He dragged his mouth from hers and quickly loosened his hold on her. “Am I hurting you?”
“No.” She smiled and reached beneath her. “This was,” she explained, pulling out the television remote.
She pointed it at the set, pushed the Off button, and then tossed the remote carelessly to the floor. “Now,” she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Where were we?”
“Right here,” he murmured and kissed her again.
At the moment there was nowhere else on earth he’d rather be.
FOR THE FIRST TIME in longer than he could remember, Andrew didn’t want to get out of bed the next morning. Usually, he was up before the alarm, methodically dressing for the office while his thoughts raced ahead, neatly categorizing and preparing for any eventuality in his workday. Usually, there was no reason to stay in bed.
This was not a usual day.
He stood for several long moments beside the bed, thinking that watching Nicole sleep could easily become addictive. And then he made himself turn away and go into the bathroom. He couldn’t help noticing that his shower was rather lonely without Nicole to share it with him.
He dressed as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb her. He was just knotting his tie when she stirred and opened her eyes.
“I tried to be quiet,” he said apologetically. “It’s still early, if you want to go back to sleep.”
She yawned and pushed her hair away from her face. “Where are you going?”
He shrugged into his suit jacket. “To the office. The holiday’s over, I’m afraid. Work calls.”
Holding the sheet to her chest, she sat up. “You’re the boss. Can’t you play hooky for a day?”
He smiled faintly. “The company would probably be bankrupt by lunchtime without me there to supervise it.”
She returned the smile. “I hope you don’t really believe that.”
“No,” he admitted. “But I have a meeting this morning I really can’t miss. If it hadn’t been scheduled for over a month, I’d forget about work today and crawl back into bed with you.”
Her eyes widened. “Something tells me that’s quite a compliment.”
He leaned over to brush a kiss over her mouth. “Believe it. I haven’t been tempted to miss a day of work in at least five years.”
She traced his lower lip with her finger. “Mmm. You tempt me to try harder to tempt you.”
He groaned. “You wouldn’t have to try very hard. But I really do have to attend this meeting.”
She sighed deeply. “All right. I’ll be good. Dam it.”
He kissed her again—but quickly, since he wasn’t at all sure of his usually impressive willpower.
“I don’t have time for breakfast,” he said, stepping rather too quickly away from her. “Feel free to ask Martha for whatever you like. She likes to cook.”
She nodded, and he hesitated, uncertain what to say next. He wanted to ask about her plans for the day—but he wasn’t sure she’d consider that any of his business.
He wanted to ask her not to leave—but he wouldn’t pressure her to stay here if she was ready to go.
He wanted to know that their time together hadn’t ended just because real life had intruded—but he didn’t know how to ask if she wanted to see him again after today.
It had been a very long time, if ever, since Andrew had felt so tongue-tied and unsure of himself. “Uh... Is there anything else you need before I go?”
“No, thank you.”
“I should be home by six. Would you like to go out for a movie or something later?” he asked, awkward as a schoolboy.
He couldn’t quite read her expression as she studied him. Was she surprised that he’d asked? Was she trying to think of a good excuse to turn him down? Was she—