Page 86 of The Au Pair Affair

“I’m not. I mean... I wouldn’t turn it down. But what I’m trying to tell you is...” She wet her lips and propped herself up on one elbow. “Last night, she was talking again about you and Ashleigh getting back together. And I’m worried she’s getting her hopes up so high, the disappointment could hurt. A lot. That is, if what she wants isn’t going to happen—”

“It’s not.”

She studied his likely thunderous expression for a moment. “I know.”

“Good. I’m glad you know.” He stroked a thumb down the crease in the middle of her bottom lip. “I’ll talk to Lissa about it.”

“Okay.” She yawned, flopping back down again and curling her arm around the wadded-up sweatshirt. “See you later.”

Getting dressed and leaving Tallulah there, soft and a little bewildered looking in his bed, wasn’t an easy task. But he left the apartment with a smile on his face.

Because he had a date tonight with the woman he’d fallen in love with.

Chapter Twenty-One

Tallulah walked into a dream.

She’d been to the New England Aquarium on a few occasions, and it never failed to stupefy her with its high ceilings and underwater atmosphere. Most of the time, there were crowds blocking the glass or field trip leaders shouting at their charges to stop running, but at nine o’clock at night, there was no one home.

Apart from the nightguard who’d let them in, there wasn’t a single other soul at the aquarium. Only Tallulah and Burgess. Free to roam anywhere without so much as a ticket.

“How did you do this?” she breathed, walking through the cavernous space, turning in a slow, awestruck circle to take it all in. It was so quiet, she could hear their footsteps, the sound of the filters running in the giant tanks full of colorful fish, the ripple of water.

“I don’t use my name to pull favors very often in Boston, but...” He walked along behind her, hands shoved into the pockets of his pants. “Found the most worthy reason.”

Tallulah pressed her hands to the sides of her face and squeezed until it kind of hurt. “I can’t believe you did this. I can’tbelieveit. I don’t even know where to start.” Spinning around like a kid in a candy store, Tallulah stopped when her attention landed on Burgess and she realized she knew exactly where to begin. Without second-guessing the impulse, she took three big steps and launched herself at him, his now familiar grunt bringing adreamy smile to her face, especially when those big arms picked her up off the ground, his nose inhaling the scent of her unbound hair. “Thank you, Burgess. We just got here and I already know I’ll never forget this.”

He kissed her temple. “Take your time, Tallulah. Enjoy it.”

Oh boy. What was the intense pressure behind her eyes all about? Was it the fact that this man had thought about what mattered to her and delivered? Or was it the insufferable, cardiovascular tug that was becoming the norm around Burgess? Could she reasonably pretend anymore that she didn’t want to be with him? It was too much to think about right now when her emotions were spiking out of pure ecstasy. “You’re going to enjoy it with me, because I’m going to show you everything!” She wiggled out of his hold until her feet touched the ground, then grabbed his hand and started pulling him along. “Pretend I’m your tour guide.”

He made a low sound in his throat and she could feel his gaze lingering on the backs of her thighs, left exposed by the purple mini dress she’d worn tonight. “Guide me anywhere you want, gorgeous. I can keep up.”

Sensitivity crept up her arms, spreading to her breasts and the slopes of her shoulders. She didn’t need to turn around to remember how good he looked tonight—the image of him walking into the living room in a black button-down shirt, gray dress pants, and a belt was going to be engraved on her brain for as long as she lived. His hand was large and reassuring around hers, their fingers weaving together naturally. So natural. Just like being around him with her guard down felt now. Perfect. Easy. Like breathing.

“We can’t go see the penguins first, because I’ll never be able to move on to anything else,” she said, not surprised to find her voice sort of feathery. “Let’s start with the green sea turtle. Last time I was here, Myrtle was under the weather. I hopeshe’s back—” Tallulah gasped as they turned the corner and the majestic creature came into view, paddling happily through her sizeable habitat. “There she is!”

“Myrtle?” Tallulah could hear the smile in his voice.

“Yes, Myrtle. She’s kind of a big deal around here.” She guided Burgess all the way to the glass, not giving the slightest resistance when he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and settling her back against his chest. “Um...” Oh lord, she was startling to become a littlearoused. All the touching, the way they gravitated together every chance they got, the proximity becoming more and more intimate, made her panties feel...

Like a hindrance.

They were wet already, simply from holding his hand, knowing how his palms felt molding her breasts, stroking her hair encouragingly while she knelt in front of him. Now instead of looking into the glass and seeing beautiful Myrtle, she saw only the way her boss towered over her protectively, his athletic frame dwarfing her.

“You were saying, Tallulah?”

Stop thinking about sex.“Oh. Yes. Myrtle has been at this aquarium for fifty years, isn’t that wild? A green sea turtle might weight three hundred pounds on average, but Myrtle weighs in at an impressive five hundred and fifty pounds.” A laugh tripped over her lips. “She’s, like, the Sir Savage of the New England Aquarium.”

Burgess’s big chest rumbled behind her, the bristles of his beard finding the curve of her neck and rubbing there. “I wouldn’t want to square off against her.”

“Smart man,” she managed, tilting her neck even further and going up on her toes, sighing when he sucked on a patch of skin. “Good man. Very, very good... man.”

“As far as tour guides go, Tallulah, you’re very easy to distract.”

“Maybe we should skip to the penguins,” she blurted, tearingherself away while fanning her face, much to Burgess’s visible enjoyment. Pursing her lips, she took him by the wrist and continued to pull him along, knowing the route to the penguin colony by heart. It lay in the direction they’d come from, near the giant ocean tank, but up a winding concrete ramp where they could look down into the rocky habitat from above. As soon as she looked over the railing, nostalgia and a sense of connection cranked a handle in her chest. “Oh,” she whispered. “There they are.”

As if Burgess realized this was an emotional moment for her, he didn’t make contact, leaning beside her on the rail, instead. “Are you okay?”

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