“So no pressure then.”
Melinda smiled and moved back toward him, placing her palm over his heart. “The problem with you, dear boy, is you spend way too much time thinking about everything and not doing what your heart desires. You need to stop thinking and start feeling. That is the guide you have to follow. You know what you want when it comes to Eliza, to home, to everything. Follow it.”
He couldn’t help but take a step back, a little shocked by the sheer power of her voice.
“Now you may go. I’ve done what has been needed.”
When Melinda told you to leave, you left, no questions asked.
Removing his apron, he left the diner. He looked around the town, seeing the name Boone everywhere. As a kid, he’d sometimes get a little uncomfortable. It was a legacy he didn’t feel like he could follow. This wasn’t his town.
It was his father’s.
Now, as a forty-year-old man, with a business of his own, a name made for himself, he felt pride at what he’d been able to achieve.
He walked home, taking his time, thinking about what all Melinda had said. Even as he wanted to think it was all lies to manipulate, he knew it wasn’t. Melinda wasn’t like that. Never had been.
Running a hand down his face, he tried to clear his thoughts, but all he kept thinking about was Eliza. Feeling her against him.
He … wanted her.
He’d been wanting her for a long time, and if he stopped thinking like her boss, and just as a man, then he knew exactly what the next step was.
Arriving back home, he went toward the pool, then to the kitchen. He found his parents snuggled up on the sofa, kissing. Gross. “Have you guys seen Eliza?” he asked.
“She went back to your room to take a shower. Did you have fun in town?” his mother asked.
“Yes, it was eventful.” He didn’t linger. Turning on his heel, he made his way upstairs. Ever since Trudy had brought home Caroline, his family seemed to tread on eggshells around him.
He had no feelings for Caroline, not now, not ever. His sister had still yet to come out. Seeing as she’d interrupted his and Eliza’s moment, sneaking her own girlfriend into the sun house, he had a feeling she had no intention of telling them.
Preston walked into the bedroom.
The bathroom door was still open, and he flicked the lock on the door. After kicking off his shoes, he sat down on the edge of the bed and waited.
He glanced at the time, hearing the shower turn off. Eliza hummed to herself. He waited, tense, and with every passing second, he ran Melinda’s words through his head repeatedly.
Eliza finally entered the bedroom and came to a stop with a jolt and a gasp. “Preston, I didn’t know you were back home. I wouldn’t have taken so long in the shower.”
“I want to fuck you,” he said.
Eliza froze, her hand holding her towel as if it was a lifeline. “Mr. Boone, this is deeply inappropriate.”
“I cannot get you out of my head. Don’t use my title. We both know you haven’t been treating me as your boss. I’m not taking advantage of you. I’m not going to give you an ultimatum. Your job is secure and safe. You know this.”
“This is … that’s a line we cannot cross.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“You know why not.” She sighed. “Sex complicates everything. I like working for you, Preston.”
“Your job isn’t going to be in question, Eliza.”
“What about when the sex finishes?” she asked. “What then? When I have to go back to getting you jewelry for someone else. Do you think that’s going to be easy for me?”
“Why do you feel this has to end?”
“Everything has to end at some point,” she said.
He stood up and moved toward her. Eliza held herself straight.
“I felt how much you wanted me,” he said. He stroked a curl of wet hair back from her face. “I liked the way you felt against me. I’ve been thinking of nothing else, and every time I do, I get hard just imagining it.” He leaned close so his lips were right next to her ear. “I think about tasting your pussy, Eliza. I know you’re going to taste good, and I know you’re going to be the perfect fit on my rock-hard cock.”
“Stop,” she said, moaning and leaning a little into him. “We shouldn’t do this.”
“Tell me you haven’t thought about me. Tell me that you don’t think about what it would be like to be with me. Have you wondered how I’d feel inside you? Kissing you. Fucking you. Tasting you.” He pressed her up against the wall, putting his hands at either side of her head, but touching her with only his body. He thrust his pelvis against her, letting her feel just how hard he was. “Do you feel that? I’m rock-hard for you. All I want is you. I don’t think of anyone else but you.”