I love you, Emma Hayes.
“I love you, Emma Hayes,” I whispered so softly that I could barely hear myself.
My boss loved me, and I’d sat there, not saying a word. I hadn’t confessed that I loved him, too. Did I love him? I felt strongly for him and wanted to make him happy and smile, but was that love?
Giddiness coiled in my stomach, and my heart skipped a beat. I’d made Dimitri Volkov smile, and it was the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.I made a grumpy demon smile and confess his love for me.
I glanced at the plate of food that I couldn’t finish. Instead of throwing it away, I saved everything in containers and put it in the fridge. I closed the door and saw a picture held up by a magnet. I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed it until now. My eyebrows pinched together as I peered at the picture of us. In it, Dimitri was gazing at me, his eyes soft, and he had a little uptick in the corner of his mouth. My head was tilted back as I laughed, my unruly copper hair tumbling down my shoulders in a windblown look.
Even though I couldn’t see it in the picture, I knew he had an arm curled around my waist, tucking me close to him. I also knew I had held the camera and taken the selfie of us caught in a moment.
“What’s so funny, Ms. Hayes?”Dimitri’s question echoed in my head as the memory came to me.
“You have something on your mouth.”I had giggled, pushed myself onto my tiptoes, and licked the smudge of ice cream from the corner of his lips.
He’d wound his arm around my waist and yanked me against him as he stole a kiss. It was soft and sweet, unlike all the others that were demanding, needy, and fast. I’d stepped back from him, ending the kiss, and fished in my pocket for my phone.
“Let’s take a picture,”I’d said.
Dimitri hadn’t looked away from me as I raised the camera and turned to smile for the picture. He shifted and pressed his half-eaten ice cream on my nose, leaving behind some of the tasty treat. I’d faced him, my mouth open, and a peel of laughter had bubbled out of me. Wanting to catch the moment, I’d snapped a couple of pictures.
Blinking out of the memory, I noticed the white ice cream on the tip of my nose. My eyes stung from the tears that welled up in them. I was so happy to have remembered something so wonderful like that.
I left the kitchen and stood in the living room. The lights on the tree twinkled, reminding me it was Christmas. I ruined it by not telling Dimitri I loved him. He was probably upset with me and blamed me for ruining his day. Despite all of that, I still wanted to give him his gifts, hoping to make him smile again.
I crept to his office and softly knocked on the closed door.
“Enter.” The barrier between us dulled his deep voice.
I swallowed hard and straightened the hem of my T-shirt before I opened the door and peeked inside. Dimitri sat behind his desk, his gaze on his opened laptop. “I have something for you.” My voice came out shaky and sounded like I was about to cry.
Dimitri snapped his eyes to me, searching my face for the reason I sounded upset. When he saw I was okay, his eyebrows bunched together, and he frowned. “You have...something for me?”
Pushing my nervousness aside, I crossed the office and grabbed his hand. He looked at me, eyes narrowed and eyebrows still pinched, as I pulled him to his feet. I led him out of the office and into the living room. Goosebumps rose on my arms as I felt the weight of his stare on my backside. It reminded me I was dressed in booty shorts that left nothing to the imagination.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Celebrating Christmas with you. Here you go.” I released his hand and bent at the waist, grabbing the first gift I knew he would love. Handing it to him, I smiled at the confusion on his face as he looked at the present like it’d bite him.
“Emma,” he said, his voice a rumble with a hint of a warning.
“Open the present,” I said while lightly clapping my hands together, unable to suppress the excitement. What happened earlier this morning was all but forgotten for now.
Raising an eyebrow, he peeled the wrapping paper away from the box. I couldn’t contain the little giggle that slipped from me as he opened the box and stared at the gift. Dimitri pulled out the bottle of expensive hair serum I had scoured every store for. It was a new product that claimed to make your hair feel like silk. The few times I’d touched Dimitri’s hair, it was so soft, and I knew he took good care of it, so I wanted to get him something I knew he would use.
I nibbled on my bottom lip and twisted my fingers behind my back as he looked over the slim purple bottle. Turning his attention to me, he didn’t show any emotions on his face. It was all blank.
“Do you like it?” I shifted my weight from one leg to the other.
“Are you telling me something about my hair?”
I blinked. “What?” The corner of his lip twitched, and every ounce of fear I had drained away. I grinned and stepped closer to him with a giggle. “You’re teasing me!”
“Thank you, sunshine. I’ll use this tonight.” He set the bottle on the coffee table. “I have something for you, too.”
My eyes widened, and I clutched my chest. “What? Really?”
I looked at the Christmas tree, only seeing the presents I had wrapped for him. Everything under the tree was for him, not me. He leaned behind it, scooped something up, and returned to me with a small box wrapped in silver wrapping paper. A tiny yellow bow was stuck in the middle. My stomach somersaulted. It was beautiful. Dimitri had perfectly wrapped it with crisp corners, not a dent in sight. Beneath the bow was a little sticker that said:
