Page 59 of Her Irish Boss

Selena pulled into the police station. “Are you talking about sex?”

“No. Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about the real relationship between you two. Do you think what you have will fade away in another couple weeks or even a month or two?”

Fade away. Being with Brogan brought everything inside her alive. How could that ever fade away? The intensity had already shifted. Not lessened. Equalized a little. And she still thought about him all the time.

“I don't think it will fade.”

“Alright. Can you see yourself waking up beside him for the rest of your life?”

Selena turned the car off and faced her friend. “I see myself sad if he's not with me when I think of the future.” She hadn't had a serious thought about finding someone who would commit to her with Mimi's situation. Brogan had been so sweet to Mimi the other morning.

Katie tilted her head to the side. “What if you stopped seeing him right now? How long would it take for you to get over him?”

Selena blinked. Could she ever, really, get over him? She hated how he made her feel, hiding her away, but the sweet side of him kept her from leaving. None of the other menshe'd dated, or even met, came close to be the kind of man she wanted. She wanted Brogan without the seesaw of emotions.ThatBrogan would never get out of her system.

“A really long time.”

“Then quit.”

“The restaurant?”

“Yes. Find another job.”

She leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes. “But I love working there.”

“Do you love it more than you love Brogan?”

“No.”

She snapped her fingers. “So you do love him! And you've kept me in the dark throughout this entire thing. I'd be mad at you if I weren't so happy.”

Selena rolled her head to the side, watching her friend's excitement and feeling dread at the decision. “What's my other option? You said I had other options.” Because acknowledging she was in love with Brogan messed with her head. She didn't have the luxury to fall in love. Not when it meant never moving in or moving forward with a relationship because of Mimi and having to give up something you love, like her job. Definitely, if it meant their current situation. Maybe she wasn't any better off than her mom. Was falling in love this easy genetic?

“There are two more options,” Katie said. “The first is continuing the way you’ve been going.”

“Yeah.” She opened the door. Katie did, too. “But that sucks.”

“You know your last option.” Katie exited the car with Selena. “You need to break up with Brogan.”

Selena turned as Brogan approached them in the parking deck.

“Oh, crap, I did it again. I'm sorry, Selena.”

Brogan's eyes pinned Selena in place as he approached. “Katie, give us a minute.”

“No.” Selena tilted her chin up. “Katie can stay. This isn't work, Brogan. You don't get to tell her what to do.”

Katie took two steps backward. “It's alright. I have a feeling this is a private conversation.”

“Thank you,” Brogan gritted out. He waited until she'd made it three cars away. He lowered his voice. “I see you told Katie about us.”

“She overheard Cathal at the bar last night tell the bartender that he was the brother and not theboyfriend.” She poked him in the chest. “Stop thinking I'm running around telling people things about us. And she was trying to help just now.”

“By ending our relationship?”

“By pointing out that I have options if this secret arrangement bothers me, which it does.”

Brogan took a breath. “I understand that. But I don't want to set some sort of double standard for the workplace.”

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