Page 113 of Business Casual

I swallowed hard. “Ask me what I want.”

“What do you want.”

“I want to be with you.”

His tongue slid from one corner of his mouth to the other. “So, what changed?”

“When you gave me the form that said that we were over and…” I looked away momentarily. “I thought that was that. The only way to protect the company was to not be together. But then I was in my office, and I happened to look in here”—I opened the folder, pulling out the relationship disclosure document— “and I saw this.”

His eyes moved to it before returning to me. “You didn’t look at it when you got home?”

I shook my head. “I just saw it. I thought they were copies of the same thing. But when I read it, it made me realize that if they’re going to be mad about us anyway, I would rather be with you than to be without you.”

He took a step forward, closing the gap between us. “Does that mean you want me to take that one in the meeting?” he asked, pointing to the paper.

“Yes. And I want you to tell your dad that we’re together.”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me into his body. “I’m telling everybody we’re together.”

His mouth crashed into mine, and all the pent-up tension between us exploded. With slow, dawdling kisses, I felt the walls crumbling between us as we reconnected. Our mouths were confessing to unspoken emotions. With each meeting of our tongues, I felt like I was falling harder and deeper for him. That kiss was more than a kiss. That kiss felt like a promise of something I never saw coming.

“Wow,” I breathed when he pulled away. I let my eyelashes flutter open and the way he looked at me made my heart leap from my chest.

With his hands cupping my face, his eyes rooted me where I stood. My stomach fluttered.

“You know why I’m not worried?” he asked.

“Why?” I asked, tilting my head up so our lips would connect again.

“Because in my experiences, having good taste will generally cost you something.”

The corners of my mouth turned up. “In your experiences, has the cost ever been too great?”

“If it’s worth it, it’s never too great,” he answered.

I hugged his body closer to mine. “And how do you know when it’s worth it?”

“I trust my instincts.”

“What do your instincts say about us?”

“That you’re it,” he uttered before he captured my bottom lip between his.

“Do you know how I know you’re worth it?”

“How?”

“I can’t stop thinking about it.” Taking a deep breath, my voice came out breathier than normal as I admitted, “I think I love you.”

Tre froze, staring at me like he didn’t know what to say or do. He didn’t quite look panicked, but he was definitely caught off guard. “You think?” he whispered finally.

I ran my free hand up his back. “Iknow.”

Our mouths moved over one another in earnest. He pulled away fractionally, resting his forehead against mine. “Good. Because I like you.”

I stopped. My mouth dropped.

He burst out laughing. “God, I’ve missed you.” He kissed me. “I love you, Imani.”

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