“Good luck on your first day. I need to get back up front,” Jessica said, her tone breezy.

“Th . . . thanks,” Carly stammered, her eyes never leaving Donovan’s face.

Donovan’s brown eyes bored into her. His jaw clenched and he crossed his arms, but he otherwise didn’t show any surprise. On the other hand, Carly was sure her bottom jaw almost rested on the ground and her eyes threatened to pop out if they got any wider.

“Come on in and close the door,” he said quietly.

A vision of him crossing the room to take her in his arms and kiss her deeply and passionately danced into her mind as Carly turned to do his bidding. She imagined him running his hands down her back and cupping her rear end, yanking her toward him so she could feel the hard length of his desire through her business suit.

But when she turned back toward him, Donovan was sitting in the chair behind his desk. Carly felt a flash of disappointment, but she swallowed it and moved to sit across from him.

“Hi,” he said softly once she was seated, and a soft grin appeared on his face.

“Hi,” she answered.

“So, you’re my new journalist?”

Carly nodded. “So, you’re my new editor?”

“Apparently.”

“Well, isn’t this serendipitous?” Carly let herself smile. She was so happy to see Donovan it was hard to contain.

He chuckled. “It definitely is.” He cocked his head to the side and studied her, tapping his fingers on the arms of his chairs.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Carly whispered.

“Me either.” Donovan hesitated. “I’m glad I was wrong.”

Relief flooded through her. She’d been beginning to think he wasn’t happy to see her and wondered if he would fire her.

“But I don’t think we should continue the relationship we had at the ocean.”

His words fell on her like a heavy weight. She didn’t answer but sat waiting for him to say more.

“I’m your boss now, and we’re back in the real world. I’m almost always working, and you’re going to be busting your ass too.” He leaned forward and shuffled some papers on his desk. “You know, I’m the youngest editor the Newton Weekly’s ever had? My dad bought the paper when I was a child. He built it up to be a success, but the internet changed the way people consume news. We’re an online subscription now, but we have to keep the cost low for people or they just won’t pay. I’ve had to fire a lot of people to stay profitable. It’s a slog for me every day, trying to keep what my dad built going and not lose it all.” Donovan winced, and Carly could almost see the weight of his father’s expectations sitting on his shoulders.

“Anyway, I don’t really have time for a relationship.” He looked up at Carly, his eyes soft. When he spoke again, his voice was so low she had to lean forward to catch his words. “I hope you understand this isn’t about you. I loved what we had—what we did—at the ocean. But we wouldn’t be able to do the same thing here in our real lives. Keep it without strings, I mean. And I don’t want any strings right now.”

Carly bobbed her head up and down a tiny bit. “When do you want strings?”

“Maybe when I’m thirty,” he answered. “That gives me four years to bust my hump and get this paper wildly successful and running on autopilot.”

“I see.” Carly knew he was right about one thing. She’d never be able to simply have fun with Donovan in this setting—in their real lives—like they’d had on vacation. She would definitely want more.

She already did.

But she simply said. “Okay, boss. I got it.”

Donovan’s face fell for a second. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she wouldn’t have seen it because he quickly transformed it into a smile while he stood up. But she had seen it. He’d looked sad for an instant.

He walked her to the door and opened it. “It’s good to have you on the team, Miss Roberts,” he said formally. “I’ll see you at the story meeting in a few minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Parker.” She tried to keep sarcasm out of her voice but thought she only partially succeeded.

As she walked away from Donovan toward the room containing her cubicle, Carly fought down a lump in her throat. That was certainly more of a curve ball than she’d ever expected to be thrown on her first day.

She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. Renewing a crazy sexual fling she’d had for a week during vacation wasn’t why she was there. She was there to work her ass off, prove herself, and move up the ranks to feature reporter. Donovan wasn’t going to distract her from her life goals, today or any day.

She booted up the computer in her cubicle and glanced at her watch. Five minutes until the meeting in the conference room. She wanted to be there, ready to go, right on time, so she dug a spiral notebook and pen out of her briefcase, grabbed her travel mug, and hurried out of the room.

Donovan was already in the conference room when Carly arrived. He sat at the head of the long, oval table shuffling through papers. He glanced at her and nodded when she entered the room. She moved around the table and walked its length to sit immediately to his left. Donovan glanced at Carly, and she thought he looked a little irritated. She smiled to herself. He’d probably been hoping she’d choose the furthest seat away.

