Page 52 of Naughty Nelle

“The ice should help take away the pain and reduce the swelling.”

My finger already felt better. In fact, all of me felt better. Except my brain with the initials BB branded on it was still mush.

I turned to face him and managed one word. “Thanks.”

His gaze met mine, those beautiful orbs of blue burning a hole right through me. That dazzling smile spread across his face. “You should be more careful, Ms. McCoy. I value my employees.”

I shrugged sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I’m very accident-prone. My roommate even calls me ‘Calamity Jen.’”

He broke into a sexy rasp of laughter. “That wasn’t on your resume.”

His laughter was catching. “I was born an accident.”

“What do you mean?” A bemused expression washed over his handsome face.

“My parents were told they could never have children. So, they didn’t bother using protection. Lo and behold, at the age of forty, my mom got pregnant. And voilà, here I am.”

He smiled. “Some accidents are meant to happen.”

His words sent a jolt of heat through me. “Well, I’d better go. I don’t want to be late for my fiancé.”

The word “fiancé” made him frown again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded. Removing the ice pack from my finger, I handed it back to him. “Thanks. My finger feels a lot better.” I glanced down at it. It glowed red from the ice, but was definitely less puffy. Plus, the bleeding had subsided, and it was no longer trembling.

He examined it with me. “It still looks pretty bad. You should keep it covered.”

I watched as he emptied the ice cubes inside his hankie into a ceramic bowl on his coffee table. Folding the damp hankie into a triangle, he gingerly wrapped it around my injured finger and formed a makeshift bandage.

I laughed at the silly bandage. “My fiancé’s going to get mad at me. He thinks I’m careless and don’t think before I act.”

“Tell him a big bad wolf tried to bite off your finger.”

I laughed again. “That’s a good one. I’ll bring back your hankie tomorrow.”

“Don’t bother. Keep it for future accidents.”

“Very funny.” Gathering my purse and briefcase, I stood up and headed toward the door to his office. As I was about to leave, Blake called out to me. I pivoted around to face him. He was slouched seductively on the couch, his long legs splayed.

“Hey, Calamity, stay out of trouble.” His mouth twisted into that sexy fiendish grin, and he winked at me.

The wink made me tingle all over. “Right.” I flung the word at him and scurried off before my knees buckled beneath me once again.

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