Page 52 of Resisting Her Playboy Boss

Sothatwas why she was glowing? It wasn’t because she was still bathed in post-sex bliss? He felt stupidly deflated. ‘That’s awesome.’ He nodded. ‘When did you find out?’

‘A few days ago,’ she said.

A few days? But they talked on the phone every night. ‘How come you didn’t tell me already?’ It niggled that she’d kept something so special a secret.

‘I wanted to tell you in person.’ She smiled, her pleasure iridescent. ‘I wanted to see your reaction.’

‘Oh.’ He felt a bit better. ‘Well, that’s really cool. Good for you.’

‘I’ve finally found what I’m meant to do.’ She grinned and bit into her bar. ‘It’s the best job in the world.’

Impulse hit Ruben hard—he wanted to see if she won that award. He wanted to be there to give her a hug if she didn’t. Okay, maybe he wanted to give her more than a hug. ‘When do you find out if you’ve won?’

‘There’s a function—dinner and the awards and stuff—at the end of the week.’

‘Do you get to take a date?’

She paused. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘If you do, will you take me?’

‘You want to go?’ She looked surprised and suddenly elated. The sun pierced through the clouds the same moment her smile exploded.

‘Of course, that’s what friends do.’ He tried to get a grip. That was what this was about. Being a friend and supporter, right?

‘Friends,’ she echoed.

‘We are still friends, right?’ He blinked as the bright sunshine hurt his sleep-deprived eyes.

‘Of course.’ Her smile didn’t dim.

Ruben was relieved the sun soon burned off the fog because he needed a little thinking space to assess quite where he was at. Satisfied, yes—but for how long? It was what she’d insisted on—one night—and then back to normal. But he really didn’t feel quite right.

He flew them down to the airport—had booked her flight back to Wellington. He planned to stay at the lodge a couple of days and catch his breath. But when he said goodbye to her at the departures gate it was with a way-too-friendly, utterly breathless kiss. She melted into his arms and he unashamedly hauled her closer, revelling in her surrender. Maybe they’d take this one hook-up at a time. They could stay friends on the phone and lovers on the nights their schedules melded. No problem at all. And maybe their clashing out of town calendars could be just the thing to stop this affair from ending too soon.

* * *

Three days later Ellie was all but skipping around the office. She was supposed to be working on the plan for her next tour, but distraction in the form of random Ruben thoughts kept hitting her.

‘You really can’t concentrate, can you?’ Bridie teased.

Fortunately her boss thought her dithering was about the awards tomorrow night, not the excitement of seeing Ruben again.

It was silly—he was coming tomorrow just as a friend. But she knew what might happen—he’d said it was enough, but that kiss goodbye at the airport?

Oh, she wanted more of that. She could control this added dimension to their friendship. Of course she could. Friends with benefits wasn’t just a Hollywood set-up, maybe it could really work. Okay, so the realist in her sensed impending heartache, but there was that irrepressible flicker of hope—surely he wouldn’t have offered to come with her if he didn’t care even just a little, right?

Maybe, just maybe that wall of his was coming down—one brick at a time. They’d grown closer over the last few weeks—not physically but in all those phone calls. And then the physical had happened—and transported her to a whole other level. She’d never felt closer to anyone than she had with him in that hut. She’d never felt closer to heaven.

* * *

Ruben was staring at his calendar and planning future trips to Wellington for more nights with Ellie when his phone rang. It was a blocked number—and the call played to his innate ambition.

Jack Wolfe—of the American dynasty—was in the country. ‘I’d like to meet. I’ve heard you excel at discreet luxury.’

‘Are you looking to stay at one of my venues?’

‘I’m looking at expanding into Australia, possibly putting money into some new venues there. Wondered if you might come on board.’

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