Simon

“You hungry?” I held Peyton in her bed as both our heartbeats started to calm down. Her naked body tucked into my side was about the best thing I’d ever felt.

“Mm. I probably should eat.”

“Do you want me to order in?”

She yawned, and I wondered just how much she’d had to drink.

“I have leftover pizza in the fridge if you want.”

Sounded good to me. And since I thought she probably should get something in her stomach if she’d been drinking, I pulled on my boxers and walked out of her bedroom. I spent a moment taking in all the details of her home. Touches of her were on every wall, with pictures, art, and colors. The place was as vibrant as she was. I spent a few minutes scanning the pictures of her family, smiling at a portrait above the fireplace where the entire crew was making funny faces.

Love. That’s what I felt when I studied the family photo showing Peyton with others who had to be her sister, brother-in-law, and nieces. And of course, with Cooper in the middle.

Upon exploring her refrigerator, I found the container of pizza, amazed to find it was homemade, not from a store. It appeared to have several types of meat on it. After washing my hands, I heated a few pieces and looked forward to tasting it.

When I strode back into the bedroom, I saw her in the same place I’d left her. “Wake up, beautiful. You should get some food.”

She stretched, offering me a look at her sexy body. One I planned on spending more time exploring after dinner. “Yeah. I guess I should.”

“You want to come out to the kitchen?” My plan was to eat at the counter, but she shook her head.

“Nope. In here is good.”

“In the bed?”

She laughed. “Yes. I know it’s probably out of your comfort zone, but come on. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

Indeed it was out of my comfort zone. I normally preferred to sit down properly to have a meal. “All right. Let me bring in dinner.”

She giggled, probably wondering why I’d bothered to dish it up. Once I handed her the two plates, I brought in two large glasses of water.

“Thank you. Mm, you even heated it up. Good.”

“Did you make this?”

“Mm-hm. I buy the dough, so sort of cheating, but otherwise I managed to put it together.”

I took a bite, enjoying the several types of salami and pepperoni. “It’s good.”

“Thank you.”

“I hope I didn’t cut your evening short.”

She shook her head, her mouth full, making me think her adorable.

Finally able to speak once she swallowed, she responded. “I’d had more than enough to drink. Had to take an Uber.”

“Still, it was presumptuous simply to show up here without checking if you had plans.” I hadn’t meant to be rude, but I simply hadn’t been able to wait to see her. Especially after she’d dismissed me earlier. After I left work, I’d intended to drive to my place, but I’d come here instead.

“I suppose it was rude. Next time you could simply ask me. We did talk earlier today.”

It sounded simple, yet it was anything but. “Fair point. Are we okay?”

She fixed her gaze on me. “Meaning what?”

Bollocks. I wasn’t even sure what I was asking. She’d behaved exactly as I’d needed her to at work today. Cool. Professional. She hadn’t used any emotion in telling me she had to get to a call. So why was it bugging me? “I don’t know.”

I was finished with my pizza and about to get out of the bed.

“Wait.” She sighed, putting down her last piece. “Earlier when you came by, I may have overshot on the professional thing. I was afraid if I didn’t switch the flirting to something more office-like, I’d fail.”

I turned towards her. “Fail what?”

“The test. I felt like you were giving me one. And the way you didn’t contact me at all yesterday was part of it, too.”

I swallowed hard, realizing she was showing vulnerability, and I needed to level the playing field. “The test you speak of was mostly for me. I’m new at this balancing act.”

“Me, too. But I’m glad you came by tonight.”

“Perhaps knowing when we can see one another again would be better.” Then we’d have something to look forward to instead of waiting and feeling on edge, wondering if the other one wanted to get together. It was silly. We had limited time, so we should use it.

“Mm. I like that idea.” She’d scooted her plate to the side.

“Friday night?” I posed the question while kissing her neck.

“It’s a plan. Then if you want to stay the night, we can go to my niece’s birthday party on Saturday afternoon. It’s only family. But good food and beer will be available. Don’t worry. My sister knows you as the guy I bought champagne for at the grocery store who spoke to her via speakerphone. But I haven’t shared that you’re involved with the company at all.”

I pulled back, hesitating, and then cursed myself when she noticed it and backtracked.

“You know what? Scratch that. We never agreed on family events being a part of this.”

I absolutely loathed how she said ‘this’ as if it was only a booty call. Then again, what else would she think the way I’d dropped in tonight. “I would attend if I could, I promise. But I have to work on Saturday. Tom is staying in town, and we’re going over all of the interview results.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

Then why did I see the flash of hurt in her eyes before she covered it up and pretended she didn’t care.

***

The last thing I wanted to do was get out of the warm bed with Peyton. Her body pressed to mine after another round of lovemaking was the best thing I’d felt in—well, since I’d woken up with her in my bed in New York. But it was growing quite late.

