Page 46 of Dare to Love

“Come in.”

She pushed the door open and stepped inside, her breath catching at the sight of him after what felt like so long. Shirt unbuttoned, his tan chest peeking through and sleeves rolled up, his muscular forearms all a treat to her deprived senses.

And she couldn’t mistake the relief that flickered in his gaze when he realized she’d come.

“Hi,” she said into the silence.

He rose from his chair. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

She swallowed hard. “Yeah, well, I was upset with you.”

He strode over and pushed the door shut behind her, turning the lock. “Talk to me,” he said.

“Okay. You can’t go around dictating orders to my boss about me. He’ll never see me as someone he can look up to and trust with his accounts if he’s worried about losing his job if he so much as looks at me the wrong way. Or, heaven forbid, touches me!”

“Did he? Touch you?”

“Ian!”

He braced his hands on her forearms and looked into her eyes. “Honestly, I’m kidding. I was out of line making that phone call.”

She blinked, taking in his serious expression in search of signs of dementia. “Say that again?”

“I was out of line. I shouldn’t have called Rhodes.”

“Oh. I... thank you. I didn’t expect that to go so easily.”

He grinned. “Sometimes, I can admit I was wrong.”

“Okay, so while I’m on a roll, about the salary with my new position...”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know who gets paid what unless I’ve done the actual hiring.”

She eyed him warily.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s true. Is the salary not enough? Because I can talk to Olivia—”

“No! It’s already a raise from the job I started one week ago. If anything, it’s too much. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t manipulating anything to my benefit.”

An adorable grin lifted his lips. “Finally, you accuse me of something I didn’t do wrong.”

She laughed.

“Because God forbid I give you a raise.”

She rolled her eyes. “I get the point. I do.”

“The salary’s that much more than you were earning?” He raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

She nodded.

“Enough for you to move out of your unsafe apartment building?”

“Ian—”

“Consider it a quid pro quo. I’m doing my best to back off and behave for you. You can move into a safe apartment for my peace of mind.”

“And you don’t consider this you manipulating me?”

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