by Sara Whitney
“Two words.” Brandon leaned close. “Assumptive close.”
He spoke as if that answered everything, but Thea just stared blankly at him over the rim of her glass. “How does that help me?”
“Go in like it’s a done deal. Assume the job’s still yours. Assume the guy still loves you. Show up like he’s going to thank you for being there.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
She’d never be able to pull off anything so bold, would she? But Brandon made it sound so reasonable, and she couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life without at least trying to tell Aiden how wrong she’d been to reject him.
Hope started to unfurl in her chest. “Go big or go home, right?”
“Exactly. Go get your job. Go get your man.” He pulled his car keys from his pocket and dropped them on the bar in front of her. “It’s a rental. Don’t wreck it.”
“How will you get back to the office?”
He waved her off as he glanced around the Elephant, which was starting to fill up with a lunch crowd. “Oh, don’t you worry. Unlike you, I’m not in love with anybody, and I see plenty of pretty young things just dying to be chatted up by an out-of-town businessman.” He emptied his drink and waved the empty glass at Tammy. “If I strike out, there’s always Uber.”
She stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. “You know, you might just be the most memorable boss I’ve ever had.”
“Why, thank you.” He sounded genuinely appreciative as he flashed his bright white smile, although she hadn’t exactly given him a compliment. Then he said, “If things don’t work out with the job, let me know and we’ll take you back in a heartbeat.”
She snatched up the keys, suddenly eager to get started on her new plan. “No offense, but I hope I never see you again.”
“Some taken,” he said with a faint smile. “Now get out of here. I want your desk cleaned out by the end of the day.”
“Th-thank you,” she said, overwhelmed and a little giddy. She left him to his hunting grounds and drove back to the Brick with a head full of plans and a heart full of hope.
Twenty-Eight
Aiden was starting to get pissed.
Voices from the lobby had been floating in through his closed office door all morning, but now the conversation had ratcheted up to full-blown waves of laughter. What could possibly be so goddamn funny out there this early on a Monday?
The temp agency must’ve sent a different person this morning because last week’s receptionist hadn’t spoken above a whisper and definitely wasn’t suited to a workplace filled with a bunch of rowdy hammer jockeys. But he couldn’t say for sure because he’d parked his truck in the back and headed straight to his office to avoid the hassle of small talk and basic human pleasantries.
He was shit at basic human pleasantries these days.
He ground his teeth at another roar of laughter from the front room of the lobby area and grimly turned his attention back to the stack of résumés in front of him. One of the people on these pages might be the perfect replacement for his mom, and once that person was hired, he could execute the next step of his plan to win Thea back.
Step One: hire a receptionist to show her that he didn’t love her because of what she could bring to his company. Step Two:…
Okay, he didn’t have a step two yet, but it probably involved apologies and moving slow. He was willing to take things as slowly as she wanted. Start from scratch with a real first date and a real first kiss.
No, fuck that. Kissing Thea had been real long before his brain had figured out what his heart was telling him. He missed her with a ferocity that threatened to overwhelm him sometimes. But he couldn’t start figuring out how to win her back until he found someone good to run the office, so he forced himself to turn back to the papers on his desk. He’d just started skimming the work history on the top sheet when another commotion exploded in the lobby. This one sounded far less hilarious than the last few outbursts. In fact, some of the voices sounded downright urgent.
He set the résumé down and cocked his head, bracing himself for a summons to deal with whatever crisis had just occurred. But nobody came knocking on his door. Everything was quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Since he’d taken over for his dad, he’d learned that quiet wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Goddammit.” He growled the word as he stalked to his door and threw it open to see the new kid they’d hired last month hurrying toward the bathrooms with— Shit, was that blood on his shirt?
“Trevor! What’s happening?”
The kid jumped at the sound of his voice and looked down at the red spatters on his hand. “Samuelson got himself with a nail gun.”
“Got himself?” Fuck. “Where is he?”
The kid jerked his head toward the back room, but before Aiden went to check it out, he asked, “You okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s not my b-blood. It’s just…” Trevor’s already pale face blanched even further, and he turned and bolted toward the restroom. Jesus, what kind of carnage was waiting for him back there? He charged down the hall and burst through the workroom door to find… everything under control.
“Benny, did you find the clean towels? Let’s get Jesse’s station cleaned up.” The woman in the center of the controlled chaos pointed to the workbench in the corner of the room, and time seemed to slow down as Aiden’s heart expanded to fill his chest.
Thea. Focused, calm, and the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. When she turned, her gaze barely paused on him as she turned to another of his employees. “Did you find the first aid kit?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The grizzled workplace vet handed the case over, and Thea gently rested her hand on Samuelson’s back. “I’d like to get this cleaned up a little to see what we’ve got, okay?”
“I’m fine,” Samuelson said through gritted teeth. “Don’t fuss.”
Aiden opened his mouth to forcefully remind the guy that company policy dictated all injuries be checked out immediately, but Thea didn’t give him the chance.
