Page 70 of Boss's Baby: A Fake Fiance Romance

“That’s the only problem?”

“Well, also the problem that you don’t realize you haven’t magically turned into the woman you are—you’ve only discovered what anyone who talks to you for five minutes can figure out easier than anything.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“You’re afraid of people getting close to you because you think they’re going to find out something you’re hiding that’ll drive them away. But I’m telling you, it’s the opposite. They’re only going to find out the truth, and the truth is something pretty fucking good.”

Tears formed in my eyes, tears that I quickly wiped away. “That’s really sweet.”

“And pretty articulate without having any coffee yet, if I do say so myself.” He grinned, and I gave him a joking jab to one of his solid, tattooed pecs.

“No one could ever say you lack confidence.”

“Hey—one of the things I’ve long accepted about who I am. I’m a confident son of a bitch, no sense in pretending I’m not. And I’m starting to get the sneaking suspicion that you love it.”

“That’s beside the point.” I looked around the cozy room, the morning sunlight streaming in and the last embers from last night’s fire glowing in the fireplace. Then I laid eyes on what I was looking for—the coffeemaker. “Speaking of coffee—”

“Beautiful and brilliant—what’s not to like?”

I gave him one more “OK, smartass” look before rolling out of bed and grabbing one of the white, fluffy robes hanging from the bathroom door and wrapping it around my body. On the way over to the coffeemaker, I walked past the window and saw that the outside was covered in a fresh blanket of ivory white snow.

“Damn, it came down hard last night,” I said.

Josh hopped out of bed, his cock hanging long between his legs as he went over to grab a robe of his own. I had to do my best not to stare. He joined me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we regarded the beautiful scene.

“Finally got that Christmas snow. Perfect timing for Christmas Eve eve.”

“Still can’t believe it’s almost here. Tomorrow’s the big party at your place, right?”

He nodded. “Good news about that is the house is going to be such a zoo with getting the place ready we won’t need to spend much time with the family. Maybe you can even spend the evening with yours.”

“And maybe you could come with me.”

He gave me a half-smile. “You want me to?”

Truthfully, I was surprised at my words. After all, this thing was a phony engagement—I could’ve used the house being put together to have an excuse to get away from Josh and the rest of the Taylors. But that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted him to be with me.

“Yeah. I think I’d like that.”

“Then let’s do it.” He pulled me into a half-hug, one that was more warm than I was expecting.

And then he turned his eyes to me, and for a long moment the two of us simply regarded each other, falling into each other’s gazes. Our faces moved closer and closer together. But right at the moment our lips were about to touch I pulled away, leaving Josh’s embrace. I was overwhelmed.

“Need to get on that coffee. It’s not going to make itself.”

Josh said nothing for several moments before finally speaking. “You cool?”

I had no idea how to answer that question. No? Yes? Definitely not yes. There was something going on between the two of us, and we needed to talk about it. At least, I did.

“Give me a second.” I started the coffee, and within a minute the fresh smell of the brew filled the room, the maker percolating. When it was done, I poured two cups, not bothering to make mine the usual way. Black was fine.

Josh stepped up to my side and took one of the mugs, his eyes lingering on me for a long moment before he sat down at the small table.

“Now, I’ve never said this before with any woman I’ve dated. But I want to have a conversation. About us.”

Here we go. I took my mug and sat down across from him. “You’ve never said that before?”

“Don’t think so. Usually they’re the ones who want to talk, figure out what’s going on between us. Usually that’s my cue that things are too serious and we need to ‘take a break.’ But now—”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I get what it’s like to be in their shoes. Because dammit, Cass, I like you. And I know this thing started as a fling that turned into something way, way weirder, but I know how I feel. I want you, and I want to see if you’re still gung-ho about never seeing me again when all this is over and done.”

“That’s really how you feel?”

He shook his head, as if in total disbelief about the words coming out of his mouth. “Never been in this position before—never been in a spot where I was the one who wanted the woman, and she was the one who had to figure out what to do with me. But dammit, that’s where I am. And if you want to try to make this thing a thing, let’s do it. But if not, well, I guess we’re right back to where we started.”

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