Page 34 of The Boss and the Adoption Mess

"You think Gabriel will learn from his mistakes?"

"Which ones are you talking about?"

"He wasn’t very nice to you when you came over to our place. You weren’t even allowed to shower."

She actually remembered that?

"Yeah, that was really dumb of him."

"If you come over again, I’ll make sure you’re allowed to shower." She’s dead serious. I can’t help but giggle.

"Okay. If I ever come over again, I’ll need your help."

She grins, and I hope that’ll keep her quiet for now. Once I drop her off and head home, she’ll probably forget me in a few days. Which is a shame. She’s pure sugar. Maybe someday I’ll have a little girl like her. That would be amazing.

When we get back upstairs to Gabriel’s, I’m holding both bouquets in my hands. They’re small but colorful, wrapped in cute paper. Rosie immediately runs to Sally and starts unpacking everything so she can make the cocoa.

Gabriel must hear the commotion, because he comes out of his office. He looks at Rosie, then at me.

"That was quick." He sounds a little surprised — and maybe disappointed. He probably wanted more kid-free time. But Rosie is already rushing with Sally into the kitchen, eager to whip up cocoa for us.

"Kim? Come on! We need to make cocoa!" Rosie calls with excitement while I’m still standing by Gabriel.

"Thanks for the flowers," I tell him, then explain, "I bought some for Rosie too, since she thought they were so pretty."

"You could’ve gotten yourself a bigger bouquet," Gabriel says.

"Oh, this is fine. By the way, we bought all the ingredients. Just keep an eye on her meter with the sweetener, but it should be fine."

"I will."

"You should try some too. I bet you’ll like it." I set both bouquets on Sally’s desk and then head with Gabriel into the kitchen, where Sally is mixing everything into four mugs and popping them into the microwave.

Rosie stands close by, hands on the counter, watching the cups spin around.

Gabriel and I stand off to the side. He lowers his voice so only I can hear, while Sally and Rosie stay distracted. "Why did you turn Steven down?"

I don't really want to answer that.

"Because of me?"

I stay quiet and keep my eyes on Rosie. Okay, I glance at him once, then quickly drop my gaze to the floor, embarrassed.

"The pay’s damn good, and you’d have way less to do than with me."

"Working at EDL — especially with you — was always my dream. But that’s just not possible anymore."

"It was just bad luck we met at that bar. If that hadn’t happened—"

I cut him off with a whisper: "And if you hadn’t treated me so badly—"

"We just got off on the wrong foot."

"That’s why I have to go. I’ll drink some cocoa, then I’m heading home."

"And where are you going to work?"

"Somewhere else. Don’t forget, I’ve got great qualifications. I’ll find something."