Page 82 of My Not So Wicked Boss (My Not So Wicked 3)

Loud and clear. Yuck.

“Honey, he’s so sorry, but he’s in no shape to take Chloe to the dance tonight. He’ll make it up to her.”

I leaned against the refrigerator. “Is he sure he can’t take her?”

“He fell asleep on the bathroom floor and he’s still running a fever. I know this means a lot to her, but I’m sorry, honey, it’s not possible.”

“Okay,” I choked out. “I hope Dad feels better soon.”

“We’ll try and make it to her game tomorrow if we can. I have another report for Miles.” Of course she did.

I hung up, feeling ill.

“Everything all right, love?”

I jumped. I hadn’t realized Miles was standing behind me, too close for my own good. My entire body zinged and zanged. I gazed up into his tell-me-everything eyes.

He hesitantly reached out and wiped an errant tear off my cheek. “What’s happened?”

“My dad got food poisoning and he can’t take Chloe to the daddy-daughter dance tonight. She’s going to be crushed, especially after Leland’s brief appearance and then him skipping town. She was looking forward to dressing up.”

Miles pressed his lips together. I could see the wheels turning in his mind. “What if I took her?”

I could hardly believe I’d heard him right. “You have plans tonight. I don’t want to ruin those for you.” I peeked around him at his friends staring at us, one was shooting daggers at me with her eyes while the other two were egging me on.

He glanced back at them for a moment before focusing right back on me. “Chloe is more important.”

He had no idea what those four words meant to me. I flung myself against him and wrapped my arms around him. “Are you sure?”

He enveloped me in his arms. “Absolutely.”

“Thank you.” I breathed him in.

“It’s my pleasure.”

It was then I realized I belonged in his arms. How I longed to stay there, but I knew he was unsure, so I untangled myself from him. I was never again placing myself in a man’s arms who wasn’t one hundred and ten percent sure that’s where he wanted me to stay. “I’m sorry for . . . uh . . . you know . . . touching you . . . I mean, hugging you.” Why did I always sound like an imbecile in front of him?

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “You have my permission to touch me anytime.”

I didn’t get to respond because Penelope cleared her throat so loud I thought she might have coughed up a lung. “You’re abandoning us for the night?”

“We can go out for a late drink when I return from the dance.” Miles tried to placate her.

“Wait.” I thought of something Chloe might find important. At her age, embarrassment was the worst and Miles’s dancing was, let’s say, unconventional. “Do you know how to dance properly?”

Miles wickedly grinned before taking my hand and pulling me to him. Okay, I know I just said I would never place myself in his arms again unless I knew he was sure, but for the record, he put me there, not the other way around.

He held my right hand out while his free hand rested on my back. He stepped forward and back then twirled me around before bringing me in very close to his body, proving he had some moves. “You’re not going to dance like that with Chloe, right?” I asked, breathless.

“That move was for her mother only. I will treat her as if she were my own daughter.” He released me.

He was seducing me with his words. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek without even a second thought. “You don’t know what that means to me.”

Miles rested his hand on the cheek I kissed. “I think I do.”

I was about to get lost in his eyes, but Penelope was tsking and tapping her boots so loudly against the wood floors, it was going to give us all a headache. “So, what are we supposed to do while you’re out playing father dearest?” she spat.

Oscar clapped his hands together. “We will help the lass get ready of course. She will be the belle of the ball.”Chapter Thirty-OneMiles wasn’t lying when he said he had talented friends. Oscar and Molly came to the cottage and made my daughter feel like she was a movie star. Penelope opted to stay in the main house to pout and drink. Fine by me. She wasn’t really invited anyway.

Molly had Chloe slip into a smock before they seated her in front of the vanity in the master bath. There they went to work on her. Molly did her makeup, giving her a natural look that only enhanced her beauty, while Oscar wanded, curled, and twisted her hair into perfection. When he was done, she had a lovely low bun updo with tiny blossoms placed sporadically throughout her hair.

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