over her eyes, her freckles almost hidden underneath the layers of sunscreen she’d applied to her face. “I don’t know, but I think becoming your assistant was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Being made an offer for a job where I needed you as an assistant was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I sighed happily as I lay down under the azure blue sky, my gaze on the gentle swells of the water as we sailed away from the coast. “However it happened, I’m glad we’re here together.”
“So am I,” she replied as she took her spot beside mine, a relaxed smile on her face as she settled in on her lounger. “How are things going with you and Mr. Oliver?”
“Me and Dane?” I forced myself to keep my voice even and my expression neutral. “We’re working well together. Yesterday was a success, so now all I have to do is control my mouth for two more days and we’ll be home free.”
“Control your mouth?” She lifted her glasses off her eyes to let me see it when she winked at me. “Just where has this mouth of yours been recently?”
Blood rushed to my cheeks, but I ignored it. Maybe she’ll think it’s just the sun.
“It’s been behaving itself because it’s been crammed full of delicious French food and wine,” I said. “What I meant was that I only have two more days of not saying anything stupid or running my mouth, and this trip will have gone well.”
“I know what you meant, but you know that wasn’t what I was asking,” she said lightly, the corners of her lips twitching as she tried to fight a smile. “What is it with you two? Why won’t you just admit that there’s insane chemistry there?”
“I’ve always been bad at chemistry,” I replied solemnly. “Science was one of my worst subjects. I’m a literature girl through and through.”
“Says the aspiring writer,” Katie said. “If you insist on playing as dumb as your gorgeous boss did last night when I confronted him about it, then I suppose I’ll just have to sit back and watch you two figure it out.”
“Where did Dane and Jefferson go anyway?” I asked without acknowledging her comment.
I was dying to know what Dane had said when she’d apparently spoken to him about it, but I couldn’t ask. If I did, I might as well tell her that I’d been letting Dane put his magic wand in my chamber of secrets.
While there was nothing technically wrong about what we were doing, I just didn’t want word about it to spread. I’d literally only been on this job for a couple of weeks. If a rumor-fire started now, it would follow me around for the rest of the year.
Katie looked at me like she knew what I wanted to ask but was waiting for me to admit it. When I didn’t follow up my question about him and Jefferson with one about what he’d said to her at the rooftop party, she sighed.
“They’re talking business,” she eventually said to answer the only question I’d had the balls to ask out loud. “Mr. Killen told me that we should catch some rays while they take care of work.”
“Should we be offended that we’ve been told to tan while they’re taking care of business?” I asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it feels like there should be something in there we should take offense to, but I’m having trouble doing it right now.”
“Girl, we’re on a yacht in the south of France. If we were inside doing business, I’d have wanted to strangle the balls of whoever was keeping me from being outside.”
“Strangle the balls, huh?” I laughed. “It’s a good point, though. I think I’d also have been ready to boil the teeth of any person who tried to keep me inside on a day like today, so I guess I’ll just be grateful that they’re giving us some time off.”
Katie hummed her agreement, tipping her head back to the sun and reaching for the bottle of water beside her. Speaking about getting some time off had brought up something else I’d been worried about, and now was as good a time as any to find out what she knew.
“Is Jefferson okay to be working and traveling abroad?” I asked, glancing around to make sure we were still alone.
Propping herself up on her elbows, she checked the deck too before answering. “I’m not talking about that. I