“Jeez, Simon, have you moved into your office?”

He looked up from his laptop sometime after five. “Hey, Linda.” He checked his watch. It was actually seven. Damn, where had the time gone?

“You don’t look so good.” His media relations officer paused, then stepped up to his desk. “Actually, I mean, you’re less handsome than usual. You still look better than ninety-nine percent of the population, but you look less like you.”

“Is that your way of telling me I should go home?” He rubbed some of the exhaustion from his eyes. It had been a long day. Made longer by the distance that kept growing between him and Heather.

“Nobody can tell you anything,” Linda said with a scoff. “Except for your assistant, who is probably the only person around here who you sometimes listen to. I hear you had a discussion with an investor at the conference?”

“Yes, I had a meeting with Santo Mattis. He’s interested in partnering with Dover. But that meeting was mostly Heather’s doing, to tell the truth,” he murmured. “She’s very good at her job.”

“So, why are you still here on a Friday night?” Linda asked pointedly.

“Because work is my life,” he admitted.

“That’s awfully lonely,” Linda said. “You’re young. You should be out having the time of your life.”

“I’m not the only one who works overtime,” he said.

“Well, I’m about to head out. Which means you’re the last one here,” she said. “Aren’t you tired of being the last one to go home?”

“You know me,” he replied. “Nothing makes me tired.”

“You’re not a machine, Simon.” Linda sighed.

It was as close to friendly advice as he was ever going to get, but there was no point in listening to Linda. Not if she didn’t know the real reason why he kept staying at work later and later. He was working harder than ever to keep his mind off Heather.

Which had been even harder to do today because he was sure he’d offended her. His former employee, Kylie, was back in town, and she’d come to visit. It had probably made Heather think Kylie was after her job. Which wasn’t the case at all. He might have been hesitant to even want something serious with Heather after the secrets she had kept from him, but he trusted that she was a good worker.

Right now they needed a cooling-off period, and the best way to make sure they cooled off was for him to put some distance between them.

“I’ll stay for another fifteen minutes and then head out,” he said. “How about that?”

“Okay, boss.” Linda smiled and then turned around to head out. She glanced over at the file cabinet across the office and said, “Nice sweater. Pink really is your color.”

Simon stared after her, bewildered. When she headed out of his office he walked over to the file cabinet, curious about Linda’s odd statement.

Right there on the cabinet was Heather’s familiar pink sweater. She’s been wearing it for most of the day. He groaned when memories of how she looked in it came flooding back. It had been a tight fit, the soft fabric accentuating her breasts.

He picked up the sweater, ready to leave it in her office, but there was something in the pocket. Curious, he reached for it and retrieved her ID. She would need it to get back into work on Monday. For security reasons Dover had very strict policies about employee IDs, and she’d probably be frantic all weekend without it.

It was probably best to drop off the ID and sweater at her place, so he grabbed his phone and dialed her. The phone rang without an answer. With relief, he hung up and sent her a text.

He’d still drop off her sweater, but not having to have an awkward conversation on the phone with her was probably a blessing in disguise.

Fifteen minutes later, Simon got behind the wheel of his electric car and headed to Heather’s place. If she wasn’t home, he’d just leave her ID and sweater in her mailbox. She was bound to find it when she got home.

When he pulled up to her house he found that the lights were on. So, somebody was home. Maybe she was ignoring his calls. He didn’t blame her. Who would want to take a Friday night phone call from their boss?

Simon grabbed the sweater and jogged out up to her front door. He rang the doorbell and Heather answered, dressed in nothing by an oversized shirt and the tiniest pair of shorts he had ever seen. Her hair was down, and she wasn’t wearing her glasses. He hadn’t ever seen her look so casual. It was sexy. Well, she was always sexy, but this time he was taken by surprise.

“H-Hi.” He did his best to sound casual, but the sight of her bare legs was making it hard to think straight.

She narrowed her hazel eyes suspiciously. “Simon? What’re you doing here?”

“You left your sweater at the office,” he replied.

“Right,” she said, sounding totally unconvinced by his explanation.

“Your ID was inside the pocket,” he said.

“Oh.” She reached for the sweater. “Thank you. I can’t believe I forgot it.”

“Work was hectic today,” he said. “It was probably easy to forget.”

She paused. “Would you like a drink or something?”

No. Say no. Turn her down.

“Sure,” he said. Because that was what he truly wanted to say. The rational part of his brain that he always listened to was shouting at him to walk away, but every other part of him just wanted to be near her. “But I can’t stay long.”

“Of course.” She led him inside and he followed her into the kitchen.

The house was small, but extremely neat and organized. Cozy even. A bit like Heather herself.

She motioned for him to sit at the island and he obliged while she put a kettle on.

“Got any weekend plans?” he blurted out. Small talk had never been his strong suit, but he’d do anything to make sure there weren’t any uncomfortable lulls in the conversation.

She took some mugs from the cabinet and set them down on the island. “I might go catch a movie with some friends, but I’m pretty much a homebody.”

