Page 33 of Brighter than the Boss
I slapped my hand on his chest, jumping at how hard my hand actually landed. "Deserve you? Are you kidding me with this crap?"
He gave a quick shake of his head. "No, I'm not. I'm fully serious—"
"I think what he means is that he's a bit of a manwhore, honey." Bailey jumped in to help interpret, making me realize we had an audience.
Cain's head whipped up and I could have sworn his gaze was going to incinerate Bailey. "Thank you very much for your opinion on the subject, but that's not what I meant."
"Oh, you mean because you're so cantankerous all the time, right?" Hessa interjected.
Cain rolled his eyes. "No, that's not what I meant either, but I'm glad you love my sparkling personality."
"Wait, did you say your track record wasn't very good because you've hit on other female lifeguards too?" Kai was staring at Cain like he was some sick pervert, which hurt my heart even though I was mad at him because he wasn't like that at all. In fact, he'd tried to do the right thing every time, telling me he couldn't compromise his ethics.
"No! Of course not." Cain held up one hand and it looked like he didn't have the patience to deal with these people. "Everybody just shut up and let me explain.
"Sunny," he looked back down at me, his eyes pleading, "we haven't even gotten a chance to know each other that well yet, but there are things in my past that make me an entirely different person than you. And I wish I could change all that to be a different version of myself. A better version. But if you'll have me, I promise to work—"
"Stop!" I slammed my palm down on his mouth. I couldn't hear any more of this drivel. His eyes widened, but at least he was finally silent.
"Oh, here we go..." Bailey muttered, like she was gearing up to watch a good show.
"Shut up, Bailey!" I snapped.
A collective gasp was heard around the circle. I wasn't playing around anymore and I think they knew it. I ignored them all and talked to Cain, the only one that mattered in this conversation.
"I'm tired of hearing you apologize for who you are. I'm no better than you. You don't have to 'earn' a spot by my side. You waited and followed me home from the bar that night to make sure I got home safe." I started counting his good deeds off on my fingers. "You just led an entire team to evacuate several miles of coastline in an emergency without once losing your cool. You just helped a stranger birth a freaking baby into this world without blinking an eye. You gave those young lifeguards the reassurance they needed and still got them to safety. You've helped me get through the stress of my mother collapsing today of all days. You have a whole group of people here in this circle who call you their friend."
I threw my hands up in the air. "Do I need to continue?"
The room was silent, everyone finally realizing the gravity of the conversation and giving us space to discuss it without insane comments lobbed at us left and right.
Peeling my hand away from his mouth, I held Cain's gaze, hoping I'd gotten through to him, my heart aching knowing he thought so poorly of himself. I just didn't get it. How did a man get to be such a fine example of a good and trustworthy leader in the community and still think he wasn't worthy of love?
I didn't know what he was thinking, but those dark eyes of his seemed to burn just a bit brighter, his face softening as he cupped my jaw with his hands.
"Thank you," he whispered right before his lips touched mine, the kiss light, a complete counterpoint to the gravity of the conversation. He hovered there, our lips not quite touching any longer, his eyes looking directly into mine, our breaths mingling.
"You kids are just too cute," Esa squealed, pulling us from the moment.
"Just so you know, I don't think any of us have a problem with you two dating." Dean looked around at everyone else, gauging their reactions, settling on the fact that everyone agreed with his statement.
Ivan nodded, but still looked concerned. "We're your friends so we're super happy to hear about your relationship. But we've got to talk to HR once everyone is back to work. Maybe shift Sunny to reporting to me?"
Cain just looked at me. "You okay with that?"
"Sure, that seems like the best way to handle it. And if HR still doesn't like it, I can see about transferring elsewhere."
"No. Absolutely not. You're going to stay right here." Cain looked ready to slay dragons at the thought of me leaving the department. My stomach went squishy and I wished yet again that we were alone.
He pulled me back into him, his arms tightening around my body. "Not letting you go, babe," he whispered in my ear.
I bit my lip to stop the smile from showing on my face. As an only child, I'd always wanted a partner in crime, someone there by my side. My parents had been great, but the two of them were a team. I needed my own teammate. And even though it was way too early to really tell, I knew Cain was mine. Lucky for me, he was hot as heck, too.
"Maybe next time you could tell us what's going on so we could be there for you, huh?" Shasta was giving me a stern look, probably remembering our night at the bar and how I hadn't told them anything about Cain.
I shrugged, looking down at the floor at my feet. "Yeah, I probably should have told you guys. I just didn't want Cain to get in trouble. Or me to lose my job. You know, because of the whole boss thing."
"That's kinda hot when you put it that way..." Brinley was looking at me like she was seeing me in a whole new light.
