Page 49 of Samuel

“Tonight what?”

He smiled. “Evie, would you go on a date with me?

“To break in my boots?”

“To spend some time together outside of work.”

“Oh.” She hesitated. “You want to date your employee?”

Sam laughed. “I think I need to make two things clear right now. No, I don’t want to date my employee.”

Her face fell and her head tipped down, until he captured her chin between his thumb and pointer finger and raised it back up.

“I’m not attracted to Zeke or Derrick. In fact, they are as far away from my type as you could get.”

“But I?—”

“You’re not my employee, Evie. Sebastian pays your salary. He ultimately determines your employment here.”

“Fine, you’re my supervisor then.”

“I don’t know. The way you came in here like a tornado, pulling everything apart only to put it back together in a way that makes life so much easier… I think we might be on equal footing.”

“But things are already complicated for me, and I don’t want to risk this job just because my pregnancy hormones are going crazy and you’re being so sweet to me and smell so damn good all the time.”

Her cheeks turned bright red as she clamped her hand over her mouth.

“Oh God,” she whimpered. “Please forget I said that.”

“No can do, beautiful,” he chuckled. “As a man who is very attracted to you, I’d very much like to take you out and hold your hand in public.”

“You’re attracted to me?”

Sam sat against the edge of the desk and leaned into her space, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I can’t stop thinking about kissing you.”

He saw this instant her mind started to picture the very same kiss that had been consuming his every thought since he walked out of her apartment. Her pupils blew out, eyelids growing heavy, and her breathing softened ever so slightly. It was only when her skin started to take on the shade of a ripe tomato under the July sky that he began to get concerned.

“Evie? You okay?”

“Y-yes.”

“You look a little overheated.”

“I think I am.”

He reached to the nape of her neck and gathered her hair, leaning in to blow his breath across her flushed skin.

“Maybeyou should take off this little sweater you’re wearing.”

“Sam…”

“Come on, Bluebell. Humor me. I’ve already lost a year off my life watching you faint in your apartment. I don’t want to see that happen again.”

“Almostfaint,” she protested.

His hands moved to the collar of the light sweater she was wearing. He slid his fingers beneath the fabric and Evie’s skin pebbled beneath his touch.

---