Chapter 32
STEPHANIE
“It’s right over there,” I told Jeremiah, pointing out my apartment building. It wasn’t a fancy place. In fact, it was quite simple. An old square brick building with four apartments on each of its six floors.
He pulled into an empty spot outside. A loading zone, but he wouldn’t be leaving the car. Unfortunately. As much as I wanted to invite him up, I knew it wasn’t a good idea.
I turned to him, all hot and bothered from our fancy dinner. It was so out of my comfort zone, the place, the company. And the way he’d treated me all night had me feeling like a princess.
It started with the stuff about chivalry at the office, getting all the doors and then taking me to the nicest restaurant I’d eaten in for a long time. But it was more than that.
“Dinner was delicious, thank you so much for taking me,” I said. A part of me wanted to thank him for also restoring some of my faith in the male species. He’d been such a perfect gentleman all night.
And he opened up to me. I could see it wasn’t always easy for him to talk about the things we did, but he pushed through, and I appreciated it. It gave me as much insight into him as a man as the things he said.
Leaning forward slightly, he turned in his seat and smiled a smile that made my big girl panties wish they were something sexier. And possibly capable of walking themselves into his hands.
“My pleasure,” he said. His voice was lazy, husky. It had none of the clipped, businesslike tones I heard him use most of the time and none of the cocky lilt that accompanied it. “Thanks for coming with me. I wasn’t sure you would, but I had a great time.”
“So did I,” I said. A couple of times during dinner I’d had to remind myself we weren’t on a date. He certainly made me feel special—like I was the only girl in the room. There were some knock-outs in the restaurant, model lookalikes who cast sidelong glances at him. I didn’t even know if he’d noticed.
If he did, I hadn’t picked up on it. It was like he only had eyes for me. A heady feeling I shouldn’t get used to. He was my boss, after all.
“Remember,” he said sternly, capturing my gaze with his warm brown eyes. “I’ll be back on Monday morning to pick you up.”
“You really don’t need to do that.” I had no idea how he’d known I was planning on asking Tiana to give to me rides when she could or to share her car with me until the Jannie situation blew over. He’d been right on the money when he guessed it. “I really can make another plan. My roommate has a car. I’m sure we can figure something out.”
A line appeared between his dark eyebrows as he frowned. “We’ve been through this, Steph. I’m your ride for the time being.”
“I know we talked about it, but you have your hands full. You really don’t need to act as a chaperone for your secretary. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
Sighing, he gave me a pointed look. “You will be fine because I’ll be back on Monday morning to pick you up. Are you really going to refuse the jacket even though you’re cold?”
I thought back to everything he’d said earlier in the evening. He was trying to do right by me. Be a gentleman because it was hardwired into his DNA and he felt responsible for me, something like that.
“Okay,” I said. “If you put it that way, I guess I’d be contributing to the female species killing chivalry if I refuse.”
I didn’t want to get out of his fancy car. It smelled like Jeremiah and leather, and the seats were softer than baby blankets. The dull lights from his dashboard lit up his gorgeous face in dark contours. He was still looking at me like I was all he could see.
Finally, after a tiny sigh escaped his lips, he exited the car and came over to open my door. He offered me his hand to help me get out. His hand was warm and strong. I didn’t want to let go.
He stood for a moment holding my hand. “Sleep well, Stephanie. I’ll be here at seven on Monday morning unless you wanted to go in earlier.”
“Seven’s fine,” I said immediately. This arrangement was going to have the added benefit of letting me sleep in a little while longer in the mornings. It was hard to argue with that. “Good night, Jeremiah. See you on Monday.”
I reluctantly withdrew my hand from his grasp before I lost control of my senses. His touch was making my knees wobbly and lessening my resolve to not throw myself into his arms. I could feel his eyes on my body as I walked to the building. When I reached the front door, I turned with a cheeky smile and waved at him.
He smiled and returned my wave before he drove off. I watched until his lights blended with the others on the road and wondered how on earth I managed to get myself into a situation like this. The man I was more attracted to than I’d ever been to anyone in my life was my boss, and the last person I kissed, and the best date I’d ever been on. It was so unfair.
Jeremiah and I clicked. I didn’t know how or why, but we just did. How sucky was it that the first person I ever felt that kind of chemistry with was totally off-limits? Not to mention out of my league.
I stood outside my apartment building, wrapping my hands around my biceps to warm them and about to go inside when my skin started to tingle. Almost as if someone was watching me. I looked around, but I didn’t see anyone.
It was dark out, and some of our streetlights flickered while others didn’t work at all. The poor light made it hard to see very far, but I was pretty sure there was no one watching me. It had to be my imagination. Or maybe someone just opened their curtains and happened to spot me standing there like an idiot.
It was late and dark. I had a couple of those divine glasses of red wine over dinner. My paranoia about Jannie was just acting up now that I was alone and exposed for the first time today.
Still, it was probably best to get inside. I let myself in and jogged up the stairs, trying to burn off some of the excess energy Jeremiah left me with. He made me feel like I could take on the world, and win.