Page 43 of A Billionaire for Christmas
Molly felt her resolve evaporating. ‘Goodnight. And thanks again for coming to help me.’
He reached out to smooth a strand of hair from her face. ‘Goodnight, Molly Johnson.’ His fingers grazed her cheek, leaving a tingle in their wake. His gaze dropped to her mouth. She held her breath, willing him to continue. He ran his thumb lightly across her lower lip. ‘Christ. You are so beautiful,’ he whispered. ‘If there is anyone worth breaking the rules for it’s you.’
Molly melted inside. She wanted to kiss him more than anything in this world.
‘Please don’t look at me like that,’ he begged. ‘I can’t offer you what you want. And you should be with someone…’ Levi’s breath was ragged. The energy between them was intensifying. He shifted closer. ‘You should be with someone special. Not your boss.’
Her heart hammered in her chest. ‘And if you weren’t my boss? If we’d met under different circumstances?’
‘But we didn’t.’
Molly inched closer. She mirrored his actions, trailing the back of her hand lightly down his cheek, tracing the line of his jaw. ‘But if we did?’
Levi nodded slowly in answer.
‘Well, you’re not my boss any more,’ she whispered against his lips, desperate for him to kiss her.
Levi jerked away. ‘Sorry?’
‘I quit.’
‘You quit?’
‘Earlier today.’
‘You did?’ Levi sat upright. ‘When? Why?’
‘Before the avalanche.’ Molly sat up too. Her timing left a lot to be desired. ‘Well, you did ask me to leave.’
‘Yes. Leave the house. Not the company. And only because I wanted to protect you from…’ Levi left the sentence hanging. He dragged his hand through his hair. ‘Look. It doesn’t change anything. You can have your job back.’
‘I don’t want it back.’ Suddenly, Molly knew what she wanted – she wanted to sleep with him. She was twenty-nine. It was time she broke the ludicrously long dry spell.
They stared at each other for a moment, the atmosphere charged. He was inches away. All she had to do was reach out to him.
‘I still can’t offer you what you want. I don’t have time for a relationship.’
Levi was being very stoic, and she wasn’t at all impressed.
‘Fine. Have it your way,’ she said, trying not to sound sulky as she piled the cushions high between them. He was simply exasperating.
14
I AM GRATEFUL FOR THIS LIFE
Molly woke the next morning feeling utterly shattered. She had not slept a wink. Last night had changed her. It felt like a new low. The wall of pillows remained intact. An unmistakable divide, like the old Berlin Wall, high, sturdy and impenetrable. Having tossed and turned all night, she had made up her mind. As soon as the path was clear, she was leaving. She slipped from the sheets and threw on a robe to prepare coffee for them both. She wouldn’t have his last memory of her as being petty. As she wandered back into the bedroom with two steaming mugs, the movement woke him. Molly wondered what effect last night’s emotional exchange, their rather honest and soulful declarations to each other, would have on him. Hoping to hear an outpouring of regret, she set the coffee down on the bedside table and climbed on the bed, eager to find out.
He opened his eyes, realisation spreading across his face as Molly gave him a hesitant smile. ‘Jesus. That was the best sleep of my entire life.’ Levi rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. ‘Myentirelife!’
She waited for more detail.
‘What time is it? I must have slept for nine hours straight. Maybe even ten hours. That was so great.’
Molly glanced at her phone charging by the bed. ‘It’s almost ten o’clock.’
‘What? I’ve never slept that late. Eleven and a half hours!’
What was this?He sounded like an advert for a sleep management programme.
