Page 139 of Boss of the Year

“Oh, Mimi.” Joni heaved a big sigh. “I’m probably the wrong one to ask.”

“But you and Nathan…”

“Nathan wasn’t my first time. Not by a long shot. You know that.”

I didn’t ask her to elaborate. I’d heard all her stories about her exes over the years, and I doubted she wanted to repeat any of them now.

Still, I had to know.

“Just…was it like this for you? The first time?”

Another silence, heavier now.

“In a way, yeah,” she admitted. “Not as good, obviously. But I was so young, and I remember feeling desperate, you know?Like I couldn’t get him out of my blood.” She sighed, and I could hear the weight in it. “But Shawn was bad news, Mimi. He used that shit against me. You remember.”

I closed my eyes, my chest tightening with guilt. I did remember—mostly because she had been justsoyoung when it happened. And shitty sister that I was, I had judged her for it instead of stepping in. I was too scared to do anything. Always too scared.

“I’m not saying this to freak you out,” Joni continued. “But…yeah. You might want to be careful. Don’t give pieces of yourself to someone who doesn’t know how to keep them safe.”

My heart ached, but not with fear. With understanding.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you more,” I blurted out. “Back then, I mean. I didn’t understand. I didn’t really know.”

“It’s okay. We’re here for each other now, aren’t we?”

“Yeah. We are.”

There was another pause, warm and heavy, before my sister’s voice perked up with a wicked grin I didn’t even have to see to feel. “Finally, I have someone to share all my sex tips with!”

“Oh God,” I groaned. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Babe, you need me now. I have charts. Techniques. So many things I can teach you?—”

“Goodbye, Joni.”

“You’re welcome, Mimi!” she called as I pulled the phone away, still cackling. “Now go seduce your billionaire with a yummy breakfast. He’s gonna need it after burning all those calories.”

By the timeI was back in the apartment, I had decided that Joni had actually given me some good advice. I wasn’t a masterat seduction—not by any means. But people did say the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, and that seemed to be true on Lucas’s part.

I rustled around the kitchen until I found enough ingredients to makepain perdu—otherwise known as French toast.

Cooking gave me something to focus on besides the ache between my thighs and the way my heart raced every time I thought about Lucas’s heated words.

That’s it, sweet girl. You’re doing so good. I knew you’d be perfect at this.

I pressed my thighs together, surprised by how my body responded to the memories. I’d never understood before why people made such a fuss about sex, but now, standing in this sun-drenched kitchen with the scent of Lucas still lingering on my skin, I got it. I wondered what else we could do together with our bodies. Whether he would like it if I used my mouth on him. Whether he would make that same groan. What he would taste like.

I moaned a little myself as I set the coffee in a press to steep.

But it wasn’t just the physical pleasure, though that had been revelation enough. It was the intimacy of it, the trust he’d earned and used to make us both feel so good.

Joni was right, I decided. I was lucky.

More than that, I didn’t want things to end once we left London.

I wasn’t sure exactly how they would work once we were back in New York, but my heart told me I could trust Lucas to find a way.

After all, he had so far, hadn’t he?