Page 115 of Rejected Heart

Day one of my brand-new job.

Walking down the hall to my office, my insides trembled with excitement. When I stepped inside it and took in the space, warmth and a sense of pride washed over me.

As I ran my fingertips along the flat surface of my new desk, I never could have imagined, not in a million years, that this was where I’d wind up. Not in the big city. Not in some corporate job somewhere across the country.

Right here in Landing.

At the very place that had always felt like a home to me.

A gentle but unexpected knock on the open door had me spinning around and clutching my chest as my other hand gripped the desk behind me to steady me. One look at the man standing there quickly calmed my racing heart.

Leaning against the door frame, Liam’s mouth curved into a smile. “Are you ready?”

I bit the corner of my lip. “I’m so excited about this.”

His eyes were shining. “I had a feeling.”

“But I’m nervous.”

He tipped his head to the side. “Why?”

I shrugged, resting my hips against the desk. “I want to do a good job. I don’t want anyone to think that I’m not qualified to be in this position.”

Liam pushed off the door frame and crossed the room. With each step he took in my direction, I felt the warmth move through me as my breath quickened. I didn’t think there’d ever come a day when he didn’t make me feel this way.

Coming to a stop in front of me, Liam leaned forward and placed his hands on the desk on either side of me. “Nobody is going to think anything like that. You are the most qualified person to be in this position, and I’m not just saying that because I’m head over heels in love with you. You have the experience and the skills to do this job better than anyone else.”

I tipped my chin down and smiled, Liam touching his lips to my cheek. “You always say all the right things.”

He shifted his mouth to my lips, smiled against them, and kissed me.

I’d never get used to the way Liam always found ways to reassure me, using just his words. It was a shame it had taken me so long to realize I could trust him to do that in any situation.

But I was getting better. Liam and I had worked really hard together over the last ten months or so to help erase so many of the preconceived ideas I had about what made me worthy of being with him.

It wasn’t easy, but it had been worth it. And I no longer felt the urge to run and hide whenever it got difficult.

Fortunately, those trying moments were few and far between. We’d been able to spend most of our time over these months living in the moment and enjoying one another.

And now we were here—excited and celebrating my first day of my new job.

My error in judgment years ago had at least put me in the position to acquire the experience and skills Liam was referring to me needing for this job.

Unsurprisingly, Westwood’s had expanded. What I hadn’t anticipated was that they were expanding the company the way they had.

While there was still a huge part of this expansion that hadn’t been completed, the first phase of it had been. Liam and I were now standing in my office at TheWestwood Theater, where I was the new venue manager. For now, I’d be responsible for just the theater, but once the second phase of the project was complete, I’d be adding the Westwood Arena to my list of responsibilities.

I couldn’t wait.

I felt so honored to be chosen to be part of something so tremendous. It was a huge responsibility, but it was something I was more than prepared to take on.

Tearing my mouth from Liam’s, I scooted back slightly on the desk. “So, as much as I love that you came here to see how prepared I am for my day today, I’m not sure I should be kissing you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying, it’d probably be considered very unprofessional and highly frowned upon.”

He stepped closer, nudging my thighs apart, and dropped his mouth to my neck. He bit down lightly on the skin where my neck met my shoulder before soothing it with a kiss. Then his mouth trailed up the side of my throat and toward my ear. “I don’t care. I’ve spent far too many years with my head down, working my tail off. I think I’m entitled to a little bit of unprofessionalism, in this case.”

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