Page 53 of His Own Heaven

“I only want you.”

Toby’s features softened and he reached up to smooth back the hair that had come loose from her ponytail. “I promise you, baby, sharing you was a one-time deal and even then….” He smiled and her breath stalled in her lungs. He was so goddamn handsome. “Well, I think we both thought it would prevent what’s happening now, didn’t we? That Charlie would act as a buffer against our attraction to each other. But it didn’t work. You’re mine, Lucy Barton.Onlymine. And I’m yours. Absolutely onlyyours.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead then breathed out sharply through his nose. “In fact, that’s what I was pissed off about earlier, when you asked what was wrong.”

So, he wasn’t avoiding the question after all.“Oh?”

“I want to tell people about us. I don’t care who knows we’re fucking or dating or whatever we want to call this thing between us.” He sighed and scratched his head. “But you’re right. There are some people who will think the worst of you and speculate about how you got the job if they know we’re together. And I promised I’d protect you from that crap.”

Lucy sighed in relief and huffed out a laugh. “Oh, thank God. For a moment there, I thought it was something serious.”

Now the big man just looked confused. “What?”

Lucy straightened his shirt collar and brushed the backs of her fingers over his shoulders then smoothed the fabric down. Tidying his work shirt seemed ludicrous considering he wasn’t wearing any pants, but it kept her hands busy in a way that prevented her from taking advantage of said pantlessness. “You can’t protect me from everything, Toby.” She sighed quietly. “I know what I said earlier, but gossip about the new girl is inevitable. That’s just how these things go, and I’ve been doing this long enough to handle almost anything they can throw at me. I do appreciate the thought, though.” She slid her hands lower and wrapped her arms around his waist. “No one’s ever looked out for me the way you do.”

Not even Michael.

He narrowed his eyes. “Does that mean I can tell people about us? That you’d be okay if I pointed you out in a crowd and said ‘that’s my girlfriend’?”

Would she be okay?

No one had ever called her their girlfriend before, even before she was scarred. She was always just Michael’s ‘annoying little sister’, at least until she’d became a fully-fledged firefighter and then she was known by all as ‘that uppity bitch’.

Yeah, being one of only two full-time female firefighters at the station was loads of fun because God forbid you go up a ladder faster than the men.Geez.

No one had seen her as girlfriend material back then, at least not the men she was interested in. It didn’t help matters that her father was the station chief.

Not that he would have cared one way or the other if any of the guys had wanted to date her, but they hadn’t known that. And she’d been in no rush to tell them the main reason she’d joined the family business was to make it harder for her imposing hulk of a father to ignore her.

Fuck that for a joke. The last thing she’d wanted was a pity date. But a pity date was the last thing Toby Bennett was offering.

As soon as that thought sank into her brain and made itself cosy, she tightened her arms around him and knew that yes, actually, she would be very okay with people knowing she was his girlfriend. The gossips could go fuck themselves.

“Okay,” she said, smiling. “No hiding.”

“Perfect,” Toby said, smiling down at her. Then his gaze flicked to his watch and he sighed. “We should probably put on pants. The staff will be arriving soon.”

Lucy grabbed Toby’s arse and snickered. “And you don’t want them to see your sexy bum?”

He copied her action and squeezed her backside in his big hands until she yelped, then hauled her closer. “Depends. Doyouwant them to see my sexy bum?”

Her eyes narrowed as a spear of jealousy stabbed at her and she bared her teeth in a snarl.

Toby laughed then nuzzled her cheek. “I’ll take that as a no,” he said, then slapped her arse.

Lucy pulled on her underwear and jeans. “I still need a work shirt,” she reminded him, watching with a hint of regret and more than a little longing as he tucked himself away and zipped up his cargo shorts. Even at work the man went commando.Naughty.

“I have spare shirts in there,” he said. Then nodded to the cupboard beside the bank of filing cabinets lining one wall of his office. “There should be something in there that’ll fit you.”

Lucy opened the cupboard and pulled out the shirt on top. It was a deep green polo shirt with the garden centre’s logo embroidered on the top left. She checked the tag for a size then put it back and searched for something a little larger. She was trim and fit, and her breasts were on the smaller side, but her body was long. Unless she wanted to expose her midriff—and the scars on her back—every time she stretched her arms above her head, she needed something a little bigger.

“Is it okay that I’m wearing jeans?” She removed the polo from the plastic wrapper. “I forgot to ask the other day.”

“Jeans are fine,” Toby said, manoeuvring his desk back into position. He straightened his belongings. “As long as everyone wears the company shirt, I don’t have any preference about pants.” He snorted. “Hell, one of my weekend guys wears a utility kilt.”

Lucy laughed and a minute later she had her uniform sorted, her employee contract signed and was feeling cool, calm and confident. Today was the beginning of a new day, a new career and a new relationship. “Do we still have time for that tour?”

Toby opened the door and shook his head. “Not this morning, baby. Maybe after lunch?”

She knew she’d find her way around by then, especially as the first thing on her to-do list was a fire safety check, but she also knew seeing the business through Toby’s eyes would help her sort out an action plan for how she ran the office, would help them both form a more enduring partnership.

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