“You what?” I snatched my hand back as though sparks from the fireplace had ignited her skin.

“I quit. My job,” she added.

That’s what I thought she’d said. I’d lost swimmers, not brain cells. What was she talking about?

I examined her closely. She’d rolled onto her belly, her chin resting on her crossed arms. A dreamy smile masked her face and her eyes closed against the glow of the fire, which needed stoking.

“Madeline, what are you talking about?”

For someone without that much experience with men, she sure knew how to kill the mood. Then again, that could explain her lack of experience.

She turned her head, resting the side of it on her forearms to look at me. “Do you want me?”

My gaze swept over her pink ear, the bright hair swept around her neck like a scarf, the valley of her spine sweeping down to the creamy hills of her ass. With her arms raised, the sides of her luscious tits bubbled out from beneath her body.

Oh, right. She’d asked me a question. “Of course I fucking want you.” There. That was pretty effective communication, right?

Her smile was like a shooting star. “Do you want me to be your, uh, girlfriend?” She glanced at the fire, trying to hide her shyness and the glow in her cheeks.

At times I forgot how much younger she was than me. This was not one of those times. “Yes, Maddie. I’m all in. God help me, you’re mine.”

“Then I have to stop working for you.” A divot appeared between her arched eyebrows as she frowned.

“Why?”

“I can’t be your girlfriend and your assistant, Gage. It’s exactly why I didn’t want to share a suite with you in the mountains. Everybody will think that I slept my way into my job.”

Was she crazy? “But you started months ago. They know we weren’t together then.” Didn’t they?

She pushed herself up onto her knees, placing her palms on her thighs. I tried not to look at the shadowy crease at her center. Clearly I was unsuccessful; with a huff, she reached for her clothes.

“Focus, Gage. I know you’re good at that.”

I sat up as she threw my jeans at me. She had no idea how hard it was for a man to focus while watching a gorgeous woman put on a bra. “We’re not sharing a suite now. The next retreat we go on, I’ll get you a room at the other end of the hotel.” Like hell I would—book another retreat, that was.

“I can’t do both jobs at once, not well anyway. I’m trying to commit here, but I recognize my limitations. Remember, Susan said I needed to keep my personal life and my job separate.” She looked down at the panties she’d discarded earlier then shrugged casually as she pulled on her skirt without them.

“So, compartmentalize!” I shouted, trying not to stumble as I shoved one leg at a time into my jeans. Apparently we were both going commando.

“Compartmentalize?”

“That’s what I do! It works—mostly.” Well, except for the painful hard-ons I got at the office. I ignored her knowing smirk. “Shit, Maddie, you can’t quit. I need you.”

In just her bra and skirt, she stepped into my shadow and put her hand on my cheek. “I need you too.” Dropping her hand, she wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her cheek to my bare chest.

“But work—”

“If I don’t quit, Susan will fire me,” she reminded me. “We’re not great at being on the down low.”

I took a halting step back, propping my hands on my hips. “You know, some women would love to have a man like me worship at their fucking feet.”

She sighed. “That’s not the point, Gage.”

“I won’t let her fire you. Executive veto. I’m the boss, remember?”

“Which would just prove her point!” She found her blouse on the floor and turned away to put it on. She was replacing her armor as she spoke. “This isn’t easy for me either, you know.”

“I hate quitters,” I couldn’t help saying. “You’re not a quitter.”

She froze, her head bent and her fingers on her buttons. After a few seconds of silence, she finished doing them up and pivoted to face me. “Yes, I am, Gage. I know that about myself, but I’m trying to change. You make me want to try, want to stick to something.”

“So stick to me!”

“I want to. As your girlfriend.” Her chin was stubbornly set, but there was doubt in her eyes.

“But—”

“Would you rather keep me as your lover or your assistant? Because I can’t be both; you have to pick.”

Even in the flickering light from the fire, I could see the hurt and disappointed expression on her face as she handed me my shirt. I tossed it aside, glaring at her. Ah shit. No man should have to be in this situation. I scrubbed my face with my hands, my stomach in knots.

“I said I was all in. That meant everything.” I gave her all of myself. I let go for her, and now she wanted to let go of me?

“I’m sorry. I want you too. I just can’t do both. It’s too hard.”

Her shoulders sagged, and she looked pitiful—but determined. For once, she’d made a decision. If it wasn’t the wrong decision, I would have been proud. Instead, although it wasn’t my fault, it was going to be my problem.

For a wealthy, successful man, this was like Sophie’s Choice—the horrible choice between an amazing woman in your arms and a fantastic employee in your office. Fuck. I bet Bill Gates never had this problem. Wait a second, didn’t he marry somebody who worked for him?

“Gage?”

I shook my head. “This isn’t fair.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “Life isn’t fair. Believe me, I know.”

“Argh!” I couldn’t decide! I took a few deep breaths, frowning. “Maddie, the lamb chops need to come out of the oven.”

“Is that code or something?” She looked puzzled.

“No, dinner! It’s probably overcooked by now.”

“Oh!” She hustled out of the room, leaving me to my existential crisis. I heard a clunk and a curse come from the kitchen, and when she returned her face was red.

“I guess the question, Gage, is whether you want me for me.”

Her simple words and sober expression took me straight to our car ride back from the retreat. Then she told me she wanted to be wanted for her, just her—the way she hadn’t been wanted by her mother. I felt sick.

Of course I wanted her for her, what was I thinking? Assistants could be hired; girlfriends couldn’t. Well, okay, they could, but no man really wanted that kind of girlfriend. I had to let her make her own decisions. If she wanted to be with me, how could I say no?