“Come on,” she coaxed in a firm, playful voice. “We can do it in the ladies’ room. Haven’t you always wanted to see what’s through that mysterious door?”
Despite the bright red stain seeping through the cloth wrapped around his hand, Samuelson managed to laugh, and Thea guided him toward the restroom, the first aid kit under one arm.
When they walked past Aiden, she shot him a nervous smile. “Um, surprise?”
Then she hustled past him with her patient, leaving him rooted in place as the two of them pushed through the door to the hall. Ordinarily he’d insist on being part of the examination, but Samuelson always put on a tough-guy front with the guys, so it might be smart to give Thea a chance to take a look without him feeling the need to posture for anyone. Plus, the instant Aiden was face-to-face with her, he was going to have a hard time not falling to his knees and begging her to never leave. Instead, he helped Mendez clean up the area where Samuelson had been working, hiding his shudder at the tacky blood covering the workbench. Then he braved the restroom.
“How’s it going?”
Thea looked up from the gauze she was wrapping around Samuelson’s hand. “He’ll survive, but he should get it checked out at prompt care. Human hands have tons of nerves and things, so a doctor needs to look at it.” She held up her own and wiggled her fingers to demonstrate. “Gotta keep you nimble,” she told Samuelson before addressing Aiden again. “Can you find someone to drive him to the hospital?”
It was so damn nice to hear her sweet voice again that for a split second he didn’t move. But Samuelson’s grimace of pain spurred him into motion. “I’ll pull my truck to the front.” No need to make the poor guy walk past the scene of the accident in the back.
In the lobby, Trip pushed through the workroom door and skidded to a halt when they spotted each other. “What the hell did I miss?”
“Samuelson nail-gunned his hand. I’m going to take him to get
it checked out. Also, Thea’s here.”
Trip blinked once. “Okay, how about I take Samuelson to get checked out and you stay and talk to Thea?”
Aiden didn’t waste a second objecting. “Good plan. Thanks.”
A few minutes later, Trip had loaded the injured man into his truck with a promise to report back, and Aiden was left loitering outside the ladies’ room with his hands jammed into his jeans pockets, waiting for Thea to emerge.
When she finally did, he pushed himself off the wall. “So you’re the new temp who’s had my guys laughing all morning, huh?”
As give me a second chance lines went, that one sucked balls, but he was so damn grateful to see her again that his woman-wooing skills flew from his head. Thankfully, she rolled with it, giving a self-conscious curtsy before twining her fingers together. “Yep! Just um… you know. Trying something new.”
“Impressive performance so far. Did I miss a stretch when you worked as a paramedic or something?”
She relaxed as he spoke, her hands landing on her hips and her lips curling into a familiar Thea grin. “Former nanny, remember? I did a first aid course for that one.”
“Thank God. You were a billion times calmer than anybody else would’ve been.”
She lifted her chin. “I’m super-temp. Speaking of, I should…” She jerked her thumb toward the front desk, and Aiden’s first instinct was to tell her that the phone and client requests and the whole damn business could go to hell.
But he knew a little bit about the woman he loved, and he knew she’d want to do the job she was here to do. So he nodded instead of begging her to stay and talk to him in the hallway for the rest of time.
Still, he reached out and caught her wrist as she walked past. “Don’t leave for the day without stopping by my office, okay?”
He didn’t miss the hitch in her breathing or the nervous swipe of her tongue over her lower lip. “Okay.”
The rest of the day proceeded at the slowest pace Aiden had ever endured. The minutes dragged. The hours crawled. Trip texted that Samuelson’s hand was going to be fine. Laughter ebbed and flowed from the lobby area again, and Aiden was murderously envious of every person in this building who got to enjoy Thea’s smiles. But he kept his distance for fear that he’d lose all control and throw her over his shoulder so he could find out what she was doing here.
Finally—fucking finally!—the day ticked to a close, and there was a soft knock on his door. Thea stuck her head into the office. “Is now a good time?”
“God yes.” He shot to his feet and walked around the desk, fingers itching to touch her. But he stopped a few feet away. If she was here, it had to be for a reason, and he was absolutely not going to assume a damn thing this time. He’d spent all day trying to squash the hope bubbling up in his chest, but looking at her sweet face now, he couldn’t hold back the words. “I meant what I said that morning.”
Color washed over her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “Do you still? Mean it?”
He took a step closer, his voice dropping. “Are you asking if I still love you?”
Her breath hitched at the word, and she nodded, her big brown eyes locked on his.
“Yes. I do,” he said. “And I want to date you.”
She blinked. “What?”
“You said we’d never even gone on a date. You’re right, and you deserve that.” Another step brought him close enough that he could reach out and touch her, but he held himself back. “You deserve someone who sees you across a room and says, ‘Her. I want to get to know her better.’ You deserve someone who’ll pick you up at your front door and boost you up into his truck because it’s too tall for your gorgeous legs.”
Another step. Another few inches closer to the woman who was more important to him than anything in the world.
