Falling For Her Boss

by Kay Lyons

  “Run screaming from the room?”

  She winced. “I already did that once today.”

  Ashley’s eyes widened. “You did?”

  “Practically, yeah. It’s nothing, just that Bryan and I got into the stupidest argument. I was in a horrible mood after listening to the gossips describe my life from birth to what will be my death and then…”

  “Then?”

  “Then I overheard a married woman hitting on Bryan while insulting me in the same breath, and—”

  “Who?” Ashley sat up abruptly. “Who did that?”

  “It doesn’t matter who.”

  “But he turned her down, right? He did turn her down?”

  “Yeah.”

  Ashley fell back against the cushions in obvious relief. “So what did this woman say? How did she insult you?” She made a face. “And why don’t I shut up now so you can get the story out and then ask my questions?”

  “Good idea,” Melissa said, smiling because she knew Ashley wouldn’t take the teasing to heart. “I’m still not telling you who, but her cleavage was out to here,” she said, lifting her hand in front of her chest in an exaggerated description, “and she rubbed herself against him and said I wasn’t ‘woman enough’ for him, and he’d soon grow bored.”

  “That witch!” Ashley was up again, her hands fisted on her lap. “Who was it? Did Bryan put her in her place? He better have set her straight or I’ll go talk to him my—”

  “I didn’t stick around to find out.”

  “Melissa! You can’t pay any attention to people like that. Is that what you and Bryan fought over?”

  “It’s what led to the fight,” she admitted sheepishly. “Bryan accused me of lumping him into the male-jerk category when I said all men are obsessed with breasts and he’d practically dissolved into a puddle due to the cleavage she presented him, and then before I knew it I practically whined, because he—oh, I can’t repeat it again.” She buried her nose in Issy’s soft pink blanket. “It’s too humiliating. One day and I blew it. I’ll never be able to face him.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Yes.” Raising her head, she found her friend looking at her with a curious expression. “What?”

  “Nothing. Just wondering why you’re worrying so much about what Bryan thinks. Over the last year you’ve outright avoided him.” Her eyes widened then narrowed, a suspicious grin forming on her full lips.

  “Don’t look at me like that. Ashley—no.”

  “Yes.”

  “No!”

  “I wouldn’t have thought so, either, but if you could see the expression on your face right now,” Ashley drawled, her grin widening rapidly. “Melissa, you and Bryan would make—”

  “Nothing. We would make nothing!”

  “—a gorgeous couple. You’re both tall, blond and—well, gorgeous.”

  She snorted. “Oh, please. Since when is a woman who looks like Peter Pan considered hot?”

  “I don’t know, the cut is very sexy.”

  “Having a baby has affected your vision. That or the sleep deprivation is getting to you.”

  Ashley sighed. “If your hesitation is about the past—”

  “How can it not be? Bryan might be gorgeous, but the man has boinked practically every woman in town.”

  “Did you just say boinked?”

  “Even if—and there’s no way—but even if we were to, how could I ever measure up to all those women? Ashley, after the mastectomy I didn’t…I didn’t have reconstructive surgery.”

  “What? Why not?” Ashley’s face darkened with color. “If you don’t mind my asking?” She waved a hand to where Issy lay cradled against her. “You mean that’s not…?”

  “Real? Nope.” She inhaled and sighed. “It’s a special bra. And I didn’t have the surgery because I was never that big anyway and I guess I thought there’d never be a need for it because at the time all I could think about was my mom and grandmother and…”

  “You thought you were going to die anyway.” Ashley’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Melissa, do you mean to tell me you never believed you had a chance?”

  “Would you?” she whispered softly. “It runs in the family, remember? And neither my mom nor my grandmother made it.”

  “But you did.”

  “Still, the odds were stacked against me. I could have the surgery now. I’ve… thought about it but— I should not be telling you this.” She closed her eyes, ashamed, the sweet baby scent of Issy reminding her that there was such a thing as sharing too much. “You just had a baby, and here I am going on and on, laying this on you.”

  “I’m your friend, Melissa. You can tell me anything.”

  The baby began squirming in her arms, her little face scrunching up and turning red until Isabella opened her mouth and began to cry like a pro. Saved by the bellow again.

  “Here, give her to me. Would you mind going down to the kitchen to get a bottle while I change her? Dara will show you.”

  Melissa shook her head, more than ready to escape. “Not at all.” She handed Isabella over to her mother and had made it to the door when Ashley stopped her by saying her name. “Need something else?” Melissa asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, nodding. “Melissa, Bryan might be drop-dead gorgeous, but he’s not like other guys.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I say so. Bryan’s a lot of things, but he’d never make a woman feel inferior. Take the married woman, for example. You said he turned her down, but did Bryan ever come out and say anything horrible to her?”

  She replayed the afternoon in her head. “No. Not really.”

  “I thought not. And he wouldn’t, because that’s not him. But anyway, what I referred to earlier when I mentioned the past was what happened with Josie and how Bryan was the one to find out the truth.”

  “Oh.” Now she felt foolish. Why hadn’t she kept her mouth shut? “What about it?”

  “You’ve avoided Bryan since then.”

