Page 29 of Moore to Love

“Shit. Lunch is over. Meghan will be back any minute.” His words were spoken softly against my neck, where he placed a sweet, lingering kiss. But it was like a bucket of ice water had been dropped on me.

I had just had sex with my boss. On his desk, technically during the workday. What was wrong with me?

He got up, and I tried to cover as much as possible with my hands as I scrambled for my clothes.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have… we shouldn’t have.”

“Ellie, stop.”

“This is a place of business where other people…”

“Ellie, stop.” His voice was more demanding, and I stopped to look at him. He held out my shirt and bra for me with a satisfied smile on his face. “Take these, my bathroom is right there. Take your time, clean up, and then we can finish the day. Together.”

I nodded while taking my clothes.

“And baby, don’t ever be sorry for that. It was amazing.” He gave me a wink as he opened the bathroom door for me. Staring at my dazed expression in the mirror, I couldn’t help but agree. And I hoped there was a lot more like that in my future.

15

FINN

Ellie and I hadn’t been able to catch more than a few minutes alone—and steal a few kisses—since our lunch on Monday afternoon, and it drove me up the wall. Something had to give, and it was lucky for me that my veterinarian assistant was a budding matchmaker because she gave me the perfect opportunity to take Ellie out on a proper date a week and a half later.

“Can I borrow Benjamin and Madison tonight?” she asked as Ellie was getting ready to leave to pick up her kids from school.

Her brows drew together as she stared at her coworker in confusion. “Borrow them?”

“Yeah, Tony wants to go to that new bounce house place, and I thought if he had a couple of friends to play with, he might not wear his dad and me out quite so much,” Meghan explained. “Then I remembered how well they got along together at the adoption event on Saturday and hoped that you’d let me bring them with. We’re going to stop at McDonald’s afterward for a quick bite to eat, so you’d have a few hours to yourself in exchange for letting me use your children to distract my energetic son from the fact that Roger and I aren’t jumping with him the whole time.”

For the third weekend in a row, I’d had record-breaking adoptions, proving yet again that Ellie was my good luck charm. She wasn’t aware of the effect she had on people, but she brightened moods wherever she went. And her kids were downright adorable, especially when they giggled while playing with the puppies. Adding Tony to the mix last weekend had only added to the fun since the three kids had gotten along great.

“Oh…um…I could just come with you?” Ellie suggested.

“Or you could go out and have some fun of your own.” Meghan jerked her chin toward me. “Since our boss is practically frothing at the mouth over the chance to have you all to himself for a few hours tonight.”

Ellie’s head swung toward me, her eyes widening. “You are?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way since I’m not a drooler like Rufus,” I joked. “But I would love to take you on a date tonight.”

“Then I guess I’ll see if Benjamin and Madison are okay with the plan.” She shook her head with a laugh. “Okay, I just realized how ridiculous that sounded after I said it out loud. I can’t imagine either of them not jumping at the offer of a playdate with Tony…pun intended.”

She called as soon as she got home to let us know the plan was a go, and I set everything in motion to make our first official date as special as I could in the short time that I had. By the time I met her downtown after she dropped the kids off at Meghan’s house, I felt good about how the next couple of hours would go.

Ellie looked adorably confused as I led her down the sidewalk toward Skylar’s shop. “I thought Leaves & Pages was only open during the daytime?”

“It is,” I confirmed with a grin. “But I have an in with the owner since she’s married to my cousin Baxter. And I was able to talk her into doing something special for our first date.”

A pretty blush filled her cheeks. “I guess this is our first, isn’t it? As hard as that is to believe, considering…”

“I could take a page from Baxter’s book and count the adoption events and lunch in my office as dates if you'd prefer.” I chuckled as I pulled the key to the shop out of my pocket. Opening the door, I explained, “Baxter kept bringing her cappuccinos while he was trying to get her to agree to go out with him and counted them all as dates, as well as their first lunch together which was all about business. But he didn’t let her in on the secret until they went on a picnic after she finally caved.”

She smiled up at me as I held the door open for her. “The Moore men seem to have persistence in common, then.”

“And we can be romantic when we find the right woman.” I swept my arm in the direction of the table for two that was set with a white tablecloth, candles, and two silver-domed plates, with a bottle of red wine in the middle that had already been uncorked so it could breathe.

“Wow,” she breathed, her eyes going wide. “This is so beautiful.”

“Yet it’s still not nearly as much as you deserve.”

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