might’ve saved us from a lot of speculation about it being harmful when the inevitable rumors about your sneezing or rash start up. What happened with René happened in private and you were on the right side of that. You’re not causing trouble. You’re just shaking things up a little.”
She dropped her forehead to my chest and groaned, then stayed still for a moment before she looked up at me again. “You’re always taking care of me. What can I do to help you? I really didn’t mean for the campaign to take a hit and I’m glad you think it won’t, but I needed to be real. I couldn’t keep being fake. It was never going to work.”
“I prefer the real Leah to sweetheart Leah any day of the week,” I said honestly. “You already do take care of me, even if you don’t realize it. You’re like a breath of fresh air when I hadn’t even realized I was suffocating before you.”
Reaching up, I brushed some tendrils of hair from her face and leaned down to kiss her gently. Her lips parted for me, her tongue meeting mine in what could only be classified as the most romantic kiss of my life.
It didn’t bother me, though. I’d come to terms with the fact that I liked her—more than liked her—but I wasn’t ready to say it out loud just yet.
“As for what you can do to help me,” I said against her lips when we parted. “Just keep being you and when we get back home, keep working just as hard as you have been. I know things have already been going at a breakneck pace, but it’s going to pick up even more now that the pre-launch is over.”
“I’ll do whatever I can,” she promised, taking a deep breath as she took a step back and smiled up at me. “For now, let’s just go have some fun. I can’t wait to see what this place has to offer.”
I took her hand in mine, waiting for a gap in the traffic before we crossed the street. “It’s a really interesting park. If we’re lucky, there might be a jazz performance we can catch, but even if there isn’t, there’s more than enough other stuff to see.”
“Let’s get to it, then,” she said. “We’ve only got a few more hours left in the city. We promised to make the most of every minute. Do you think Jefferson’s going to be pissed at us for ditching the party?”
“Almost definitely,” I replied. “But he’ll come around. We’ll see him back in New York once he’s had a chance to calm down a little.”
In the meantime, I was going to make the most of the little time I had left of having Leah by my side pretty much twenty-four-seven. As soon as we got home, that would change again and it wasn’t a change I was looking forward to.
Chapter 35
LEAH
Two weeks after our trip to Paris, I was starting to wonder if I’d been lulled into a false sense of security. Jefferson and Katie had ended up staying in Paris for a few more days, but they’d been back for a week and a half and I still hadn’t seen Jefferson again.
He hadn’t come into the office since getting back and Katie had been busy. She was still my assistant, but she was also doing a lot of work for Jefferson as well. Dane had been playing catch-up with all the work he’d missed while we’d been away, but he was also trying to smooth things over after our trip.
The videos of me making that grand speech of mine had all been uploaded within minutes of us leaving the hotel. For the first few days, I’d tried to follow the chatter but then I’d given up. Dane had told me that the marketing department was on it and that it was best not to follow stuff like that about myself online.
As it happened, I agreed with him. From what I’d seen, the reception to what I’d said had been warm, but there were always going to be haters. I was insecure enough in my position at Killen as it was. The last thing I needed was armchair critics whacking me over the head with their virtual skillets when it was tough enough trying to keep my chin up around here as it was.
My guilt over everything that had happened on the trip had been gnawing at me since our return. Dane