Dating the Boss (Blue Harbor #2) - Jaclyn Osborn Page 0,36
lifted to me. “Actually, I never watched that one.”
“You’re kidding. I’ve even seen Bambi.”
“Too sad,” Reed said, continuing forward. “I stay away from things that make me cry. Unless it’s a good cry. Like something happy or super romantic. The cheesier, the better.”
The privacy of the woods made it feel like only me and Reed existed in that moment, and I felt so connected to him. More than I ever had before. And it helped me voice the thoughts I had kept to myself.
“Have you ever been in love?” I asked, staring up at a robin that flew overhead.
“Hard to say.” Reed followed my gaze before our eyes met. “I tend to fall for people easily. I think I’ve loved a lot of men, but I don’t know if I’ve ever been in love. What about you?”
“Once,” I answered, standing still on the path. “Her name was Olivia. I met her sophomore year of college. We had Civics together, and she was so bad at it. I offered to help her study, and things progressed from there. We fell in love and got engaged three years later.”
“When did you get married?”
“We never did,” I answered, then exhaled, hoping to clear the tight knot that had formed in my chest at the memory. “I caught her cheating a week before our wedding. Totally cliché, I know, but I came home to find her in bed with another man. It crushed me. It was already hard for me to trust people, and that only pushed me even more into my shell.”
“Fuck.” Reed turned to me. “That’s rough. What did you do after that?”
“Called off the wedding and moped around for a month. She begged me to take her back, but once someone betrays me like that, it’s too hard for me to forgive them. It’s one of my flaws, I guess.”
“That’s not a flaw. It’s smart,” Reed said. “I’m the same way. I was with a guy last year who really broke my heart. He ghosted me out of the blue, and I had to hear from a mutual friend weeks later that he ran off with another guy. When things went south with that guy, he came crawling back to me.”
“Did you take him back?”
“Hell no. I didn’t even respond to his messages. That’s how done I am with him. He eventually got the hint and stopped trying. He’s just one man out of dozens who’s hurt me. I never learn my lesson. No matter how much I get hurt, I still fall for the wrong men.” Reed turned his face to the sky, exposing his throat, and closed his eyes. Snow flurries caught on the ends of his long lashes. “It’s just like that bird, you know? Everyone always leaves me.”
With my heart constricting in my chest—and my willpower slipping away—I strode forward and cupped his cheek. His eyes opened in shock. I knew it was wrong. So fucking wrong. I shouldn’t be touching him.
“Only a fool would ever leave you,” I said, loving the warmth of his cheek against my palm. That close, I saw swirls of deep green in his hazel eyes. “You’re kind. Smart. And so goddamn beautiful, Reed.”
I had every intention of kissing him despite all the warning bells going off in my brain telling me how horrible of an idea it was.
But in typical Reed fashion, he surprised me.
He rose up on his toes and crushed his mouth to mine. His lips were even softer than they looked. As his fingers tangled in my hair, I slipped an arm around his waist and tugged him closer, deepening the kiss. He tasted like lemon and cream mixed with the woodsy scent of the evergreen trees surrounding us.
Nothing had ever tasted better.
However, my conscience took over, and I gently pulled back.
“We shouldn’t do this,” I panted against his parted lips.
“So why are you still holding me?” he asked, just as breathless, eyes heavy.
“I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of my position as your boss. If you don’t want this, push me away. Tell me no.”
Reed smiled up at me before ghosting his mouth over mine. “To be blunt, I don’t give a fuck if you’re my boss or not, Daniel. I just want you to kiss me again like you mean it.”
That’s all I needed to hear.
I kissed him hard on the mouth, savoring the sound of his soft moans with each pressing of our lips. He locked his hands behind my neck as