Page 6 of Tall, Dark, & Ginger

The news is shocking. I’ve known Ridley for over a year and never had a clue he was into me that way.

“Oh” is all I manage to say.

“He didn’t want us to say anything so you wouldn’t feel awkward.” He aims that sentence at Florian, who shrugs.

“No one told me,” Florian says. “I thought it was obvious.”

“No.” I bite my bottom lip. “He wasn’t gonna tell me or make a move or anything?”

“Doubtful,” Salem says. “Not unless you showed interest first. He might think you’re not ready or worried about the work relationship or that he’s too old for you.”

I scoff at that. “Has he looked in a mirror?”

Salem grins. “Well I’m a fan of men in the over-forty club, obviously, but yeah, Ridley’s holding up alright.”

“To put it mildly.”

“Are you interested?”

I look at Florian, but he’s distracted talking to a customer. “I… don’t know. It’s hard to envision going on a date or all that stuff. I was with Trent for so long, I’m not sure how to move forward. I don’t want to hit the scene, you know? Dating apps, hooking up with strangers.” I shudder. “Not my style. Probably why I stayed in a shitty relationship for so long.”

“I get it. It’s not easy out there.”

“I wouldn’t even know. I’ve just been scrolling through forums reading about the challenges. I figured I’d be single forever unless someone walked in here and changed my mind.”

Salem offers a sweet smile. “Ridley is a great guy. He’s loyal and smart and funny. He’s got a wild streak I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“And he likes you.”

“But?”

“But like I said, he’d probably only be down for something casual.”

Salem’s warning bounces around my head. Maybe casual would be good for me. Would I even know how to be that waywith someone? Ridley’s technically my boss, so if it all went to shit, where would that leave me? I could lose my place to stay and my job. That’s a lot to risk for some dick.

But what if it went well? What if I figured out how to hook up with a hot guy for a few months until I could find my footing again? What if?—

“Hey, guys.”

Ridley’s voice interrupts my thoughts, and my breath catches like I just got caught red-handed.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yep. Fine. Good.”

Salem scrunches his nose behind Ridley while Florian chuckles.

“I feel like I walked into something,” Ridley says.

“Nope.” I smile. “Busy tonight.”

Ridley’s relaxed smile takes over his face. “Yeah, it’s good. I’m not worried about summer this year. I think we’ve built a good reputation to keep business steady when the university goes on break.”

“And I have the New Onyx socials campaign ready to go,” Salem says. “My angle is to try something new, and we have the partnership with the rideshare company so they don’t have to drive.”

“Hell yeah,” Ridley says. “It’s gonna be good.”

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