Right. Her coffee.
The guy looked relieved when she took it and stepped away.
James hadn’t taken his gaze away from her, waiting for her to say something.
She studied him, trying to figure out what was different…
“You—you shaved.” Her hand reached out automatically to graze against the smooth surface, but she stopped herself in time. Especially when, now, from this angle, she could see that they’d drawn quite an audience behind them.
“After all I just said to you, that’s all you have to say?” He smiled, though. Tenderly. Hitting her heart all over again.
“Sorry. I’m still processing.” Because for the past few days, Quinn had been telling herself that nothing this man could ever say would make right what had happened. That it was truly over.
And she could remember how sure and resolute she’d been at the time.
Only right now, the sadness and despair that had led up to that decision were no longer there. They’d been replaced with something else. Something warm and bright and joyous, something that was giving her a reason to believe in him again.
“Do you mean it?” she asked in almost a whisper.
“Which part? About the roller blades and fishnet stockings?”
She rolled her eyes, knowing the moment she did that she’d done exactly what he’d expected her to. He did know her, sometimes too well. “The part where you told me you loved me.”
“Ah, that part. Yes, I’m afraid it’s true. It’s also true that I said some terrible things before, but they weren’t true. And I hope you can forgive me.”
“I—I think I already have.” And the minute she said it, she knew it was true, and it felt like the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders.
He took a step forward, his eyes wide with hope, and she could see him fight with wanting to reach out and touch her, just as she did him. “And are you willing to give me—give us—another try?”
Was this really happening?
The guy who she knew she was completely head-over-heels in love with was standing here and telling her he loved her? That he wanted to spend the rest of his life making her happy?
“So what do you say?” he tried again.
“I say that…that I love you, too—”
The rest was cut off as he took that last step forward, his mouth crushing down on hers, and for the first time in a long time, she was able to breathe again. She sighed as she leaned into him, loving the warm comfort of his arm wrapped around her waist. Not even caring about the scene they were creating or the soft applause as people cheered them on.
This was everything she could ever want.
Epilogue
“So…congratulate me,” Quinn said nearly two months later as she stepped into James’s office looking dangerously sexy in a modest knee-length skirt contrasted against sexy black high heels.
He pushed back in his seat, smiling at the flush of excitement that flooded her face. She definitely had his attention.
Unaware of the ideas developing in his brain, Quinn continued, “Not only did I nail that deposition with the HR manager, but their attorney already reached out to talk about settlement.”
“Naturally. You’re Quinn the Ter-Quinn-a-tor and I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he said and went to his door and closed it before returning to where she stood by his desk. He sat on the corner, wrapping his arms around her waist as he drew her close.
He’d been waiting all day for this.
Initially, after they’d made up, James had been resistant to the idea of Quinn working anywhere but Thornhill Management. But in the days and weeks since, he’d come to realize that where she was working, doing what she was doing, helping clients as she felt best…it was the best thing for them both. It certainly made it easier that they didn’t have to butt heads when they disagreed over how a personnel matter should be handled. Something told him that had he tried to pull rank on her on any such issue, it wouldn’t have gone very well.
And then there was the truth in the saying about absence making the heart grow fonder, because he knew that up until she’d walked in that door, he’d been counting the seconds until he saw her again.
He glanced at his watch. It was almost six. “With that all settled, maybe we can finish what we started this morning before you raced from my bed to make it to work on time.” He shot her a look that told her exactly what he had in mind.
She shook her head and smiled. She clearly didn’t think he was serious.
He leaned forward, nuzzling against her neck, placing soft kisses exactly in the place she liked best, earning him a low moan. He pulled back, already seeing the rosy rash on her neck, something that she seemed to particularly enjoy, that his beard usually caused.
“Easy there,” she said. But she was breathless and, judging by the increased flush on her face, definitely excited.
He slipped his hand down over her hips and thighs until it reached the hemline of her skirt. He raised it slowly back up her bare thigh.
“James. You can’t seriously be thinking about doing that…here. Someone could walk in.”
“I installed a lock last week.”
That ended her argument, and before she could think of a new one, he moved his mouth back over hers, stroking her tongue with his until she was grasping his shoulders and pulling him closer.
“I haven’t shared this with you before now,” he said, pulling back to study her, enjoying the disappointment that crossed her face as his kisses temporarily ceased. “But that first day you started here, when you came into my office, trying not to look impressed when you saw the view from the window, determined to focus only on the paperwork I’d handed you…I thought about this. About what it would be like to have my hands up your skirt, hearing you moan as I touched you like this…”
The phone suddenly rang and the voice of his secretary filled the room.
“Mr. Thornhill? Your grandfather wanted to remind you that he’s meeting with you and the reporter in ten minutes to discuss the Blossom Brew grand opening.”
He counted to five, hoping his voice sounded as normal as possible. “Thanks, Pauline. Tell him I’ll meet them in the conference room.”
And he’d had such ideas…
“Are you sure that our leaving this weekend isn’t a bad idea?” she asked him, still in his arms. “There has to be a lot of things that you’re still trying to finalize and—”
“There’s nothing more important than making it back to your hometown for your dad’s birthday. As long as you’re sure he’s not going to shoot me on sight.”
James knew that when he spoke briefly on the phone with Quinn’s dad, he’d seemed to be okay with the idea of James and his daughter being a couple. Especially now that she was back out there again in private practice—and not working for him.
But just in case, maybe he wouldn’t be taking any fishing trips with the man until he was certain.
“Dad and Mom are both happy that I’m happy. Believe me.”
“And Sabrina is okay with our staying out in the guesthouse, leaving her to bunk in her old room again?”
She ran her hand through his hair, tousling it for a moment. “Well, I might have had to offer her a little bribe of my own to get her to come fully to terms with that proposal. But since we have those tickets, it only makes sense that we let her use them.”
Them being tickets to Italy that he’d initially bought to surprise her, only to discover that she would be in trial during the same week on some big case against the city, no less.
“Then I’ll consider it a wash.” He leaned forward and kissed her, suddenly reluctant to leave her if even for a quick fifteen-minute interview. “Guess we should probably continue this after dinner tonight—”
“Sorry,” Quinn said and smiled, her fingers moving to his belt buckle. Earning his immediate attention. “But I think that, at this point, it would be wrong for you not to finish what you started.”
“But we o
nly have—”
Her next move had him sucking in deeply. “All right. If you insist.”
James stared down at the woman he was irrevocably in love with. Who made everything in the world seem possible, who made him feel like he—not just they—could do anything together. “You know I love you, right?”
She leaned forward with a grin before kissing him within an inch of his life. “Nearly as much as I love you.”
“Just…have a little mercy.”
She smiled wickedly back.
<<<<>>>>
About the Author
Ashlee Mallory is a USA Today Bestselling author of romantic comedy, suspense, and thrillers. A recovering attorney, she currently resides in Utah with her husband and two kids. She aspires to one day include running, hiking, and traveling to exotic destinations in her list of things she enjoys, but currently settles for enjoying a good book and a glass of wine from the comfort of her couch.
Ashlee loves to hear from readers. You can find her at any of the following links, so please feel free to drop her a line, or subscribe to her email list and keep updated with any news of upcoming releases, sales, and giveaways by clicking here: Newsletter.
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Crazy for the Boss (Crazy in Love Book 1) Page 21
