Page 114 of Dear Grumpy Boss

Elise

Whentheknockfinallycame, I ran for the door. Not caring which man of mine was on the other side, I threw open the door and lunged with my arms open.

Elliot wrapped his around me and backed me into my apartment.

“I’m sorry,” I said into his shoulder.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

As soon as he said it, the tears I’d been keeping on a tight leash began to flood out in uncontrollable rivers.

“You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“No.” His big palm cupped the back of my head. “I considered it, but no.”

I pushed back from him, lightly slapping his cheek. “Don’t even suggest it.”

He attempted to be stern with me. “Then don’t ever keep things from me. I don’t like knowing you’re even capable of subterfuge.”

“Obviously, I’m not very good at it since you figured us out the first time we were in the same place together.”

“He said your decision to keep me in the dark was mutual.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Not at all. He was the one who warned me the longer we hid it, the worse it would be when you found out.”

“I knew it.” He let go of me to stalk farther into my apartment. “You convinced my best friend to lie to me, which he’s never done. Maybe I should be worried about the type of influence you’ll have over Weston.”

I cocked my head. “You don’t seem mad.”

“I’m…not sure what I am. I don’t like the lying.”

“Believe me, I don’t either. It’s unnatural for me to lie to you. But I wanted us to have time, just in case you disapproved, to make sure Weston and I were solid enough to stand up to that.”

“I can’t say Idoapprove.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Elise, do you have any idea how much he works? He won’t be able to give you the time and attention you deserve. That bothers me, and I think, over time, it will bother you too.”

“He’s been coming home early.” I felt the need to defend Weston, though Elliot wasn’t wrong about his track record.

Elliot nodded. “That’s good. But when does he do the work that he should have done in the office?” When I didn’t answer, he went on. “I’m assuming he brings his work home. A man like him doesn’t change, even if he wants to. I want more than that for you.”

“But I had a man who gave me his time and attention, and he still wrecked me.” I pulled on Elliot’s arms, unfolding them, and squeezed his forearm. “Look, I know who Weston is. I’m not blind. I’m choosing him, and he’s choosing me. We’ll work out what we want our relationship to look like, but believe me when I tell you I’m happy with him. Happier than I could have imagined.”

His mouth pressed into a firm line. I understood where he was coming from. Elliot and Weston had been cut from the same cloth, but where Weston had remained bendable, Elliott had been dipped in iron. He was uncompromising and assumed Weston was the same way. In the past, I may have agreed, but now that I knew Weston on a deeper, more intimate level, I didn’t. Weston’s two a.m. office visits were bad, and there was no way he could keep them up, but we were new. It would take time to find the right balance. The fact that he was choosing to spend time with me over work said a lot. It gave me confidence that we could figure this out.

Elliot’s eyebrow winged. “In other words, I should keep my opinions to myself?”

“No, of course not. Your opinion is always welcome, as long as you know I’ll tell you when you’re wrong.”

“When have you not?”

“Never.” I sucked in a breath. “Well, if you want the entire truth, Luca knows. He saw us kissing last weekend.”

“Now that”—Elliot shook his finger at me—“ makes me angry. Luca will never let it drop that he knew before I did.”

“He told us we looked good together.”

Elliot flinched, looking away. “For your sake, I’m trying to be okay with this. Don’t push it.”

I took my brother’s hand in mine. “Come and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. Saoirse made a red velvet cake and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

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