“We enlarged the cock,” Jade declared, slapping a paperback on my desk.
Staring at the cover for Alexis Storm’s new romance,Fighting Desire, I looked at the crotch of the headless model they’d used for the art and tilted my head to the side. The area sat right in the middle of the letteroin Storm.
I nodded. “There’s a marked increase in girth.”
Jade sank against my desk with a relieved sigh. “Thank fuck for that. Hutchins chucked a tantrum and made the designer blow it up.”
I laughed, covering my mouth with my hand. There was never a dull moment at Slattery Press.
“Hey, Jules,” Dom said, leaning back in his chair. “Your hot slab of man meat is waiting for you in reception.” He fanned himself.
I glanced at Jade, who waved me off with a roll of her eyes. “Go stick your tongue down his throat already.” I opened my drawer and pulled my bag out, and she snatched the paperback up. “Back in an hour, okay?”
“Sure thing, boss!”
“Oh, stop it.” She turned but hesitated at the last second. Glancing back she said, “Jules… We’re glad you’re back.”
After a week of bed rest and three more days of light duties, I was more than happy to be back at work. I was going stir-crazy. Binge watching all my favorite TV shows sounded like a dream, but after two days and three seasons ofGilmore Girls, I was completely over it. Not even Caleb Carmichael, his posh apartment, and hisMasterChefcooking skills could sway me.
I smiled as I rose to my feet. “Me, too.”
I was glad I’d decided to stay in Melbourne, although Mum was extremely disappointed. Home wasn’t that far away, and I’d promised I would visit with Caleb on the next long weekend.
Caleb watched me cross the office, a smile on his handsome face. Pushing through the glass door and stepping into reception, I couldn’t stop looking at him. I’d convinced him to keep the stubble, and man…what a hottie.
“Hey,” I said, kissing him on the lips. “How’d you get out of training?”
“I’m the boss. I do what I want,” he replied, threading his fingers through mine. “I wanted to take my girl out for lunch on her first day back. Sue me.”
I laughed and pressed the call button for the elevator. “You miss me already?”
“Every second we’re apart.” He pinched me on the ass, and I yelped.
“You’re hopeless.”
He puckered his lips as the elevator doors swished open, and he tugged me inside. Like me, he’d only just returned to work with strict orders to take it easy. In another six weeks, his ribs should’ve healed enough not to bother him anymore. Honestly, I was grateful his back had come good so quickly. He definitely hadn’t lied to me when he said he knew how to manage the old injury.
“So,” Caleb went on, pressing the button for the ground floor, “have you made a decision yet?”
“You only asked me to move in with you this morning,” I complained. “I said I would have to think about it.”
“You’ve had five hours. That’s plenty.” He winked, a devilish grin on his face.
“Isn’t it a little fast?” I asked with a frown.
“Pfft,” Caleb said, rolling his eyes. “You’re worried about moving too fast? After what we’ve been through?”
He had a point. After the mountain of shit we’d climbed, not even an earthquake could break us apart.
“You’re sure? Like, really sure?”
“Jules.” His grip tightened on mine.
I sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Stop doubting every little thing.”
I still had a lot of work ahead of me, but I’d had a good head start. I’d come to depend on some negative behaviors to cope with Melanie’s death, and breaking them would take time.
The elevator doors opened, and we stepped out into the foyer, navigating around a group of people going up.