Midnight Kiss (Men of Midnight #7) - Lisa Marie Rice Page 0,66
She never put her troubles in anyone’s hands.
Except, apparently, now.
He was looking down at her and managed to both smile and scowl at the same time.
“What?”
He bent to kiss the tip of her nose. Which no one had ever done. Hope wasn’t used to being cuddled.
“So I guess we’ll be colleagues now.”
“Mm.”
“And fraternization and flirting on the job are frowned on.”
Her eyes widened. This was the very first time she’d ever been faced with the idea of a romantic work relationship. Or was it a romantic relationship at work? Work romance? Whatever the hell they were called.
Man. She’d just found Luke and was now expected to treat him like some remote relative? That was going to hurt.
“Okay.”
“Unless …” he said.
Unless … Hope was running alternatives through her processor and wasn’t finding any. “Unless?”
“Unless we go in as a couple. Already established, that way no one could say anything. Like Felicity and Metal. They just started like that and no one questioned it.”
Her mind whirred emptily. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? He couldn’t be, could he?
Luke reached out a long finger and gently closed her jaw, which had dropped. “For a smart lady, you’re looking really clueless.”
She nodded. Yep. Anything she said could be completely wrong if she was reading this the wrong way.
“I am suggesting that we become a couple. Like — a real one. That people know about.” He frowned. “Fuck. That sounded really awkward. But I think you know what I mean.”
She nodded. Continued to stare up at him.
“So, ahm, how about it?”
She just looked at him, without even blinking.
“Hope?” He waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you in there?”
She was, she was. She was just frozen. He was proposing — what? She couldn’t even picture it. Hope hadn’t ever been part of a couple, not for anything more than a week, if that. And to be a couple inside a group of people who were friends, well …
For a moment, a strange feeling shot through her, zipping along her nerves, so intense she felt it skimming over her skin, thrumming through her entire body.
Happiness. Pure, radiant joy. She never thought much about the future but in that instant she had a vision of herself working with Felicity, a good friend, with Luke, her whatever-he-was-to-her. With the rest of the gang that Felicity said was really great. A whole building of friends. Plus Luke.
Maybe going out in the evenings, together. Or seeing them on the weekend.
Plus Luke.
To belong. To him, to that life.
It was a vision of her own future better than any she’d ever had before and it was almost scary how much she wanted it. Terrifying, because once she’d seen her future — or at least that future — nothing else would do. Anything else seemed cold and barren and lifeless.
She’d gone ahead and projected her desires on a blank canvas, something she never did. She made a point of not wanting things so she wouldn’t be disappointed. It always worked, but somehow that mechanism suddenly broke. Shattered into a million pieces.
She wanted this. She wanted it fiercely.
This was so freaking scary.
“Hey.” Luke pulled her to him and it was exactly what she needed, that sense of sinking into him, fitting in beneath his skin. Reassured by the feel of his heart beating beneath her ear, strong and steady. A beat a second. “Is this about us being a couple? I’m pretty easy to get on with, promise. Are you scared?”
“No.” Whether it worked or not, she suddenly realized she wanted a shot at coupledom. With Luke and no one else.
“Good,” he grunted and held her more tightly. They stood there until her own heartbeat slowed, matched his.
He kissed her hair. “About the job. It’ll be fine. Promise. You’ll be treated like a princess.”
She smiled against his shirt. “They already treat Felicity like a queen.”
He bent his head until his chin rested on the top of hers. “They do. Rightly. Whatever perks you had in your previous job, they’ll top them. The Senior and Midnight have been looking for someone to help Felicity for a while. And now that they’ve found her — you — they’ll make sure you want to stay. And trust me when I say no one will harass you. Ever.”
Her jobs had all been high powered and interesting but the human element had always been missing. This sounded like the job of her dreams. Nobody could chase her away.