Page 29 of Lost Times

Ludwig blinked, clearly surprised, but after a second he tipped his head in thought. “A few extra branches have been added; I also roughly doubled the workforce to better handle the amount of clients we were getting.”

I nodded. “Exactly. Your father handled it alone when it was a smaller company, but you expanded it. No one can do everything alone, not when you’re making the company bigger. There’s no shame in delegating tasks.”

He stared at our hands, mulling that over, before finally he hummed. “I’ll consider that.”

Then his phone blared, cutting through the almost peaceful atmosphere. He only glanced at it once before he grimaced.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” I asked and he nodded, making no move for the phone.

“Undoubtedly calling to tell me how disappointed he is.” When his hand twitched toward it with clear reluctance, I squeezed harder and shook my head.

“Then don’t answer it. You deserve better than to be torn down like that. They’re not healthy for you if they’re constantly pushing you to work yourself into an early grave.”

He offered a tired but appreciative smile. “Thank you, but I can’t ignore the call. It’ll only make it worse later.” He carefully took back his hand and walked into the other room, answering.

Even from here, I could hear the venom in his father’s voice and I ground my teeth. I don’t know when I’d gotten protective of Ludwig, but hearing him be treated so abysmally when he already put so much effort into his job…

It burned me from the inside out.

By the time he came back he was slouched just the tiniest bit, and his eyes were heavy with exhaustion. When he reached for his coat, I stopped him, taking his hand again and trying one last time to dissuade him.

“You don’t have to do this. You can stay here, relax with us, and tomorrow I’ll help you with whatever paperwork didn’t get done today. You need time to rest, though.”

His eyes locked onto me, a war waging behind them before he finally asked. “Do you want me to stay?”

So much more lingered under the question and I nodded, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “Yes, I don’t like seeing them tear into you, and I really don’t like how tired you always look.”

His lips twisted up the tiniest bit and he nodded. “Then I’ll stay.”

Relief hit in waves and I leaned a hair closer, happy he wouldn’t be going back to the office. I didn’t realize how close I was until I pulled in a breath, and the scent of his cologne hit. It was heady, the same one that’d originally caught my attention all those years ago at the bar, and something low in me stirred in response.

His mouth opened, eyes intent on me as tension crackled through the air between us. When he started leaning in though, Jasmine came running with her stuffed animals at the ready. “Sorry, I had to rescue one from under my bed, so it took a while.”

She leaned against his leg, pushing him toward the living room since her arms were full and she couldn’t tug on him. I jerked back, heat scalding my cheeks as I realized just what had almost happened. A matching flush dusted Ludwig’s cheeks, and he spared me a glance before hastily looking away.

He went without complaint, sitting on the couch as she turned to me and asked. “Can we watch a movie? That always makes me feel better.”

I nodded, watching in amusement as she plopped her favorite stuffed animal in his lap before racing to choose a movie. Shaking my head, I chuckled. “Hope you’re ready for animated classics.” My tone was only a little strained, which I’d take as a win since my thoughts were whipping around at the speed of light in my head.

He glanced over, something soft and warm in his eyes as he shrugged. “There are worse things to watch, and there’s nowhere I’d rather be than here.”

To the core of my being, I knew he meant that, and my heart did a spin in my chest.

Once I sat next to him, a few feet of space between us on the couch, and the movie started, I finally let my thoughts wander to the almost kiss.

What was Ithinking?

Trick question, I hadn’t been. The only thoughts that’d been drifting through had been how nice he smelled and that smile of his.

Taking a deep breath, I caught another whiff of him and fought back the instinctual shiver that trailed down my spine. I’d ask what brand he used at some point, but for now I needed to focus on dragging my hormones under control.

Things weren’t the same as when we met all those years ago, no matter how much his smile reminded me of back then. He was my boss, and just because there was some lingering attraction on my part didn’t mean I’d be jumping into anything more.

At least, that’s what I told myself, but when he trailed a hand between us to brush mine, jitters of stomach fluttering warmth followed. I didn’t pull away, letting my fingers gently rest next to his despite the logic all but screaming through me.

I should pull away. It seemed like he was actually open to more than just friends, and that spelled trouble for me. What if we got closer and then broke up later? It’d be awful and awkward. Then we couldn’t avoid each other either, because Jasmine.

What we had now wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

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