Bidding on Her Boss Read online

  Faith’s mind drifted to when she’d worked on-site at the flower farm and could wander along those same flower beds during her lunch break, sometimes chatting with Jenna or carrying one of the babies on her hip. “Give them both a cuddle from me when you get a chance.”

  “Will do. How are you?”

  “It’s all good here.” Faith smiled as she said it, hoping it would make her voice sound happy. “Just home from work and felt like a chat.”

  There was a pause. “Have you talked to Dylan lately?”

  By an unspoken rule, they’d never spoken about Dylan, and Faith wasn’t sure how much Dylan had told his sister-in-law of what had happened between them. “Um, no. I don’t think we’ve had a chance to touch base since I arrived.”

  “A chance to touch base? That sounds as if you’re talking about an acquaintance.”

  “Dylan and I worked together,” she said carefully.

  Jenna laughed. “You’re not honestly going to try to tell me that nothing happened between you two. I haven’t pushed you on it because I realize things must have been messy, but I’ve never seen two people who looked at each other the way you guys did. It was intense.”

  Faith’s eyes stung with tears that she wouldn’t let fall—they had been intense. She swallowed before she could reply. “So Dylan hasn’t said anything?”

  “No, which isn’t like him. I can usually wheedle information out of him, but when your name comes up, he clams up. Come on,” she said, her voice ultrasweet, “tell Aunty Jenna what happened. You know you want to.”

  Jenna was right—having no one to talk to about it had made her heart feel even heavier. “But Dylan is your family...”

  “Don’t worry about that. If he’s treated you badly, I’ll be mad at him, but he’ll always be Bonnie’s uncle and soon he’ll be Meg’s uncle too. There’s nothing you can say about Dylan that will ruin my relationship with him. Tell me what he did.”

  “He didn’t do anything,” Faith admitted. “It was me.” She curled her legs up underneath her on the hard chair and told Jenna the whole story.

  “So,” Jenna said when Faith was done, “Dylan loves you but you won’t trust him to stick around?”

  Already feeling raw from reliving everything that had happened, the words hit her hard. “It’s not about trusting him—it’s about relationships in general. I...have trouble believing in them.”

  “Faith, Dylan is the most steadfast man you’re ever likely to meet. He’s devoted himself to his family’s business since he was a child. He’s always there for his brothers, for his parents, for me. You might have trouble believing in relationships, but if Dylan offers a commitment, he means it.”

  The floor was falling away from under her feet, and all Faith could do was squeeze her eyes shut. He’d been prepared to commit to her as well, but she’d thrown it away. Had she made the biggest mistake of her life?

  A man who was committed to all the things in his life that were important to him was nothing like her own family, yet she’d been expecting him to behave the way they had. She’d taken her issues with her family out on him.

  She hadn’t been fair to either one of them. Her stomach clenched and dipped.

  Unfortunately, even if it was a mistake, it was too late. After their last morning together, he wouldn’t ever want to see her again. The pain in his eyes when he’d seen her packing her things had felt like a slap.

  He would never trust her again, and she couldn’t blame him.

  * * *

  Dylan sat in a wingback in his pristine white-on-white living room and swore. Then he took another mouthful of the beer he’d been nursing for a good ten minutes. This room was mind-numbingly dull. How had he never noticed that before? The interior designer who’d done the place had told him it would look modern, crisp and fresh. But it looked bland.

  Like his entire life.

  When Faith left, she’d taken all the damn sunshine with her. He hadn’t found the energy to get excited about—or even interested in—anything for weeks. Maybe he never would again.

  He took another swig of the beer.

  Regardless, he shouldn’t be giving her another thought. She’d given up on what they had, on their future. Hell, she’d left the state without a second thought. The best thing he could do was forget her. Which, naturally, was easier said than done.

  There were voices at his door, and then the sound of people letting themselves in. Only his housekeeper, parents and brothers had their own keys. His parents had enough manners not to use them, and it was his housekeeper’s day off. Which left his brothers. He sighed. He was in no mood to see them or anyone.

  “I’m not home,” he called out.

  Ignoring him, Adam and Liam headed through the entryway, straight for him.

  “So this is your answer,” Adam said, shaking his head. “Drinking on a Saturday morning.”

  “I’m not drinking. I’m having a beer and watching football.”

  Liam made a point of looking around the room. “Are you doing it telepathically? Or hadn’t you noticed the TV isn’t on?”

  “Not yet, smartass. I was about to switch it on when you barged in here. Also, I want the keys back.”

  Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re worried—this isn’t like you. Tell us what you’re going to do about your relationship.”

  Dylan looked away. “I don’t have a relationship.”

  “With Faith,” Adam said with exaggerated patience.

  Dylan pointed a finger at his brother. “I seem to recall you were the one constantly telling me not to get involved with her.”

