to see your parents...” He shrugged, a casual lift of one broad shoulder beneath his dark suit jacket. “A work friend wouldn’t let you go alone.”
“That’s hardly your responsibility.” She didn’t exactly snap, but her tone was definitely clipped.
“Well, who knows why I do anything. You did say I was an idiot.” He flashed her a smile.
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