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Here’s a new sample from LOVE AND LATTES. I hope you enjoy!
***
Of course he’s my boss. That’s just my kind of luck.
Julia knew her cheeks must be bright red, but there was nothing she could do to calm the embarrassment burning inside her.
I slept with my boss. She shook her head, trying to comprehend how in the world this could have happened. Of all the places she could have gotten a job, of all the guys she could have fallen into bed with on one spontaneous night, she had picked this store and this man.
Oh my freaking god. The world is a cruel place.
“Your store?” She barely managed to ask the question.
“Yep. Chase Bloom. That’s me.” He pointed at the Bloom’s Books sign of the door. “So you’re the new girl, huh?”
“Looks that way.” She smiled weakly at him, following his gaze to the sign hanging over the door. She didn’t want to look him in the eyes again, what they’d done together still fresh in her mind, probably in his too. Instead, she glanced down the street. A woman was walking out of an expensive jewelry store next door, admiring a diamond ring large enough Julia could see it from a distance.
She lowered her voice and spoke again. “Having slept with the boss probably isn’t a good thing, huh?”
“It’s not the best scenario, no.” He shrugged and she noticed lines of worry across his forehead. “Our night at the club happened before we knew we worked together, so we can’t be held accountable for our previous actions.”
“But?” There had to be a problem in his mind. He wouldn’t have those creases in his forehead if everything were wonderful between them like it had been a few minutes ago.
He sighed. “But we probably shouldn’t be together if you’re going to work here. I probably shouldn’t have just kissed my new employee. Crap.” His shoulders drooped with his words.
Her heart sank into her stomach like a lead weight. Crap indeed.
So much for her big romance. Now he was just her boss and she would have to treat him that way. Starting now.
She glanced at his shirt and the giant coffee stain adorning the front. The color instantly drained out of Julia’s face. “I can’t believe I just spilled coffee all over you.” She reached into her handbag and pulled out a package of tissues. She fumbled with the little plastic pull-tab and ripped it open in haste. Tissues fluttered to the ground around her feet.
Julia snatched the tissues up in a messy handful. She tried to shake the image of Chase standing before her—naked in her bedroom—hot and sweaty and so irresistible, as she dabbed the tissues against the stain. Taut abs beneath his wet shirt made desire flare to life inside her again.
She paused as the muscles under her fingers constricted slightly as he exhaled. She closed her eyes as she continued to dab at his shirt with the tissues, as if powered by someone else. She patted further up the stain, feeling the broad, defined chest that had occupied her dreams for the last few nights. She stopped above the heart beating fast under her palm. Her breathing stuttered as her gaze flickered up to meet Chase’s again. He smiled at her as he had at the club, seductive and hungry. She suddenly wondered if she was groping him instead of helping him, but she still couldn’t force herself to remove her hand from his chest.
She forced herself to speak. “Sorry about your shirt.”
His lips pulled up at the corners. “It’s okay. It’s only a shirt.”
“Your abs—stomach—um, you’re not burnt or anything, are you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I’ll pay for the dry cleaning.”
His hair fluttered slightly in the breeze as he shook his head. “Not necessary. I’m sure it’ll come clean and if it doesn’t, it’s only a T-shirt.”
A really well-fitting T-shirt… Stop. He’s your boss.
“Okay, if you’re sure. Sorry again,” she said, finally pulling her hand back from his chest where it had been lingering far longer than was appropriate. She already missed the feel of his pecs against her fingertips. She was positive she could live her whole life and never tire of feeling his body.
She took a step toward the door. He was her boss, not a guy she should fantasize about. “I—I should go.”
Reaching past her, he pulled open the door. “Have a good first day. I hope you like working here.”
“Thanks.” What else could she say?
She disappeared inside the door with a last glance over her shoulder, leaving the incredibly hunky Chase out on the front steps alone. She suddenly wished she’d been coming into the store for a coffee on her way to work somewhere else. Anywhere else would be fine. Universe, you suck.
2 pings
Lacey Wolfe says:
October 23, 2011 at 9:09 am (UTC -5 )
I really enjoyed your sample!
Gem Sivad says:
October 23, 2011 at 2:23 pm (UTC -5 )
Well, the good news is, neither one of them seems to have forgotten their night together. I’m betting the boss is going to have a hard time keeping his hands off the help. 😀