But not as much as I should.
“Look,” I shoo Easton away, trying to catch my breath, “if it helps you to keep the soccer moms at bay, I’ll let it slide. But don’t do it again. We can workshop something, alright? No messy backstory and no strangers thinking I’m doing the boss, mkay?”
Easton laughs at me but nods. “Fine. Fine. It’s a deal. But it wasn’t a total lie.”
My skin is flaming again, and I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Twisting the truth, sergeant.”
He knocks me with his shoulder. “Not for a while, author. Still, it’s clear not everything has changed.”
“And what precisely do you mean by that?” I narrow my eyes at him, folding my arms.
“I can still make you blush like crazy.”
He grins, and damn me to hell, but my cheeks just get hotter, undoubtedly a very obvious shade of pink.
Bursting out laughing, Easton falls into the hilarity as I swat at him. But he pulls me under his arm and presses another kiss to my head.
It feels so familiar, right in a way that I can’t admit or talk about because of what it might mean.
Still chuckling, Easton breathes out, stirring my hair and wafting up the scent of his cologne.
“That’ll never get old, Haze. I swear.”
My heart skips. That’s the first time he’s called me the old nickname since I started helping with Jade. Mind spinning, I let Easton release me as he gets up to go play with the girls again.
What’s happening, Hazel? What the fuck is happening?
TEN
Easton
“Jesus, how many more of these emails are there?”
I scan across the list of unread messages in my business inbox, and honestly, it’s too many. Mournfully, I decide to get through at least three more before I’ll allow myself to pack things up for the day.
This is the part of the job that I enjoy least. I’m not a fan of sitting at the desk all day, but if I don’t reach back out to future clients or check in with the staff I have in other cities, the whole thing comes crashing down.
Being out in the field is more my strong suit, but I’ll take the paperwork if it means that I get to choose my clients and set my own rates.
It shouldn’t be cheap to hire private security, but if you’re in desperate need, it should be flexible, too.
That’s where being the boss comes in handy.
I wrap up the last three emails, delete a few spam messages for good measure, and then stand up from my desk. My back cracks loudly, and I realize that I didn’t get up to stretch like I should have.
Craning an arm over my head, I loosen up my shoulder joint, switch to the other side, and then roll both of them before doing the same with my neck.
Ugh, sitting at a damned desk should not be this rough on your body.
When I close my laptop and head for the door, I notice a delicious smell wafting up the stairs.
Jade has no idea how to cook, and as far as I know, she’s outside reading. I jog down the steps and head straight for the kitchen.
Inside, Hazel is cooking something on the stove, and a little smile spreads across my face at the sight. Even like this, hair a bit of a mess and bent over a stove, she looks incredible.
Maybe even more so because of it.
“Well, this is a nice surprise.”
