Page 74 of Boss of Attraction

“Then I’m all set, Daddy.”

The car swerved slightly, then he asked, “Daddy?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, that just doesn’t work for us, does it?”

He shook his head. “Not since I have kids your age.”

“Well, I needed to test it out. I’ve joked about calling you daddy before.”

“You have?”

“Way before we got together. But yeah, it doesn’t feel right.”

“Glad we got that out of the way,” he teased.

Once we arrived at the steakhouse, Sean pulled his car up to the valet. He handed his keys to the attendant, and we strolled inside. There was no hand holding, but I was okay with it. We were out in public on a date, and I was all for it.

“Reservation for Ashford,” Sean told the hostess.

She checked the list and then grabbed two menus before saying, “Right this way.”

Following her through the dimly lit restaurant, we walked toward a table for two and each took a seat.

“Your waiter will be right with you.” The hostess placed the menus down in front of us.

I kept stealing glances at my boyfriend as we looked over the menus. If I hadn’t been hungryandexcited about our date, I would have suggested we get our food to go. Instead, once our waiter arrived, Sean ordered a bottle of pinot noir, and we each ordered a steak with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach to share.

“So, Camille asked me today if I’m bringing my boyfriend to the holiday party for work,” I stated, then grabbed a piece of the bread the waiter had placed in the center of the table.

“She knows you have a boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“And what did you say about the party?” He slid his knife through the butter.

I shrugged. “I said maybe.”

He stuck the bread into his mouth and chewed. When he was done, he said, “I think the party will be too soon to come out to everyone.”

“Okay,” I simply replied. I wasn’t going to push him to do something he wasn’t ready to do. I completely understood his apprehension about going public, especially at work.

“You’re okay with that?”

“I know dating a guy—your employee—is a lot for you, and I don’t want anything to cause a rift between us. I like what we have.”

“Even if it’s a secret?”

“Will it always be?”

The waiter approached with our wine. After Sean gave his approval, the waiter filled our glasses and then walked away.

“No.” I lifted a brow and Sean continued, “It won’t always be a secret.”

“Then when you’re ready, I’m ready.”

“Thank you. And maybe a part of me is since we’re out to dinner together, but I’m not ready to hold a staff meeting about my dating life. My kids don’t even know we’re seeing each other.”

“I know, and like I said, when you’re ready, I’m ready.”