Page 74 of Business or Pleasure

“I’m going to hold you to that,” I informed him before pulling his head down for a longer, more thorough kiss, the kind that left both of us breathless and wanting.

My knees were still weak when I took his arm and we headed out to my car. Baylen, after asking my permission, drove us to Altura, one of Seattle’s most romantic restaurants. Beautiful, with great food, it was one of those places women were always thrilled to go, and I was happy to be there, but I was pretty sure I would’ve been happy anywhere as long as I was with him.

“Have you spoken to Jin yet about what happened?” he asked as we settled at our table.

“I finally got through to her this afternoon,” I said. “She and Quaid are visiting the world’s largest ball of twine, apparently.”

“That’s a real thing?”

I laughed. “Cawker City, Kansas. Jin’s always wanted to see it, so when Quaid said they should go on a road trip, she said that’s where she wanted to go.”

“I’m not sure that’s the sort of holiday I would want to take, but everyone’s different.” He chuckled. “How long to they intend to be gone?”

We spent most the next hour talking about Jin and Quaid’s trip, both where they’d been and where they still planned to go. I showed him pictures of the pair with all of the crazy things they’d gone to see, some of which were even stranger than the ball of string. That led us into talking about travel and, after our waiter took our dessert orders, I thought it was time to bring up the subject we’d avoided all week.

Bracing myself, I asked the hard question. “Have you decided when you’re going home?”

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that,” he said. Reaching over, he took my hand. “Perhaps this is too soon, but after almost losing you once, I don’t want to risk anything happening before I can tell you how I feel.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“I love you, Harlee.” His fingers tightened around mine. “I think I started falling for you the moment I saw you on that stage and I knew I wanted more than that one night before it was even over.”

“I love you too.” The words came out in a whisper, but they were full of all the emotion I was feeling.

Relief and joy lit up Baylen’s eyes until they almost glowed. “Then I guess I can ask this with at least a little more confidence: will you come back to Scotland with me?”

I wanted to yell of course but I knew I had to be practical about it. “I can’t ask Alec for a vacation.”

Baylen squeezed my hand. “I don’t mean for holiday. I want you to move to Scotland. Live with me there.”

I stared at him, thinking I must’ve misheard, misunderstood, because there was no way he’d just asked me to move to Scotland to live with him. Shit like that just didn’t happen, not to women like me. That was fairytale stuff.

“Harlee? Say something.” The light in Baylen’s eyes dimmed. “It’s all right if you don’t want to. We can figure this out.”

“I want to,” I blurted out the truth. “I’m just a little shocked. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“But you want to?” There was hope and happiness in that question.

“I do.” Something inside me shifted and I knew what I had to do. The only thing I could do. “Yes, I’ll come to Scotland with you.”

Before I could blink, he had my face in his hands and his mouth on mine. For a moment, I forgot we were in public, forgot everything but the pressure of his lips and the rightness of being with him. Then the kiss was over, and I was second-guessing getting dessert.

“We have a lot to do,” Baylen said, “but let’s not get into any of that tonight.”

I agreed as the waiter set our desserts in front of us. Before I took two bites, however, a thought occurred to me, making me laugh. “One thing though. I think you should be the one to tell Alec. I don’t think he’ll be too happy that I’m leaving after he went to all that trouble to help me.”

Baylen smiled. “Trust me, my friend will put my happiness above work.” Then he tilted his head, as if something had just come to him. “Though, perhaps it needn’t be a resignation. MIRI does have offices in Scotland, after all.”

I blinked at that. “Do you think he would transfer me?”

“I think he’d be a fool to lose you,” Baylen said. “Anyone would.”

Was it possible? Could I actually have this amazing man, a new home in a new country, and keep a job that I loved? Yes, I’d be giving up the people I worked with at MIRI here, ones who might’ve become real friends. Yes, I’d be leaving Jin behind, leaving the only city I’d ever known. But it wasn’t as if I couldn’t visit. And keeping in touch with Jin would be easy.

And I’d be gaining so much.

She’d be happy for me, I knew. Just as I would be for her if our places were changed.

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