Page 40 of Accidental Getaway

“Nothing. I was just saying that there was some internal drama and miscommunication on the board. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to give my presentation, but we got it all worked out in the end.”

Amber is crooning at her baby again. Meanwhile, Niko is dangling another fried dough ball in front of me to tempt me into hanging up the phone.

“Well, you’re lucky I am full of hormones and high on baby smell or I would ask you a dozen more questions. For now, I’ll just take the good news and not worry about anything else.”

I make eye contact with Niko. I have one more thing I need to discuss.

“Amber? While I have you on the phone, I was hoping I could extend my trip? Not a vacation—I’m happy to continue working remotely—but I wanted to check if it would be okay to be on weird hours for a while longer? There are a number of things I still want to see and do here on the island.”

I never ask for time off or extensions or anything that could possibly be seen as me not being at her beck and call so I’m holding my breath to see how she’ll respond.

“That’s fine. As long as you meet your deliverables, I don’t have a problem.

I won’t be online anytime soon if this little guy has his way.

When you’re back, I want you to take over my client load while I’m on leave.

I’ve already sent you a hand-off document of what needs to be done over the next few weeks.

Once I’m back to work, we’ll get you your own clients.

Welcome to life as an associate—as long as you help me find a replacement assistant. ”

Did she just say what I think she said? My body buzzes with excitement.

“Yes! Of course,” I say, trying not to squeal until I’m off the phone. “Wow, thank you. I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t. Enjoy the rest of your stay.” Amber hangs up just as her baby starts to cry again, and I put my phone down.

“I brought food,” Niko says. “If you couldn’t tell.”

“I got a promotion!” I squeal and bounce in my seat.

“In that case … I brought food to celebrate!”

I grab the bag of loukoumades and inhale the fresh aroma. “How did you know I’ve been dreaming about this food since the other night?”

My heart melts into a puddle of joy at Niko’s smile.

“Lucky guess,” he says. “Come out to the balcony and eat with me.”

There’s a small table on the balcony, and Niko brings both chairs to one side of the table, so we can sit together and watch the ocean.

A pair of seagulls fly in front of us, and I watch them circle and head down to the beach in the distance.

Niko takes my hand in his, but we eat in peaceful silence.

I don’t want this moment to end. In the back of my mind, there’s a long list of things I need to do: talk to Niko about the contract, change my flights, call Piper and thank her from the bottom of my heart, apologize to pretty much everyone, tell my parents I’m staying longer, and figure out what our working relationship will be going forward.

But the only thing that matters right now is sitting here with my hand in Niko’s, listening to the crashing of the waves and breathing in the salty air.

For once, I’m not hiding anything or pretending to be someone I’m not, and it’s refreshing.

Eventually, Niko cleans up our late lunch and takes everything inside. When he comes back out onto the balcony, he pulls me up from my chair and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me against him as he leans against the stone balcony railing.

“Well, your boss said yes. Does that mean you’ll stay with me for a while longer?” Niko leans down and kisses my cheek, edging closer to my jawbone.

“I’m considering it.”

He moves to my mouth, and I sigh. “What can I do to convince you?”

My knees buckle. “That’s working,” I say against his lips.

I want nothing more than to keep kissing him, but I need to talk to him first. We need some boundaries.

I gently pull away, putting some space between us.

“First, can we talk? I’ve been thinking a lot about what your dad said about us working together. ”

Niko’s smile drops. “Okay …”

“No, it’s not bad. I promise. I was thinking, I’m not the only employee at Aspen Sky. It might be best, for us, if someone else handles the account. That way, we can focus on each other, without the pressure of work. Do you think that’s okay?”

He pulls me closer to him and nuzzles his face in my hair. My whole body is electrified, responding to each and every touch. “I like the sound of focusing on each other. I can focus here—” He kisses my temple. “—and here.” He kisses my neck.

“Good … great.” I’m starting to lose my breath. “I’ll make sure the account gets assigned to someone.”

“Good, because I am not giving you up. Not when we’re just getting started. ”

I lean into him, kissing him passionately to show him how much that means to me.

He picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. “I’m going to carry you inside and do what I have wanted to do since the moment you climbed on the back of my scooter at the beach. As long as that’s okay with you?”

“Yes, please.”