Page 54 of Grumpy Boss's Secret

I gazed at him, watching his face. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” he said, his tone urgent. He took a step towards me.

“Ian, I’m Zee,” I said.

At first, he frowned as if he hadn't heard me correctly. Then his expression locked, turning rigid for a moment before his eyebrows arched up. He looked like someone had punched him in the stomach.

The next thing I knew, his arms were around me, and he nuzzled his nose in my hair. His cheek felt wet against mine. I shook, relief rippling through me. The most exquisite feeling in the world.

“I’m an idiot,” he said. “Hamlet, everything you said about the guy –”

I smiled, and then I grinned, and then I laughed. I kept laughing and giggling uncontrollably, my forehead pressed against his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said.

“I thought you knew,” I groaned.

Ian took hold of my shoulders and stepped back to look at me. He held my gaze.

“Jozi,” he said. “I’ve already done a lot of things I need forgiveness for. If I had done that –" he paused. "If I had dropped you after sleeping with you or refused to acknowledge that you were the person I’ve been talking to for years, you should never be with such a man. Don’t even consider it.”

I smiled, feeling giddy. He was right, of course. But the fact it wasn’t true –he was a better man than I’d thought–was like a whole extra miracle.

“I have no intention of being with a man like that,” I said, smiling from ear to ear.

He swallowed, still keeping his hands on my shoulders. His expression was serious - almost nervous. He took a deep breath. “Jozi,” he said. “Would you be with me?”

I lifted my hands to his arms and pulled them down, stepping closer to him. I lifted my lips to his.

I never thought I’d kiss him again. And here he was - warm and soft and real and mine - and in love with me.

“I already told you I’m in love with you,” I said, pulling my head back to look into his eyes.

He sucked in his breath. "It's you," he said. "You're the girl – the person I was talking about. You're the person who's been there a long time."

“You call that a long time?” I protested.

He blinked.

“Yes,” he said. “Or, I guess it’s felt like a long time. I’ve spent so much time thinking about you it feels as if I’ve known you for years.”

He looked down into my eyes, wincing.

“God, what you… if you thought…no wonder you left,” he finished, at a loss for words.

I bit my lip, wondering if he realized what the other half of my email meant. I watched his face, but he seemed waiting for me to speak.

“Ian,” I said, “There’s something else.”

“What?” he asked.

“The second half of my email,” I said.

He frowned, staring at the ground, trying to think back and remember what I said.

“I don’t understand,” he said, lifting his eyes to mine.

I held his gaze.

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