Carly knew they had to keep their relationship professional at work. It wouldn’t do to have other reporters thinking she had an in with the boss. Something like that could degrade the morale of a workplace, and she really was only interested in working at work.

Still, she didn’t think they should entirely give up on the notion of developing a romantic relationship. They’d gotten along so well the week before, and the sex had been absolutely amazing. In fact, just sitting a foot away from him like she was made Carly ache with desire. She crossed and recrossed her legs, trying to relieve the pressure. Donovan glanced at her again, his eyes dropping to her lap, and she grinned. He must have figured out what she was thinking. She couldn’t see his crotch because he sat close enough to the table that it was hidden underneath. Carly had to resist the urge to reach over and check to see if she was having the same effect on him as he was on her.

Luckily, other people started to file into the room, drawing Carly’s attention off hers and Donovan’s bodies.

Four men and five women came in and sat down. They chatted amongst themselves, and Carly noticed lots of glances her direction. Donovan cleared his throat, and the din of conversation died immediately.

“Good morning,” he said. “First off, I want you all to meet Carly Roberts.” He gestured toward her and she smiled and waved. “She’s our new reporter. Please help her feel at home here.” Donovan went on to talk about the stories he wanted covered that day, and he assigned them out. Carly didn’t get one, but she wasn’t surprised. It was her first day, and she was just supposed to be getting the lay of the land in the office. She planned to spend most of the day in her cubicle, setting her computer programs up the way she wanted them and maybe making the rounds to say hello to people individually.

One of the men on the other side of the table, a tall, brown-haired guy who looked like he was around thirty, caught Carly’s attention. At first, she’d thought it was just curiosity about the new co-worker, but as the meeting went on, she realized the guy was watching her more than that. When she met his eyes, he smiled in a way that let her know he was interested. Her eyes darted toward Donovan. He’d definitely seen the look. His eyes were hard, and his jaw clenched. He refused to look at Carly.

Maybe this could work to her advantage. Perhaps jealously would entice Donovan to change his mind about pursuing a relationship with Carly.

When the meeting was over, Donovan darted out of the room before anyone else. The others wandered out more slowly, but the guy across the table walked around to Carly. “Hi,” he said, sticking his hand out. “I’m Jackson. Welcome to Newton Weekly.”

Carly shook his hand and smiled. “Thank you. I’m happy to be here.”

“Can I walk you back to your cubicle? I’m heading that way to work on some leads for a few hours before lunch.”

“Sure. I’m doing computer work this morning too.”

They chatted as they walked down the short hallway to the large room housing the cubicles. She told him where she’d gone to college, and he told her he was from Nebraska originally. Once they arrived at her cubicle, there was an awkward moment of staring at each other silently. Then Jackson blushed a little. “Are you going to eat lunch in the breakroom?”

“Um, yes, I guess so. I brought a packed lunch with me.”

“How about if I come get you around 12:30 and we eat together?”

A picture of Donovan’s face floated into Carly’s mind, and it made her feel a pang of guilt to think about accepting a lunch date from Jackson. But it wasn’t a date—not really. It was just lunch in the breakroom with a new co-worker. Plus, if Donovan saw them, maybe it would make him realize he wanted to claim Carly and not risk someone else snatching her up.

“Sure, that sounds great.”

Jackson smiled and left her alone in her cubicle.

Carly sat down and thought about Jackson. He was cute and seemed very nice, but the man was nothing compared to Donovan. In fact, he seemed boring and run-of-the-mill, unlike the smoldering hotness and intensity of her vacation fling.

She had a moment of panic. What if the sexy young editor never came around and Carly had to find someone else? Was she ruined for other guys now?

She pushed the thought away and got busy working on the computer. Keep your goals in mind, Carly. Stay busy and keep your eye on the ball.

But as she worked, her mind kept drifting to Donovan. She thought about his body and how it felt next to hers. She remembered how much fun it was to go to restaurants with him. Her heart swelled when she thought about his face when Gus got hurt on the beach.

She’d thought they’d never see each other again. That what they’d had was a fling and not about anything other than sex and fun.

But now she knew they’d been meant to enter each other’s worlds and stay there. Otherwise, they never would have found each other like this again. They were meant to be together.

Now she just had to find a way to prove it to Donovan.