I kissed her forehead. I still felt off about having to turn down her invite to meet her family. I knew she believed it had to do with the personal aspect, but I really did have an all-day session planned to go over the employees.

“You have to go, don’t you?” her voice murmured in the dark.

“How could you tell?”

“You sighed before becoming tense.”

“Probably because I don’t want to leave. We’ll plan on Friday evening, though, okay?”

“’Kay.” I could hear the sleepiness in her voice.

I crawled out of the bed with regret and then put on my clothes. “Emma should’ve sent you the schedules for your employees’ meetings today.”

Her head was on her pillow, her gorgeous face looking up at me. “She did. But I have a request.”

“What’s that?”

“We don’t talk about work in the bedroom. Consider it a safe zone and a reprieve from all the rest of the noise.”

I thought it strange to want a reprieve from the one thing I normally sought out the most. Yet with her, I was happy to have the break. “I’ve never heard a rule I’ve wanted to follow more than this one.”

“Thank you.”

I moved back on the bed, meeting her lips for one last kiss. “All right. Good night.”

I knew if we got started, I wouldn’t be able to leave.

“Good night,” she murmured.

***

Friday couldn’t come quickly enough. Peyton had been putting in some long hours and so had some of her staff. Normally, I would say it was all part of the job. But when it came to her, I felt guilty about the overtime, especially knowing Cooper was at home waiting for her.

Yes, the Ice man was now feeling bad for a Great Dane.

By Friday afternoon, we’d completed the staff interviews, and all had gone well. Everything, that is, except for Jeff trying to tell us who on Peyton’s team should be let go. She hadn’t been wrong about him attempting to do that. But I’d squashed it. Also, the board had finished their last interview for the CFO position this morning. By Monday, I expected to find out if she got the job.

I went down to her office around six, trying not to appear anxious for her to leave work. Nothing said quandary quite like this: I both needed the work done and to be deep inside of her.

“Hi,” I greeted, taking in her tired, yet still beautiful, face.

She looked up from her desk. “Hey.”

I closed her door softly and took the visitor’s chair. Fuck it. I couldn’t even be subtle. I’d missed her during the last couple of nights. “How much longer you think you’ll be?”

She contemplated. “Depends who’s asking. My date or the guy who’s busy buying the company.”

I grinned. “It’s after six, so I think it’s safe to say it’s your date asking.”

“In that case, only a few more minutes. But I need to run home and feed Cooper first.”

“Would you rather stay in?” I wasn’t typically the type of guy who liked hanging out at home, considering such behavior screamed ‘relationship,’ but the thought of doing it with her was appealing.

“Yeah?”

“Sure. I can bring dinner, and we could watch a movie?” Is that what people did?

“The perfect date. Do you think you’ll bring a toothbrush and stay the night?”

“I’d like to.” The thought of spending the entire night with her sounded divine. “But I have to leave early in the morning.” Not that I wanted to remind her I couldn’t accompany her to her sister’s on Saturday, but I was trying to set expectations. That wasn’t an easy thing to do without sounding like a complete arse.

“Understood. Oh, and watch out for the prostitutes on the street when you park. I hear they’re real aggressive.”

She gave me a wink and went back to her computer, leaving me to laugh.

An hour later, I pulled up in front of her house. I brought Chinese food but realized, as I knocked on Peyton’s door, that I didn’t know if she actually liked it. This only brought to my attention everything I still wanted to learn about her.

She came to the door with a smile and then cocked her head to the side. “Hey, save the frowny face for the office.”

“I didn’t mean to scowl, but I brought Chinese food and wasn’t sure if you eat it or not. Or if you have any allergies.” I followed her into the house to the kitchen.

She took the bag and put it on the counter, then stepped closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’m not allergic to any foods, although I am to penicillin. I love Chinese food. Matter of fact, I’m not picky about any food with the exception of anchovies, runny eggs, or a super rare steak. And cauliflower—hate the stuff. They can mash it all they want and say it’s like potatoes, but it’s totally not.”

How did she make it so easy to be with her? And all with not one sign she might still be annoyed I couldn’t come with her to her family’s barbeque tomorrow. “Agreed. I’m allergic to nothing I’m aware of. In addition to the things you listed, about which I agree and am not a fan of, I’m not keen on fried food or gummy candy.”

She gave a fake gasp and pulled back, her expression incredulous. “You don’t like gummy bears? Say it isn’t so.”

“Do you have any idea what they use to make those things gummy?”

She covered her ears like a child. “No, no, no. I will not let you ruin the magic of gummy candy for me. It is too delicious. But you not eating them could work out since it means more for me.”

I captured her lips, never having met someone like her, who could turn the most mundane conversation into something both interesting and memorable. “I will let you have all the gummy bears you want.”