“Home is good.” After a pause he asked, “Need any help?”

“No, thank you,” she said as she grabbed a couple of teabags out of a box and placed one in each mug. “How do muffins sound?”

“Great,” he said.

She grabbed some muffins from a tray on the kitchen counter and placed them on a small plate. Then she handed it over. “They’re banana nut.”

He reached for one and took a bite. Delicious. “This is good. Did you make these?”

Heather nodded. “I’m not much of a cook, but I love to bake. There was a bake sale at Finn’s school and I made one batch too many.”

“Finn is lucky to have you for a mom,” he said.

Her cheeks turned pink. “Thank you. And Kylie is lucky to have you.”

“Kylie?” He took another bite and thought over Heather’s words. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he nearly laughed out loud. “You think Kylie and I are an item?”

“You looked very nice together.” She nodded her head vigorously, like she was trying to convince herself that what she was saying was true.

“I’m not dating Kylie,” he said. “I mean, she’s lovely, but she’s not my type. And she’s happily married.”

“Oh.” She stared down at her hands. “So, is she like your friend... or something?”

“Kylie was an engineer at Dover,” he said. “We were the first company she worked for when she was just starting out. She moved on to a smaller startup because it was a better fit for her. Kylie just visited the office today because her company wants to partner with Dover on a small side project. You really thought we were dating?”

“Well, you hugged her and seemed so happy to see her—”

“I was happy to see her,” he said. “I’m always happy to see former employees doing well.”

She made a face. “Right. It’s just that you’re not like that with many people.”

“Kylie and I both went to Stanford. She was a few years behind me, but I was kind of a mentor to her,” he said. “There’s nothing romantic between us at all.”

“So she’s your friend?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t go that far. It’s a cordial, professional relationship. Nothing more.”

A relieved sigh made her shoulders heave.

“Were you jealous of Kylie?” he asked, barely able to contain a laugh.

“What? No.” She bit her lip and then clasped her hands. “Okay. Maybe a little. But you were jealous of Gary.”

“You were married to Gary,” he argued.

The kettle started to boil, and she rushed over to grab it and started pouring hot water into their mugs. “It was nice of you to bring my sweater. Thank you.”

“You’ve already thanked me,” he reminded her.

“Right. I have.” She set the kettle back down and sat down across from him.

“Do you want me to go?” he asked. “If you don’t want me here, I don’t know why you’d bother inviting me in for a drink—”

“I thought you were dating Kylie. That’s the only reason I let you in here,” she said breathlessly.

“Oh.” He sighed. “Do you think I’m that out of control?”

“No, but I know I’m that out of control,” she said. “I mean, you’ve been ignoring me at work, but that’s probably the right idea.”

“I haven’t been ignoring you, Heather,” he said. “You’re impossible to ignore.”

“So, why have you been so cold to me?” she asked.

He frowned. “Isn’t that what you wanted? We both decided to move on. The best way to do that is to put some distance between us.”

“So, why did you come over to my house?” she demanded.

“Because you left your ID,” he replied. “I didn’t want you to have to deal with the stress on Monday morning.”

“Is that really why you came over here?” she asked. “Because I doubt you’d do the same thing for any other employee.”

Simon didn’t know how to respond to that. Mostly because she was right. He wouldn’t have hand- delivered a sweater to anyone else. Staying away from Heather would have been the right call, but after Linda reminded him how lonely his life was he couldn’t stand being away from Heather for one more second. He hated that he could barely talk to her. Being apart was the best thing for both of them, but actually going through with it seemed impossible now that he was in her presence.

He took a sip of the hot tea, trying to buy some time. “I wouldn’t do the same for any other employee,” he finally admitted. There wasn’t any use lying about it. She could obviously see right through him. Without thinking, he reached out and covered her hand with his.

She stared down at their hands. “Kiss me, Simon.”

Heather didn’t have to repeat herself. In less than five seconds he got out of his chair, walked over to her, and pulled her into his arms.

“What about Gary?” he asked.

“What about him?”

He gently stroked her cheek, which turned pink at his touch. “You still have feelings for him.”

“No, I promise you I don’t,” she said firmly. “I only let you believe that because it made things easier.”

“There’s nothing going on between you and your ex?” He paused. “So, you’ve been keeping more secrets, Heather?”

“You and I already share a secret,” she said. “Our mistake is secret enough. Why would you want me to tell you more?”

Capturing her chin in his hand, he asked, “What if it isn’t a mistake?”

Her eyes fell on his, and they darkened seductively. “If it isn’t a mistake, why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

His mouth found hers, and his tongue swept inside. Tasting her made him groan softly. Her soft lips were crushed beneath his as she clung to him so tightly he thought she might never let go. And he didn’t want her to. Not when her tongue met his. Not when her soft body was practically wrapped around his.

When she pulled her lips away, she stared deep into his eyes and asked, “Do you want to come to my bedroom?”