Waking Up with the Boss Read Free Page A

pasts. Jake didn’t like revisiting old ghosts, his or anyone else’s, but he was doing it with her now.
    â€œIt’s a nice picture,” he said, placing it back on the mantel. “It must have been a good day.”
    â€œIt definitely was. It was taken at my dad’s company picnic.” Her voice remained soft, loving. “We all had a great time that day, especially my sisters. They were only a year apart and were really close. Sometimes people mistook them for twins, and they always got a kick out of that.”
    â€œI had two sisters, too. Only, they were older. I was their pesky little brother.”
    Her light green eyes locked on to his. “How old were you when...?”
    â€œTwelve. How old were you?”
    She let out her breath. “Eleven.”
    His heart dropped to his stomach. He knew that her family had died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty appliance in their home. But he didn’t know the details. “How did you survive when the rest of them didn’t?”
    â€œI wasn’t there. I was at a neighbor’s house. It was my first slumber party. I was younger than some of the other girls, so my parents were hesitant to let me go, but I begged them, so they gave in.” She breathed a little deeper. “Not being home that night saved my life.”
    â€œIt was different for me. I was in the car when it crashed. The impact was fast, brutally quick, but I remember it in slow motion.” It had been like an out of body experience that never ended. “I have a scar.” He pushed back the pieces of hair that fell across his forehead. “Here, just below my hairline. It was noticeable when I was young, but it’s faded over the years.”
    She approached him and reached out to touch the scar, running her index finger along the pale line. She was painstakingly gentle, and it made him want to kiss her. They were standing so close he could’ve leaned forward and captured her mouth with his. But he didn’t take the liberty. They stared at each other instead, steeped in a strange kind of intimacy.
    â€œI’m glad you survived the accident,” Carol said, smoothing his hair across his brow.
    â€œSo am I.” But before things got unbearably awkward, Jake stepped back, trying to restrain the tenderness between them. “After the crash, I used to pray to Uncta, a deity from Choctaw mythology who steals fire from the sun. I was the only one who was rescued from the car before it went up in flames.”
    â€œDid you think Uncta had saved you?”
    â€œNo, but I wanted to steal fire, too. To have his powers.”
    But that wasn’t going to help Jake now. He’d already jumped straight from the frying pan and into the flame, feeling things for Carol that he wished he didn’t feel. He still wanted to kiss her, as passionately as he could.

Two
    C arol wondered what had gotten into her, touching Jake the way she had. She shouldn’t have traced his scar or tried to subdue the unruly strands of his hair. Those types of things were reserved for lovers, not your boss.
    But she wasn’t going to apologize. That would only draw attention to what she’d done. She could already feel the discomfort it had caused.
    Breaking the silence, she said, “I’ll go get my new clothes so you can see them.” It was the purpose of his visit, after all. But she wasn’t going to offer to model them for him. That would be way too weird.
    Carol dashed into her room and grabbed the garments.
    She returned to the living room and laid them out on her couch. She went back for the accessories, and then lined them up on the coffee table.
    â€œThat’s a cool bounty,” he said.
    Yes, it was, with at least two different outfits per day, along with shoes, purses and beach bags to match. “I have you to thank for it.”
    â€œAs long as you’re happy with everything.” He reached for a hanger