Page 66 of Tempt Me Forever

I was giggling. Good thing I'd closed my door; the team would probably think I'd lost my mind, as I didn't think they'd ever heard me giggle. It wasn't professional. Then again, I didn't exactly feel professional right now. I was so happy, I wanted to pinch myself.

With a shaky hand, I clickedYesto the invite and then drew a deep breath.

Okay, Kimberly. Now, get your wits about you and start working.

***

The great part of theday was that Travis agreed to move forward in negotiations on the property and put forward a bid. The not-so-great part was that I worked at maybe 30 percent productivity. My goal was to be as efficient as possible so I could enjoy my free time. But today, I spent more time daydreaming about the evening.

As six thirty approached, I was on pins and needles. Everyone was filtering out of the office, having finished their workday. Travis never came back after his trip and instead went directly home, which was understandable. Reese texted me, telling me she dropped by Tate’s house after they got back, which was good. I was a big believer in work-life balance, and we encouraged our employees and ourselves to do just that.

At 6:20 p.m., there was a knock at my door. I’d been so involved in what I was doing that I’d forgotten I’d closed it. I stood up just as Drake opened the door. There wasn't much light in the corridor, and he looked so damn seductive with his silhouette against the dark background.

"Ready to go?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"Yeah." I closed my laptop, putting my bag on my shoulder and playing with the straps. I was nervous for some reason. I’d been looking forward to this the whole day, and now suddenly....

He came over to me. "Second thoughts?"

"No. I don't even know why I'm nervous."

"It's me and you, Kimberly," he said in that casual, comforting way he had.

"I know."

"Come on, let's go."

As I grabbed my coat, his phone rang. "It's my sister."

"Answer," I said. "Maybe she needs you."

"Sheonlycalls if she needs me," he replied, putting the phone to his ear.

"Hey." I could hear a female voice speaking quickly on the other end, and Drake closed his eyes. "Calm down. All right. Are you okay?"

His shoulders slumped, so I assumed that meant no one was in immediate danger. I stepped close to him, trying to read his expression. His eyes hardened. "I'll take care of everything, okay? Don't you worry about a thing. Speak to you soon." He hung up, pocketing his phone.

"What happened?"

"My sister went back to work last week. She has an emergency at work, and she can't send anyone else in her place."

"All right."

"She asked me to watch Michael."

"She wants you to babysit? Oh, that's cute."

"I'm sorry to do this, but—"

"No, you don't need to be. Actually, can I come with you?"

Drake looked absolutely stunned. "You want to come with me and babysit my nephew?"

"Yeah, why not? Maybe I can even talk to your sister like we spoke about." I stopped and held up a hand. "Wait, if I'm overstepping—”

"No, you're fucking not. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me.” He caressed my face as he looked deep into my eyes, saying, “Youare."

---