Page 26 of Her Billionaire Boss
“Maybe no animal attack shows, at all,” I suggested.
“Right.”She dumped the chicken into the pan; some of the juice splashed down the side and fizzled and popped in the flame from the gas burner.She hopped back in alarm.
“You know what else might be fun?”I asked dryly.
She tilted her head.
“Knowing where my fire extinguishers are.”
* * * *
The food Charlotte cooked for us wasn’t amazing.It wasn’t seven-hundred-dollars-per-person tasting menu quality.But it was good, it filled us up, and the important thing was, we’d made it ourselves.And that had made Charlotte happy.
We ate in the den, our plates on our laps, drinks on coasters on the coffee table.She’d recommended it as a “normal people” thing, and I’d had to remind her of all the times she’d seen me do exactly what we were doing.
“What if we did a cooking class together?”I mused, and at her narrowed eyes, I revised.“For fun.So I can learn things.And you seemed to enjoy yourself in there tonight, too.”
“I’ll think it over.”She lifted a tortilla chip to her mouth, chewed thoughtfully, and added, “I need to check my schedule.I have this new job, and therapy...”
“When do you start therapy again?”I felt guilty for forcing her into it, then consistently forgetting anything she told me about it.Maybe I could use some therapy, myself.
“Tuesday.I’ll be taking a long lunch.I hope that’s okay with my work.”
“I have a feeling you’ll get away with it.”I chewed and swallowed another bite of my wrap.“What do you do to get ready for bed?When you’re not getting fucked to sleep.”
“Brush my teeth, put on my pajamas.”Her eyes lit up.“I have the cutest pjs I bought when I went shopping before, and I’ve never even had a chance to wear them.They look like Audrey Hepburn would have worn them in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.They even have a matching eye mask with little lashes on it!”
“I look forward to the eerie effect that will have on me when I wake to it in the morning.”I put my plate on the table and groaned.“I’m stuffed.I’m glad we’re not having sex tonight.It would have been...gassy.”
“Yeah, I’m not quite ready for that level of normal relationship.Let’s leave some things in the honeymoon phase.”She laughed.“And keep the bathroom door closed.”
“No farting, keep the bathroom door closed, it’s like you’re looking for a fairytale prince here,” I chided her.“Do you want to get high before bed?I find that it helps me sleep.”
“I would love to get high with you,” she said with a grin.“The answer is always going to be yes.Snuggling up in bed with a joint sounds great right now.”
“Well, allow me to disappoint you.Because if we’re smoking, we’re smoking outside.”I gestured to the balcony visible beyond the windows.
All the blood drained from her face.“Out there?”
“It’s not as scary as it seems.The railings are very high.Way too high for you to fall over,” I assured her.“It’s just like this room, but if you took the ceiling off.And you don’t have to go near the edge.”
“Maybe I could pop out real quick and get a vape,” she suggested, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.
“Come on.I live in one of the highest addresses in the world.You’re going to have to get used to it.What happens when you want to use the pool in the summer?”
“You buy me a house that has an indoor pool?”she suggested.
I’d never considered that I might have to change my address to keep her happy.I would, but at the moment, I wanted to see if her fear could be managed.“Come on.One joint.I can put my arm around you, and we can stand right up against the doors, if you’re so scared.”
She frowned as she considered it.“You’re not going to do something weird like pretend to push me over the edge?”
“Why would I do that?You’re afraid of heights,” I reminded her.“I’m not a bully.I love you.”
She took a deep breath.“Okay.Let’s do this.”
“Right now?”I asked.“You don’t want to be like a normal couple and clean the dishes?”
She rolled her eyes.“There are limits, dude.”