  “I have not.”

  “You don’t come to any of our cookouts or dinners if he’s going to be here.”

  “I’ve been busy. It’s just coincidence.” But was it? Her cheeks heated, and she hoped Ashley didn’t notice. After that day at her house when Bryan had seen her breakdown—

  “You might like to know that whenever the subject has come up, Bryan has repeatedly told everyone who’ll listen that you weren’t to blame, that Josie’s reaction to the medicine could’ve happened to any parent or doctor under the circumstances.”

  He had? She gripped the painted doorjamb, her fingers hurting because she squeezed so tight. “Thank you for telling me.” The whisper came out hoarse, choked. She’d always wondered what Bryan really thought. Wondered if he’d ever hinted to anyone that she should’ve done more. Should’ve been more aware or been the person sentenced to prison instead of Joe.

  “Melissa?”

  She blinked, shoving her pain-filled thoughts away. “Yeah?”

  “Issy and I would like one of the hot-pink bottles,” Ashley said with a perfectly straight face. “To match her outfit.”

  Melissa laughed softly. “Got it. One hot-pink bottle coming up!”

  * * *

  ARE YOU ALMOST ready for the big day?” Hal watched Ellen closely, noting how she bit her lower lip in anxiety.

  “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?”

  He tried to remember when Maggie had been pregnant with Melissa. The mood swings, the tears. “I’m positive.”

  “Has Melissa said if she’s coming?”

  His arm tightened around Ellen’s shoulders and he pulled her closer, his lips brushing her forehead. “Not yet. We’ve been busy and haven’t talked much these past couple days.”

  A sniffle sounded a moment before he felt the hot warmth of a tear hit his chest. “I hate that it’s going to be this way.”

  “She’ll come around, just give her time.”

  “But you’re not talking!”

 
“We’ve both been working a lot.” It sounded like a lame excuse and he knew it. He didn’t like it, either, but his daughter wasn’t going to ruin the best thing that had happened to him in a long time.

  “I…I invited Bryan to the wedding. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “If you want him to come, that’s fine.”

  “He’s a decent guy, and I think deep down you know it.”

  He scowled. “At least I can keep an eye on her since she’s right next door.”

  “See? You’re focusing on the positive,” she drawled, her tone revealing only a slight trace of sarcasm.

  Hal rubbed her back and shoulders, feeling the tension slowly subside. They sat side by side on her couch, snuggled close. “You go to the doctor today?”

  She nodded and her chin bumped his chest. “They did an ultrasound. I couldn’t make anything of it, but the doctor said the baby looks fine.”

  Thank God. “Any worries about its mama?” His voice emerged husky and anxious, not what he wanted. Ellen squeezed him in response and Hal relished her strength, the lush feel of her pressed against him.

  “I’m fine. Stop worrying.”

  His chuckle lacked humor. “I’ll stop if you stop,” he murmured, wincing when he realized how similar it sounded to the challenge Melissa had issued to him.

  “I love you, Hal. I’m sorry for upsetting Melissa, but…I love you. Too much to let you go.”

  He smoothed his knuckles over her cheek. “Good thing. You’d have a hard time getting me to go anywhere. Better remember that if you ever decide you want a younger man.”

  “Who’d want a younger man when an older one has only gotten better with age?” Her eyes were sparkling, her grin seductive.

  Chuckling, he kissed her, determined he’d show her just how much better an older man could be.

  * * *

  AN HOUR LATER Melissa stared across the table at her father, on the verge of jumping up to run from the room screaming as Ashley had suggested. He looked…calm. And considering he’d just come from Ellen’s house—

  Eww, eww, eww! When would the day end?

  “I’ll put your orders in and be out with your drinks.” Dara, the woman Ashley had hired about a year after opening, gave them a quick smile and walked away.

  Melissa fiddled with her napkin, unwrapped her utensils and arranged them, and then smoothed the napkin over her lap, well aware of her father’s scrutiny the entire time.

  “You’ve been avoiding me.”

  “I was at work and it was my first day on the job. I couldn’t exactly talk to my father about his personal life every time he chose to call.”

  “Mel, can we drop the attitude and just talk? I need that right now.”

  “Ellen putting pressure on you again?”

  “No, she’s not. You are.” He leaned across the table. “Why can’t you accept that I want to be with her?”

  “You know why.” The muscles in her shoulders tensed painfully. “You don’t have to marry the first woman who comes along. Ellen might be nice, she might be great, but—”

  “She’s pregnant.”

  Chapter 10

  MELISSA BLINKED, unable to comprehend what he’d just said because of the blood rushing to leave her head. “That’s not funny.” Her dad stared at her, his gaze, his expression, dead serious. Remembering her comment to Ashley about her dad meeting her in public to drop yet another bomb, she laughed, the sound high-pitched. “I don’t believe this— I don’t believe her!”

  “Stop right there and lower your voice.” His cheeks took on a ruddy hue.

  She was too shocked to care that her outburst had gained the other diners’ attention. She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her stomach, unable to stop the near-hysterical laughter bubbling up and out of her chest. No doubt she sounded manic.

  “Melissa.”

