Page 105 of Forbidden Kisses

"Thank you for bringing us here tonight. It's exactly what I needed before being cooped up in an office all day long."

I felt as if she'd thrown a bucket of ice over me.

That's right. Come Monday, this is all going to change.

"Are you excited about it?" I asked.

"Honestly, yes."

I took her legs, putting them in my lap and running my hands over her calves.

"I love it when you do that," she said. "I've been pursuing this career for so long. I can’t believe I’m finally going to be a lawyer, and all my hard work will have paid off. I mean, they’re going to work us like dogs. I’ve already found some of my coworkers on Facebook, and they always post evening shots of themselves at the office, but I’m looking forward to that.”

I swallowed hard. Good thing I didn’t ask her for her answer to Jeremy’s question. It wasn’t fair to put her on the spot like that. She was young. She was starting her career. She couldn’t commit to my life.

And yet I knew things had to change, one way or another.

I moved my chair, changing the angle. “We need to buy some sort of camping couch.”

“Does that mean you want us to come camping again?”

“Of course. It makes you and Jeremy happy.”

“So, that means you want to continue… this between us?”

I put my hand on her jaw, turning her head so we made eye contact. "What kind of question is that?"

"I don't know. I figured that maybe this was… a goodbye trip. We never spoke about us and what we're going to do once my employment comes to an end."

"I'm going to tell you how this will go. You tell me if any part of it is wrong. You'll go kick ass as a lawyer and work long hours. I'm going to pick you up, spoil you rotten, and make you rest. How does that sound?"

"I can get on board with that," she murmured.

"Good.” I struggled in my chair. “Damn it, I want to be able to sit next to you."

"Oh, I have an idea about that," she said, getting up and straddling me.

I smiled as I brought my mouth to her lips. "This works too."

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Riley

The first day of my new job was even more intense than I’d imagined. I reported at 8:00 a.m., and it was 9:00 p.m. by the time I left. The same thing happened Tuesday and Wednesday.

Even though I loved the job and finally being able to use my degree, there was a dull ache in my chest the entire time. I thought about Jeremy almost constantly. I could almost tell what he’d be doing every single moment of the afternoon. I was jealous of this new nanny. Yep, jealous.

On Thursday afternoon, my heart all but melted when Duncan sent me a picture of the two of them. He'd finished work early and taken Jeremy out for dinner.

There was a physical ache in my chest, like a capsule around my heart.Crap.Maybe it would get better with time.

I typed back quickly.

Riley: I wish I was there with you.

Duncan: You will be on the weekend. Go kick ass.

And I did.