The Boss Upstairs - Roya Carmen Page 0,97
in the sensation. I could definitively get used to this. He seems too good to be true. This is all happening so fast, and it’s so intense.
“This is kind of crazy, isn’t it?” I say.
“What’s that?” he asks.
“Us,” I clarify. “We’ve been moving so fast.”
A soft laugh escapes him. “Well, when it’s right, it’s right, Gretchen. Why slow it down? I’m a full-speed-ahead kind of man.”
I laugh. “I know.”
“This kind of love comes but few times in a lifetime, if ever, and if you’re lucky enough to find it, you grab it by the horns.”
Love.
I love his use of the word ‘love’. I like knowing that I’m not the only one fully invested in this.
“You haven’t even met my family yet, my mom and my sister,” I point out.
He slides the brush over and around my ear. “Well, let’s make that happen. I’d love to meet them.”
I smile at the thought of mom and Laura fawning all over him. “And my mother-in-law, Patricia,” I add.
“She’s the one I’ve seen with Ethan on the elevator?”
“Yes,” I say, turning to him. “I promised her an introduction, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
He takes my face in his hand. “I want to meet everyone in your life, Gretchen. And there will be plenty of time for that because I’m not going anywhere.”
He almost brings tears to my eyes but then he steals a kiss, and I get lost in him, my heart so full, I fear it might burst.
I wake with a start. Where the heck am I? It takes me a second or two to get my bearings. I’m in Weston’s bed, half naked.
My clothing is neatly folded, piled on top of the chair in the corner, my yellow bra right on top. I smile at Weston’s meticulousness. Most men would have just left everything on the floor.
I’m just about to get out of bed when he suddenly appears. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah, just woke up.”
He grins widely. “You are quite the sight.”
I frown. I know exactly what I look like in the morning when I don’t wash my face and tie up my hair; crazy hair and raccoon eyes. “Scary, right?” I joke.
He laughs. “You’re still a knockout,” he says. “You want some breakfast? I’m making some Eggs Benedict.”
“Yeah… sounds great. Thank you so much for all this, Weston. You’re too good to me.”
“My pleasure.” He sits next to me on the edge of the bed. “Uh… I have something important to attend to after breakfast.”
My heart sinks. Mr. Busy & Important can’t wait to get rid of us. But it’s understandable.
“No worries,” I’m quick to say. “Ethan and I will be out of your hair in a flash.”
“Speaking of Ethan, he’s already awake,” he tells me. “He’s playing with my kids’ old wooden puzzles. I got them out from storage the other day.”
“Really?” I say, surprised. “Just for him?”
“Well, yes. I thought he’d enjoy them.”
“Have you kept all your kids’ stuff?”
“A lot of it,” he admits. “What can I say? I’m sentimental. I was keeping it for my future grandchildren.”
“Makes sense.”
“Anyway, I’ll let you get dressed.”
He stands, and I reach for his arm. “Hey, thank you for last night… for everything.”
He smiles. “My pleasure.”
“You’re too good to me, Mr.”
He grins, and for a quick second, I want to pull him back into bed. But then he’s gone in a flash.
“You slept at his place, in his bed?” Claudia is saying.
“Yes, twice now,” I tell her.
“You guys are getting really serious,” Abigail chimes in.
We’re having brunch at Ruth’s Diner. Ethan is thoroughly enjoying his crêpes, slathered with strawberries and Nutella. Mischa wipes off the blotch of chocolate on his cheek. I smile at the sight of him.
“We spent the day with Ethan at Shedd Aquarium,” I explain. “It was great. And then Weston and his kids made us an amazing dinner.”
“How does he get along with Ethan?” Mischa asks.
“Famously,” I tell her. “He loves children.”
Claudia digs into her spinach omelet. “That’s fantastic.”
“It is.”
“How does Ethan feel about him?” Mischa asks.
“He’s crazy about him. They’re two peas in a pod.”
Mischa shakes her head. “It all seems very fast to me.”
“I know… It is,” I admit.
“You need to be careful,” she warns me. “You don’t want Ethan to get too attached. You don’t know how this is all going to turn out, this thing with your boss.”
My chest puffs up. This thing with your boss. I know she doesn’t approve, and thinks it will all end badly. She’s annoying me to bits. She reminds me of