Page 48 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

‘I’m not brave,’ Ella scoffed.

How could she believe that? ‘Seeing Dobson on your own was brave. Agreeing to talk to that reporter about what Pillay did to you is incredibly courageous, Ella. So many women are going to take inspiration from your story and find their courage to come forward about him and other men. I am in awe of you,’ Micah told her, his emotions evident in his voice.

‘Yesterday was a very bad day, Ella, but you’re right. I should’ve spoken to you as soon as you walked in the door instead of doing what I normally do—going into fix-and-control-the-world mode. I hurt you by telling Jago that I’d talk to him about what had happened, and made you feel like I wouldn’t come to you with the important things... I’m sorry about that.’

She turned her head to look at him, concern in her eyes. ‘Can you tell me now?’

He nodded. ‘I’d like to.’ He placed a hand on her back, needing to touch her. She didn’t pull away and that tiny gesture gave him hope. ‘Kate came to see me.’

‘Brianna’s mum?’

He nodded. ‘She’s thinking about letting Bri go, and she wanted my opinion on what Bri would want.’

Ella laid her hand on her heart. ‘Oh, Micah, that must’ve been such a hard conversation.’

He nodded. ‘It rocked me—totally derailed me, in fact—and I spent the rest of the day second-guessing myself because I told her that Brianna would hate her situation. When you walked in, I was feeling sad and miserable and lousy. I redirected my anger at not being able to do anything onto you. Also, I just felt this overwhelming urge to protect you, to not have anything happen to you, and the thought of you being alone in a situation that could’ve gone wrong overwhelmed me. I’m sorry I overreacted.’

She nodded. ‘Going to see Dobson alone wasn’t easy for me to do, I admit that. I did take precautions, but I think I’d like to get a taser, learn some self-defence. If I know I can defend myself, that would make me feel less stressed about being on my own with strange men.’

And he would feel better about it too. He’d offer to teach her Krav Maga but he knew that they’d be distracted as soon as they put their hands on each other. ‘I know an instructor who could teach you enough to feel confident about your ability to handle yourself. That’s if you stay here...with me.’

He gestured to his house, the one he knew and loved, but not as much as he loved her. ‘Stay with me, El—here at Hadleigh House. Or, if you didn’t see yourself sharing the grounds with Jago and Dodi—’

‘Jago and Dodi? Thadie’s best friend and the owner of the bridal salon?’

Yeah, that isn’t important right now!‘We can talk about my brother and his love life later.’ Micah growled, frustrated. ‘Can I buy you a house?’ he asked suddenly.

She looked confused. ‘A house? What house? What are you talking about?’

‘The why is easy, because I’m comprehensively in love with you. For ever. I’m talking about Cathcart House. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve already bought it.’

Ella looked as if she was battling to keep up. ‘You bought it from Dobson?’

He shook his head. ‘He’s not the owner, he just manages it for them. He doesn’t even live on the property any more. The consortium I mentioned the first day we spoke about the house? They own it and are happy to offload it.’

She rubbed the back of her neck, confusion on her face. ‘You are ten steps ahead of me, Micah. Why would I want it?’

‘You think I don’t notice how you react to things but I do. I notice everything about you.’ And he always would. ‘I saw your face as you walked around that house the first time you saw it; you fell in love with it. I could see your wheels churning, thinking about how you would fix this, do that. I thought you might want to run your business from there, use it to stage events, weddings and parties and ladies’ lunches...’

Since she wasn’t jumping up and down with joy, he shrugged. ‘Or, if you want to, we can convert it back to a home and live there.’

She placed her hands on her cheeks, her eyes wide. ‘Micah, God,stop! Give me a chance to catch up, my mind is spinning!’

Taking a deep breath, she held up her hand, which he took, kissing her palm. Desire flashed in her eyes and her hand trembled. He loved the way he affected her, but it was a fraction of how much she affected him.

‘We’ll come back to houses and my career in a minute. Let’s go back a couple of steps. Did you mean it? What you said about loving me?’

Why did she look so shocked? Wasn’t it written all over his face? ‘El, sweetheart, you...you are the switch that flipped light onto my life again. Up until I looked up and saw you standing there, my life was muted. The only way I can describe it is that it was like one of those old-fashioned sepia photographs, the ones that only show shades of brown.’

He gently dragged his thumb along her jaw. ‘You injected colour, conversation, life and laughter and great, emotional sex into my world, and I can’t live without you. I don’twantto live without you.’

Yes, it had happened quickly, but it wasn’t any less powerful, as he told her. ‘You might need some time to catch up but the fact that you are here with me gives me hope that you might, some time soon, feel the same way.’

She moved closer, close enough to slide her lips across his in a heart-resuscitating kiss. ‘I don’t need time. I love you too, Micah. So much.’

‘Does that mean you will stay?’

Ella’s fingertips drifted over his jaw. ‘I’ll stay because you are my person, Micah. Because you make me feel strong and capable and powerful—but, best of all, loved.’

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