Page 14 of Stuck with the Hot Boss
They held out the coffee tray as a peace-offering. ‘Got these just now, though, so they’ve not gone cold.’
‘Bless you.’ Evie removed the biggest cup, which was obviously hers. ‘Mm, coffee, how I do love thee. I’d count the ways but that would waste valuable sipping time.’
‘And here’s your receipt, and your change, too.’ Ash handed it over to Leo, who, Evie noted, briefly blushed.
‘Thank you.’
Leo’s tone was back to being coolly formal, and Evie felt a pang of anxiety. Maybe, before Ash rescued them, he’d been about to say that what they’d done was unforgivablyunprofessional and must never, ever happen again. It wasn’t arecommendedmanager-underling interaction, she had to admit, but you could argue that they’d been off the clock. On a very extended morning tea break or something.
‘I’ll be about an hour fixing this shower stall,’ Ash informed them. ‘You don’t need to stay and watch. You probably need some air, am I right?’
Evie made a determined effort to keep her face poker-like. Had Ash guessed what they’d been up to? Were their snap fasteners done up wrong? Was there a lingering scent of unbridled lust?
‘A walk would be welcome,’ said Leo. ‘We’ll meet you at the van in an hour.’
‘Gotcher,’ said Ash, but with no hint of irony. Their mind was now solely on the job.
‘After you,’ Leo said to Evie, his gentlemanly gesture slightly marred by the fact that he refused to meet her eye as she went past.
As Evie went down the stairs, she sensed Leo behind her at every step. Her mind was boiling away like a milk steamer, and normally, in such times of anxiety, she’d vocalise every thought. But she kept quiet, somehow convinced it should be Leo who broke the ice.
Letting themselves out of the front door, Evie noticed the key in the lock. Having been locked in, she wasn’t now keen to be locked out, so she took it.
‘What if Ash needs more tools from the van?’ said Leo.
It wasn’t the icebreaker she’d hoped for, but it was better than nothing.
‘I guess we don’t need to come back here,’ she replied, replacing the key. ‘We could spend the hour in a local café?’
‘Mm,’ Leo sounded evasive. And he still wasn’t meeting her eye.
‘Look,’ he said. ‘I don’t think this expedition needs two of us. I’ll walk back to the office. There’ll be a ton of emails waiting for me.’
‘Walk?’ said Evie. ‘In that get-up? In this heat?’
Leo glanced down at himself as if he’d forgotten. ‘Right.’
Swiftly, efficiently, as if he was very used to changing clothes, Leo got out of Dennis’s too-large overalls, and stood before her in a plain grey T-shirt and tailored linen pants in a colour Evie wanted to call ‘ecru’, though she might have made that up. Despite their sweaty entanglement, Leo looked crisp and fresh. And ridiculously handsome. Andoutrageouslysexy.
‘Don’t–’
Leo had spotted that she was about to make a move and held up his hand to ward her off.
‘Really?’ Evie said. ‘Is that – it?’
‘I’m yourboss!’ he protested. ‘I’m not even a week into this job! It’s the most senior job I’ve ever had and if I fuck it up, I’m done for. I’ll be squirting special sauce on beef patties before you can say “L for loser”.’
It was on the tip of Evie’s tongue to say that he could squirt his special sauce on her anytime, but that was habit talking. Resorting to jokes when she felt threatened. And she did feel threatened. By the loss of something she’d only just had a taste of. Snogging Leo had been more than physically astounding. It had felt – right. Like the two of them were meant to be together. Evie knew this was probably still her hormones playing up, but it didn’t feel like that. Leo and she had connected more deeply that morning than sheeverhad with any of her previous boyfriends. And she was only just starting to get to know him.
Thing was, she understood his position. She might not have liked it, but she got it. Leo needed to prove himself, and right now, he felt exposed and vulnerable. A relationship with her would only make him feel more so.
‘Okay, fine,’ said Evie, with a sigh. ‘But Leo, I’d hate for us never to talk again. I mean, properly talk. Not just about market share and paradise shifts.’
The corner of Leo’s mouth twitched. ‘Paradigm.’
Evie waved her hand. ‘Potato-potahto.’
Then she said, ‘I mean it. I really feel we could be good friends, as well as colleagues.’
