His face was only an inch or two from mine. I could smell sweet whiskey on his breath. The chemistry between us was mind-blowing. Insane. Undeniable. Electrifying.
Damn, did I want to kiss him. BAD. Very badly.
But kissing the boss was a BAD idea, a very bad idea.
We were about to officially cross boundaries.
My entire career would be on the line. If things go sour...
Should I say damn to the consequences and follow my heart?
Our eyes met only for a second—frozen, like he was asking for permission. Then he took my face in both hands and leaned down once more...
“...I’m so sorry, but I can’t do this!”
I was out of his arms the next second, weaving my way back through the crowd until I finally reached the exit and burst through the door. The freezing air hit me like a slap to the face.
Waking me up. Bringing me to my senses.
What the fuck are you doing, Abby?! He’s your fucking client!
He’s also my friend...
Did I mention he’s your ONLY client?! And Mitchell Hunter’s SON?!
“Abby?”
I whirled around to see Nick standing there by the door. The ID stamp to get into the club was still shining bright on his wrist, and tiny clouds of steam were rising off his body.
He was everything a girl could ever want. Beautiful. Funny. Sweet. Trustworthy. Oh, and did I mention the guy was fucking hot?!
But none of that mattered, right? Because he was a client, and we were drunk, and we were heading back to New York in the morning.
...right?
“I’m sorry, Nick.” I turned with drunken tears in my eyes and started walking back across the street, both shaken and overwhelmed by what had almost happened. “I have no idea what got into me. That was obviously so wildly inappropriate, I can’t even—”
“Hey,” he caught my wrist and spun me back around, catching up to me before I’d taken more than a few steps, “what happened to what happens in Spain, stays in Spain??
??
I stared up into his eyes, searching, like I might find answers there.
“Nick—this is me. And you. We can’t do this. This isn’t us.”
He lips parted for a second, before he bowed his head. Unable to refute it. Unable to claim that it wasn’t true. But a second later, he muttered something under his breath, something so quiet, I almost wasn’t able to hear.
“But it could be.”
I lifted my head, still shivering with the sudden temperature change. “What?”
His face lit up, and he stared down with sudden confidence. The kind of confidence I’d learned to fear. The kind I’d learned to crave.
“When we get back to New York, you’re just going to find another girl for me, aren’t you? Someone else to keep the board happy for three more months until the merger?”
My face blanched, caught completely off guard. Of course, professionally speaking, that would be the best scenario. If Mitchell had anything to say about it, it was probably the only way I’d be able to keep my job. But after Ella, I didn’t think Nick would even consider it.
“Um...yeah,” I replied slowly. “I mean, if you’re amenable, then I—”