Page 59 of Beauty and the Boss Man

Chapter Twenty-four

Romy

This time, our trip in the elevator is a bit quieter than our ride earlier in the day.

I spent the rest of the seminar with my head in a fog. Aiden’s words hit me right in the feels, and I can’t stop thinking about them. They replay in my head as I try to decipher their exact meaning and tone.

Was it just a boss telling his employee how much she’s appreciated? That’s probably what it looked like to everyone else.

But to me, it seemed like more—so much more. Maybe I’m reading too much into things. I might be imagining all of it.

The thing I’m not imagining? The way I felt about him when he said it.

And now, we are once again trapped in this elevator. The air is thick with all of the things we yearn to say to one another. Neither one of us utters a word the entire ride, but when I feel Aiden’s fingers entwine with mine, somehow all of the tension just seems to disappear.

When the doors slide open, we step out and walk down the hall, holding hands the entire way.

When we walk into my room—or our room as it’s come to be—I toss my purse onto the bed and start to walk to the tiny fridge to grab a water bottle.

But Aiden pulls on my hand, bringing me back to him.

“Hey,” he says in a quiet tone. “Are you okay? You haven’t said a word since we left the seminar. Did something I say upset you?”

“No!” I exclaim. “Not at all. I loved what you said. It feels good to be—appreciated.”

“Then, what’s wrong?” His thumb strokes over my cheek, and I try to hold back the waves of emotion threatening to bust through the dam.

“I just never expected any of this to happen. When you asked me to come with you on this trip, I thought it would be just like work—which is fine. I like my job. But when we got here, everything changed. It wasn’t like work at all. And you’re so…fucking perfect.”

He chuckles, but I keep talking. “And somehow here in Key West—with you—I’m not nearly so awkward. It’s like you make me feel totally different. And you’re my boss, so I’m just not sure what to make of any of it.”

I’m full-on rambling now, but I just can’t seem to stop. “And then, you get up there on that stage and say all those things, and I don’t know what to make of any of that either—”

In an attempt to shut me up, Aiden presses his lips to mine. His kiss makes me lose any train of thought I just had.

When he pulls back to look at me, he says, “Will you hush for a minute?”

Since my ability to speak seems to have gone right out the window, I just give a quick nod. He looks down as he takes both of my hands in his and then takes a deep breath before beginning to speak.

“Romy, I never expected any of this to happen either. As your boss, I was pretty sure you hated me. Despite that, you have done more for my business than I ever thought possible. And I don’t think I ever expressed to you how much it’s genuinely appreciated."

My heart sinks a little, listening to him only talk about our professional relationship.

But he isn’t done.

“And all of that was before we even got here. You’re right; when we came down here, something seemed to click, and I wish I could tell you what that means for us or where we go from here. But I don’t have the answer. What I do know, though, is that you have become a very big—very important— part of my life, and I don’t want to lose you.”

He reaches his hand up to wipe away the lone tear that is now rolling down my cheek. “I’m crazy about you, Romy—in every way imaginable.”

That’s all I need to hear before I moan and he brings me toward him once again. This time, we don’t immediately pull apart. This time, we stay locked in the moment—our lips touching as we melt into one another.

His tongue runs along the seam of my lips, seeking entrance. I grant it, and he deepens the kiss, his tongue beginning to dance with mine.

My arms wrap around his neck as my fingers run through his hair. I do everything I can to pull him even closer.

Aiden must get the message because he lays his hands on my hips, and in one swift motion, he pulls me onto his lap, so I’m straddling him.

I can feel the bulge in his pants growing larger as it presses into me. I made good on my promise not to wear panties, so I’m pretty sure I’m leaving a wet spot on the front of his jeans.

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