Page 39 of Boss of Attraction

“Thanks to you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. If you hadn’t offered to go with me, I would have canceled my appointment and missed out on that place.” I reached out and squeezed his hand.

The second we touched, the chemistry I had felt between us returned. I looked down and immediately pulled my hand back, not wanting to make things awkward between us. But when I looked up again, Declan’s wide eyes told me he’d felt it too.

15

DECLAN

“Thank you again for dinner,”I said as we walked toward the office.

“Thank you again for coming with me.”

“I really enjoyed it. I probably will never be able to afford anything like that place, so it was fun.”

“Why do you think that?” Sean asked as we stopped at an intersection.

I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just a long way from it.”

He chuckled softly. “I didn’t come from money either. I worked my tail off to build my reputation and build a profitable client list. It’s allowed me to live my dreams and provide for my family and I know you can do it too.”

“I totally get that, but it’s just hard to imagine since I’m just starting out and all.”

“I believe in you, Declan, and I can already tell you have what it takes to be just as successful as me, if not more.”

His words made my heart smile. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

As we reached the parking garage of our office building, we stopped next to his Porsche and faced each other.

There was a brief moment when I thought about leaning in for another kiss, but Sean spoke before I could act on it.

“Have a good night, Declan.”

“You too, Sean.”

He slid into his car, and I walked to Betsy a few rows over. The engine clicked as I turned the key but failed to start.

“Come on,” I muttered, trying again with no success.

Just when I was about to give up hope, Betsy gave a sudden roar as she finally came to life. Relief flooded through me and I blew out a breath, but I had a feeling old Betsy was about to keel over.

With the engine rumbling, I backed out of the parking space and headed home. As I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I glanced at the screen to see my mom’s name.

“Hey, Mom,” I answered as I stepped out of the car.

“Declan, sweetheart, how was your day?”

“It was good,” I replied, walking toward the building. “Went to dinner with my boss.”

“Just the two of you?”

“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “He needed help with something and then wanted to say thank you with dinner.”

“That’s wonderful,” she replied, sounding genuinely pleased. “Are you still having to work late hours?”

“Sometimes.”