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Who her life partner was certainly helped. Garrett Chapman was a hell of a safety net. Of course, having an impulse and acting on it were two very different things.
Please let his staff be gone.Fulfilling her husband’s fantasy was one thing. Doing it knowing she had been recognized by his employees on the way in—or worse, that Fletcher guy—made her cringe.
She got half-lucky. The outer offices of Next Chapter Investments weren’t deserted yet, and people did glance up from their computers. But they didn’t look beyond the apron peeking out from under her coat or the branded baseball cap she’d used to cover her hair.
She looked like a café employee, making one last delivery on her way out the door.
Emma ran those last few steps into Garrett’s office, plastering herself against the door to close it shut. Her breath was ragged and she was hot enough to be perilously close to sweating.
Not sexy. Not sexy at all.
Garrett looked up from his desk and laughed at the sight of her plastered against the door like a fly someone had swatted.
He too was rumpled, wearing only his white button-down shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, the collar open and a little wrinkled.
Damn, he should adopt the scruffy look every day. Garrett was stupid hot with his usual polished perfection worn away. The five o’clock shadow alone was worth the price of admission.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, rising to meet her. “Did you come all this way to bring me a coffee?”
All this way was approximately fifteen minuteswithtraffic.
Emma let the strap of her bag slip off her shoulder so she could take one of the coffee cups and turn it upside down. “Sorry, love. I don’t come bearing that particular gift. I brought another.”
She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching them through the glass. The coast was clear, but she still flushed so hot it was surprising she didn’t spontaneously combust.
“Babe, are you all right?” Garrett started walking toward her but stopped when she held up her hand.
Emma bit her lip and opened her coat wider, showing him his surprise.
The “shirt” she was wearing under her apron was a cleverly folded silk scarf. Emma whipped it away, revealing the next to nothing she was wearing underneath.
Garrett froze, the only movement the rise of his chest as he sucked in air so hard he wheezed.
The tight, breathless feeling she’d been feeling dissipated as she kicked off her shoes and began to walk toward him.
Emma had no plan beyond this point. But her confidence grew when she looked into Garrett’s glazed-over eyes. Biting her lip, she pushed on his shoulders until he collapsed back onto his chair.
Shifting the papers he had been working on, she cleared a space before hopping onto it. He was already lunging for her. But her new confidence sparked a newfound playfulness.
Giggling, she pushed Garrett back with her bare foot. He took hold, cradling it in his hands before kissing up the side of her leg.
“I thought we would stay here tonight,” she whispered when he got to her knee. “In your office bedroom.”
His eyes lit up. “Really?”
“If you’d like.”
Catching her up in his arms, he urged her to wrap her legs around his waist. “Oh, I like. I like it a lot.”
The world blended in a joyful whirl as he spun her around, turning them several times until her head was spinning.
He wouldn’t have done that as little as a month ago. But Garrett paid close attention to her. He’d learned to recognize the signs of a headache coming on and when she was fine. When it was safe to play.
And play he did. He was almost bouncing her in his arms as they entered the bedroom she wouldn’t have known was there if he hadn’t told her about it.
The hidden bedroom echoed the masculine lines of hisoffice, only more. Here the walls were dark wood, as if someone dismantled his desk and made panels out of it.
“Why is it so dark in here?” she asked as he set her down at the edge of the bed.