  “True.” Adam nodded, seemingly unperturbed. “And my word should be law to my younger brothers. Yet you ignored me and went ahead anyway. What does that tell you?”

  “That you’re deluded about the extent of your power over us?” Dylan looked down at his beer. There was only half left. He was going to need a lot more alcohol to make it through this conversation.

  Liam dropped onto a sofa across from him. “That’s a good point, and we’ll return to that later. But Adam’s right. You broke company policy for this woman. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been there watching the whole thing unfold.”

  “I made a mistake,” Dylan said and took another swig of his beer, hoping they didn’t see through him, because he’d make that same mistake again in a flash if it meant more time with Faith.

  Adam blew out a breath. “I saw the way you and Faith defended each other at the launch. You’re in love. Both of you. So why are you drinking here alone?”

  Dylan flinched. That was a hell of a question, but not one he wanted to get into with his brothers. “She’s gone. Feel free to follow her lead, and make sure you close the door on the way out.”

  Propping one ankle on a knee, Liam leaned back in the sofa. “Did you ask her to stay?”

  Did he ask her to stay? What sort of idiot did they take him for? He drew in a measured breath before replying. “Of course I asked her to stay. I even bought her a damn ring.”

  Liam rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’ve come to know Faith, and I think I understand her.”

  Adam and Dylan both turned disbelieving eyes to him.

  Liam shrugged. “Okay, Jenna understands her. But still, she told me a couple of things.”

  Adam sighed. “If Jenna had some ideas, out with it.”

  “Faith didn’t need a ring,” Liam said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees. “She needed you, you moron. Words have always come easy to you, and she knows that, so how would she know what to believe?”

  Dylan frowned. “Jenna called me a moron?”

  “No, that part was me. But listen up. You have to do something to show her that you’re in it for the long haul. That you’ll stand by her.” Liam’s eyes narrowe
d. “You are in it for the long haul, aren’t you?”

  “Would I have bought her a ring if I was going to bail out?”

  Adam nodded. “So if you want her back, you won’t be able to rely on your gift of gab. You can’t just talk—you’ll have to show her.”

  For a long moment, Dylan was speechless. They were right. He’d known her childhood had been full of promises that had quickly been broken—how had he not realized he’d need to do something more?

  People had loved her in the past only when she fitted into their lives, and he’d pretty much asked her to say no to a new job for him. He rubbed his hand down his face. Hell, he’d asked her to give up a great opportunity because he lived in LA—to fit in with his life.

  Adam dug his hands into his pockets. “Final question, then we’ll leave. Is what you had with Faith worth fighting for?”

  Dylan stilled. Was it too late to show her that his love didn’t depend on anything else? That he’d take her on her own terms? And how would he show her? He’d have to make a change in his life for her. So she wouldn’t simply have to fit in with him ever again.

  He reached for his cell. “Let yourselves out,” he said without looking at his brothers. “And leave your keys. I was serious about that.”

  He didn’t have to look up to know his brothers were smiling, but he ignored them and made a call. He had several calls to make and was impatient to get going. The sooner he started on the plan that was forming in his mind, the sooner he could see Faith.

  * * *

  Excitement bubbling away in her belly, Faith checked the address again and looked up at the building. Yes, the gorgeous apartment building on the edge of Central Park was the right place.

  Jenna had called a couple of days ago, saying she’d be in New York for a few days visiting a friend and would love to meet up, and Faith had jumped at the offer.

  A doorman asked if he could help, and Faith said she was visiting a friend in 813. The doorman smiled and said she was expected, and then ushered her to the elevator.

  Once she’d found the right floor, she buzzed the button outside apartment 813 and waited. But when the door swung open, it was Dylan on the threshold, not Jenna. He looked so tall and solid and gorgeous and Dylan that Faith’s throat tightened too much to speak. So she just stood there and drank in the sight of him.

  After what seemed like an eternity, he cleared his throat. “Come in,” he said.

  Still without speaking, she walked in, and he closed the door behind her. Such simple actions, but weighted with so much meaning. Expectation. Hope.

  The apartment was empty of furniture, but it was beautiful—huge, filled with light, and with great views of the park through floor-to-ceiling windows. But as soon as Dylan was in front of her again, she couldn’t look at the room. Or speak.

  “Hi,” he said eventually, his voice raspy.

  “Hi,” she whispered back.

  Being this close again, it seemed natural, necessary even, to reach out and touch him...but she didn’t have that privilege anymore. He’d offered it to her and she’d declined it. She’d left, just as he’d accused her of doing.

  She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I came to see Jenna.”

  “I know.” But he didn’t make any move to summon Jenna or do anything else. The tension in the room was thick enough to press down on her, make her want to run. But she wouldn’t leave this time, not when she had this chance to be near him, if even for a few minutes.

  She took a breath, steeled herself and looked at him again. “How are you?”

  He lifted one shoulder and then let it drop. “As well as can be expected. You?”