“You deserve someone who’ll choose a quiet restaurant so he can hear everything you say over dinner. Because the things you say, Thea? The funny, smart, surprising things that come out of your mouth? I don’t want to miss a single word.”
She was blinking faster now as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and Aiden finally reached for her, cupping her face and blotting the moisture on her lashes with his thumbs.
“You deserve someone who’ll drive you home and walk you to the door and kiss you good night. You deserve someone who’ll leave you with a fast pulse and sweet dreams, who’ll come back and take you out again, over and over, until he’s shown you that he’s worthy of your good, trusting heart.” He leaned down, desperate to kiss her but reluctant to push. “You deserve everything, and I want to be the man who gives it all to you. I’ll be patient. You made me believe I could offer someone a lifelong commitment. And now I want to date you and hold your hand and wait for you to believe you’re worth of that too. As long as it takes.”
As he spoke, his hands slid down to caress the sides of her throat, then skimmed over her shoulders to fall by his sides as he waited in agony for her next words. Slowly, ever so slowly, her stunned expression shifted into a frown.
“No,” she said. “I don’t want that.”
Pain lashed through him at her words, but before he could respond, she reached for his hand.
“I don’t need any of that. I just need you.” She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. “You overwhelm me. I didn’t think it would be possible, but you make me want forever.”
His palm met hers, small and soft in his grip. “Oh yeah? Forever?”
“I know. Such a long time.” She shook her head helplessly. “But it turns out, loving you is actually really easy once you let yourself.”
Joy. Total joy coursed through his veins at her words, and his whole body lit up. “You love me?”
“I do. So much,” she said. “Forever.”
He studied her face, searching for any trace of doubt or fear, but her eyes were dreamy and her lips tipped up at the corners. This was what Thea looked like when she finally let herself believe in him, in them. He’d been sincere about every compliment he’d ever paid her, but time and again she’d brushed his words aside or laughed them off. Today though, he saw how she transformed when that belief sank into her bones. He never wanted her to lose that, so he did his part to drive the message home.
Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her close and said, “If I get to have any say in it, I’d choose to be with you forever too.”
“You get some say in that, yes.” She inhaled shakily and rested a hand on his chest. “So new plan: I’m choosing you. Work and home. My whole life. With my whole heart.” Then a wicked little smile stretched across her face. “And I’m not just saying that because you still owe me a skylight in the bedroom.”
“I’ll get started on it tonight.” He wrapped his other arm around her and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist and he could have unfettered access to her lips.
She looped her arms around his neck. “I might have a couple of things on my to-do list that are a little more important than that.”
“Like what?”
“Me, for one,” she said pertly, and he tightened his hold on her so he could open his office door, flick off the light, and carry her down the hall toward his truck so he could drive them straight home.
But they got a little delayed when he spun and pressed her against the wall so he could kiss her until they were both breathless.
“There’s a lot more of that on my list,” she said huskily when they pulled away. “But with a lot fewer clothes.”
He groaned. “What am I going to do with you, killer?”
“Love me for the rest of our lives?” She looked up at him, and he had to kiss her again.
“Yep. That’s the plan.”
Epilogue
Nine years later
“Absolutely not!”
The two Murdochs froze as Thea stepped onto the front porch and slammed the hobbit door behind her.
“But Mom! I want to help!”
Thea turned her narrowed gaze on he
r husband. “A ladder? Really?”
Aiden shot her an apologetic smile. “A short ladder. With her dad standing right behind her.”
She pressed a hand to her heart. “I swear, you two take ten years off my life every time you work around the house together. And you.” She cast her eyes down at Blue, who was stretched on her belly and watching the pair with a doggy smile on her face. “We talked about this. You’re supposed to bark for me when he lets the seven-year-old handle power tools.”
Blue yipped and returned to her happy tongue-lolling supervision of the installation of the Christmas decorations.
“It’s a hammer.” Aiden reached up to swing Leigh off the ladder. “A small hammer.”
“I put the lights over the nails!” Leigh pointed to the strand of lights draped around the picture window in the front of the house, her face glowing with excitement, and Thea melted immediately. That girl had her father’s charm to go along with his hazel eyes.
“You did an outstanding job,” she said. “Think we’ll be the best on the block again this year?”
“We’d better be, given our many years of combined home-improvement experience.” Aiden pulled her tight against him, and she gladly slid into his embrace. The late-November air was too cold to be endured without the warmth of her handsome husband’s body wrapped around her.
“Speaking of, I’ve got a line on a new venue for the company holiday party. Want any details before I book it?”
Aiden gave her the answer he’d used frequently during their nine years working together at Murdoch Construction. “Nah, I trust you.”
“It’ll be epic,” she promised.
“When you’re in charge, it always is.” He noticed Leigh moving toward the rosebushes flanking the front porch and released Thea to crouch next to their daughter. “Remember what we talked about?”
“Grandpa planted these years before I was born, and if we’re careful with them, they’ll come back every year.” She dutifully recited the information as Thea drifted over to join them.