  “Oh, the irony!” She snickered, earning an even deeper scowl from her father. “This is just too good. I mean, she arranged for Bryan to hire me so she could get me out of the way and marry you sooner, but as a backup plan, she got herself knocked up!” Her father’s face was awash with angry color, his eyes glittering dangerously, but it didn’t keep her from saying what had to be said. “What, she didn’t tell you about coercing Bryan into hiring me? Why am I not surprised? I wouldn’t have found out myself if Bryan hadn’t slipped. For the record, he defended her, too.”

  “You didn’t have an interview set up with Booker that day at the station?”

  Guilt stirred, but she clamped it down. She would not feel guilty. “No, I didn’t. I was stunned when I heard you talking about your old age and how I was holding you back so I…fibbed and hoped for the best. Then Bryan appeared behind me, courtesy of Ellen, and the rest is history.”

  “I can’t believe you thought lying would solve anything.”

  Leave it to her father to focus on that. “Yeah, well, despite everything, I guess I have some pride left, and being discussed like a child left me a little wobbly. Besides, you can’t honestly blame me, can you? I mean, you can thank Ellen for all the time I’m spending with—” she leaned toward him and lowered her voice “—Bang ’em Booker, right?”

  Her father shifted in his seat, unable to sit still. She heard his teeth grind together, felt the frustration rolling off him in waves and identified with it.

  A baby? The air left her lungs. Growing up, she’d always wanted a little brother or sister, but not now. And certainly not like this when it meant her dad would have a new life with a new wife and a new kid to replace the old one, the sick one who’d caused so many problems over the years. How could she possibly fit into a situation like that?

  Her father released his breath in a rush, a slow nod turning into two, three. “You needed a job,” he murmured finally, “and Ellen thinks of Booker as a friend. She was trying to help you. That’s why she did it. That’s why he hired you, too. You played together way back when, were friends even though he got you into more trouble than not.”

  “Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Because personally, after what you just said about her being—”

  “I’ve been around thieves and crooks too long to not be able to tell when I’m being played. Booker gets my back up because of the way he treats women, but I’m not his judge or jury, and the man does have a way with patients. He treated that girl Anna with respect, gave her the help she needed and he helped Ellen quite a bit before I came into the picture, too. Just like he helped you by giving you a job.” He ran a hand over his face. “I don’t care for his antics, but I see the good in him, too. Just like you need to see the good in Ellen.”

  “Seeing the good doesn’t explain how Ellen got pregnant.”

  “Mel, Ellen isn’t old by any means, but a baby at thirty-eight isn’t something she’d do lightly. It just happened.”

  Could it really be an accident? Like she could judge? “You’ll be fifty in two years. Do you want to be a dad now?”

  “I planned on marrying Ellen months ago. This is just—”

  “Rushing things even more,” she declared, her throat closing up at the thought of the inevitable days ahead. “I didn’t care for the idea before, but now I really don’t like it. Dad, you can’t marry her, pregnant or not.”

  His expression closed in an instant. “Your blessing would be nice, but I’m not asking for your permission. I wanted to sit down and talk to you, to tell you myself with the hope that we could settle things between us before word got out. It’s important for a family to stick together, and like it or not, Ellen is your family now. I expect you to stand by her in this.”

  Melissa realized in that moment that she’d said the one thing she shouldn’t have said. No one gave Hal York orders, and if they did, it was in preparation of being proved wrong. But she wasn’t fighting against him, she was fighting for him, for her place in his life. And that angered her even more. “This is crazy. You know it is.”

  “Why?” His gaze was searching, hard. “Because I want
a life with a woman I love? Because I refuse to live with one foot in your mother’s grave the way you do? You look so much like your mama, Mel, but she wasn’t a coward.”

  Shocked silence filled the void between them and Melissa stared at him, her body, her mind, reeling, her sharp gasp the only indication of her pain. The father who’d always supported her, stood by her and held her during the worst moments of her life, had broken her heart.

  He thought her a coward?

  Her dad leaned over the table, hands clasped together atop the pristine tablecloth, his knuckles white. She focused on them, remembering when they’d felt like the strongest hands in the world. Now they were letting go. No, they’d let go.

  “You’re not living, Melissa Ann, you’re existing. You don’t want me to marry Ellen. Don’t want me to have another child, but the truth is you don’t want to live because you’re afraid to. You’re afraid to move on, afraid to be happy. Too dang afraid despite the second chance you’ve been given. I want you to have what your mother and I had. What Ellen and I have. I don’t want to bury another person I love because you’re too afraid to take life by the horns and live while you can for as long as you can.”

  Pain engulfed her. Her muscles ached and her stomach rolled, physical pain caused by overwhelming anguish that took her breath and left her gasping. She stared at him, lips parted, too angry to release the tears burning her eyes, too angry to do much more than hurt. “I’m not afraid. When the cancer comes back—”

  “Not when, if!” His fist slammed down on the table. “If!”

  She swallowed tightly then tried to wet her dry lips. Her chest hurt, and it took every ounce of pride she had to remain in the chair whispering over the table as if the topic of conversation held no more importance than the weather for the upcoming Little Miss Fall Parade.