  “Good,” she said, but her voice cracked, so she added, “I’m good.” Her hands trembled with the intensity of seeing him and not touching him, not being able to speak freely. Of being alone with him. “Is Jenna here?”

  “No,” he said simply.

  Suddenly the strangeness of the situation hit her. Seeing Dylan again had fried her brain, so she hadn’t put two and two together right away. “Whose apartment is this?”

  “Yours.” His expression didn’t change, giving nothing away.

  She took a step back. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve had a contract for this place drawn up in your name—” he gestured to some paperwork on the kitchen counter through an archway “—but if you’d rather have a different apartment, we can tear this contract up and keep looking.”

  “I already have a place to live,” she said warily.

  “It’s a present. Although,” he said, casting a quick glance around, “if you wanted, this place is big enough for both of us.”

  “Both of us?” she repeated, not daring to believe he meant what she thought he was saying.

  He nodded, his beautiful green eyes not sparkling now—they were too somber. “If you’ll have me. Or you can have it for yourself if you choose not to invite me back into your life. No strings attached. A parting gift. Completely your choice.”

  “My choice?” She circled her throat with a hand. He really wanted her back?

  “Or if you don’t like the city,” he said with a casual shrug, despite his entire body being tense, “we could move farther out, and you can commute for your job. Whatever you want, I’ll make it work.”

  She paused as the pieces of what he was saying clicked together. “Hang on. You’re willing to move to New York?”

  “In an instant,” he said without hesitation. “If that’s what it takes.”

  It was so unexpected, she couldn’t get her head around it. “What would you do here? Your company is on the West Coast.”

  He rubbed his fingers across his forehead. “I’ve been thinking that I could open some Hawke’s Blooms stores on the East Coast. It makes business sense.”

  She checked his expression more closely and realized he was sincere. “That’s quite a change in your role—moving away from managing the existing stores to starting small again.”

  “We can employ people to oversee the existing stores to free me up to start the new ones. I’ve realized that’s what I love doing—the buzz and excitement of starting something new. You gave me that by pushing me to think about my own dreams.” He reached out and cradled the side of her face in his palm. “Have I thanked you for that?”

  She leaned into his palm and laid her hand over his, pressing in, making the contact more solid. “You just offered me an apartment, Dylan. I don’t think you need to do anything else.”

  He took a small step closer. He was so close, she could feel his body heat. Her lungs struggled to find enough air. She released his hand from her cheek, and he let it fall to his side.

  “Loving you means I like to do things for you.”

  “You know,” she said looking up at him from under her lashes, “all of this is a big risk for you, given you don’t even know if I love you back.”

  One corner of his mouth turned up in a cocky grin. “Are you going to deny it?”

  She was immediately sorry she’d teased. She sucked in her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to think of the best thing to say. She couldn’t lie, but it didn’t feel like the right time to tell him that she loved him for the first time. It should be special.

  His grin stretched wide. “No need to say it. I already know you love me, despite your unwillingness to admit it.”

  “You always were confident.” She wanted to chuckle, but a thick ball of emotion had lodged in her throat and she was worried that if she tried to laugh, she’d cry instead.

  He took her hands and held them between their bodies. “You can keep leaving, Faith, but as long as you love me, I’ll keep following, even if I have to open stores in every damn state.”

  His words were the last straw—she burst into tears, and Dylan drew her against his body. Everyone in h
er life before had found a loophole to get rid of her. By leaving, she’d given Dylan a huge loophole—and he simply went around it to follow her. Jenna was right—he was the most steadfast man she was ever likely to meet. He was a man she could trust to stand by his word.

  She pulled back so she could see his eyes, still hiccupping as the tears pressed in on her. In his gaze, she saw his love, his commitment, and she knew she could finally completely trust that he really wanted to be with her and would stay for the long haul.

  “I love you, Dylan Hawke,” she said, her heart full to bursting.

  He lifted her off her feet and spun her around. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear you say that.”

  “Hey,” she said on a surprised laugh, “I thought you said you already knew.”

  He gently set her down and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I did, but it’s still nice to hear it said aloud.”

  “I’ll be sure to say it often, then.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

  He leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Weeks of not seeing him, not touching him, not kissing him, had built into a need that she was finally free to let loose.

  When he pulled back, his breathing was heavy, but he was smiling. “Do you still have the ring I left on your hall stand in LA?”

  She reached down to grab her purse where she’d dropped it, and then dug around before producing the precious little velvet box. “I’ve had it with me every day.”

  She passed it to him with an unsteady hand. When he’d left it in her apartment, she’d closed the box and hadn’t opened it again, so she’d had only the one fleeting glance at the ring from across the room when he’d shown it to her in anger. She might have carried it with her ever since, but she hadn’t given in and peeked inside. Technically it was still Dylan’s ring, and she’d known she should give it back, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it.

  He took the box from her, opened it and retrieved the purple diamond ring.