She was already sensitive from the kiss, and her body responded. It was a desperate move, getting off in the shower this way, but with her fingertips on her clit, working furiously, she lost herself in the fantasy.
The one where he wasn’t such a stickler about mixing business and pleasure.
The one where he couldn’t help himself—he took her to his room and peeled off her sundress himself.
The one where they did far, far more than dance.
The orgasm spilled out of her, shaking her muscles and tipping her head back underneath the water.
She was still trembling when the door to the bathroom opened.
A surge of hope almost knocked her to the floor. The clear glass door of the shower offered no visual barrier between her and the door, and whoever it was would see her. Oh, god, she hoped it was Drew. She hoped he’d been feeling the same way and had padded down the hall, taking his own shirt off, and his jeans, and his boxers...
But there was nobody there, in the strip of light falling into her suite from the bathroom.
Her heart slowed.
Of course there was nobody there.
Penny took a big breath in and let it out. She could feel the blush in her cheeks, even though the room beyond was empty. She hadn’t shut the door all the way in her rush to get into the shower. That’s all it was.
She closed her eyes and tipped her head back again, raising her hands to work the water through her hair.
Even if the kiss was as far as it was ever going to go with Drew, it had been hot.
Yeah...there was no denying it now. She was into him. Way into him. And that was fine. “That’s normal and fine,” she said out loud to herself as she rinsed out the shampoo and added conditioner.
But you’d better be ready for when this is over. You can’t let it catch you off guard.
8
“Is Logan already gone?”
Penny stood in the doorway to Drew’s office, slightly out of breath, a red truck in her hand.
Her beauty struck him so hard, it was like the truck had grown to its full size and run him over. Pink cheeks. Dark hair in a bun on top of her head, a few shiny locks escaping. She wore jeans that hugged her hips in a way that made him jealous and a tank that reminded him of how her body moved under the lights from the concert stage. At first, the sight wiped her question from his mind, replacing it with the kiss after last week’s barbecue. That kiss was making it impossible to stand next to her in the kitchen without wanting to take her hand in his and press her knuckles to his lips or run his fingertips down the back of her neck, or any number of other things…
“Yes. He and Susan left about five minutes ago.” Susan had finally recovered from what was the worst stomach bug of the year and had color back in her cheeks, and Logan had been thrilled to see her. Drew had heard him telling her about the bounce house at the barbecue until his voice finally faded in the distance. A smile played over his face. “Were you rushing here with his truck?”
Penny looked down at the truck in her hand and blinked, her cheeks going pink. “Yeah, I was. He’s been all about the red truck today, so I thought he might want it over the weekend.”
It stirred something deep in his heart, how thoughtful she was. The last nanny had been efficient and kind and reliable, but she’d never once gone to a length like this.
“I…appreciate it.”
Penny laughed out loud and gave him a little salute. “Compliment registered, Mr. Preston.”
“No, I do.” He smiled back at her. It was impossible not to. “I want you to know that…I really do appreciate these things. But over the winter we bought Logan matching sets of trucks for each house so he wouldn’t have to be without.”
“Oh, of course you did.” Penny tucked the truck into her shoulder bag. “That makes total sense.”
“The truck obsession is strong with him.”
“Don’t I know it.” She came another step into his office, hand on her bag. “What are you working on today?” He heard the tentative note in her voice. What he should do was tell her that it was nothing. Tell her that she could have the rest of the day off—start her weekend early. But Drew had been wrestling with the presentation all morning and through lunch.
“A backup presentation.”
Penny’s eyes brightened. “For the backup company?”
“Exactly.”
She tapped the side of her chin. “Something tells me it’s not going well.”
“What tells you that?”
“The fact that you were frowning at your screen with your arms crossed when I came in here.” Penny mimicked his expression, which made him laugh. “Is it another missing piece?”
“There are a lot of missing pieces,” Drew admittedly. It felt simultaneously strange and completely normal to be talking about a business project with her, and his mind and heart tussled over it. But she’d found the flaw in his last presentation, hadn’t she? He’d hired her to be a nanny with full knowledge that Penny had plenty of corporate experience. It would be to his benefit if he went ahead and admitted it. He let out a long breath. “I wanted to have this done by tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?”
“The weekend.” She laughed again, and that familiar throaty sound made his nerves buzz with pleasure. “But after the weekend, we have the gala.”
“The gala. Yes. I have to shop this weekend.”
“We have to shop this weekend.” The words slipped between his lips, and Penny raised her eyebrows. An image of her in a gown with a low-cut back, spinning slowly in front of a full-length mirror popped into his mind, followed quickly by a pure, strong desire for it to happen. “What? Did you think I would make you buy your own gown for the gala I’m holding? I wouldn’t make my wife buy her own gown.”
She raised a hand in the air, biting her lip. “Say no more, Mr. Preston. I’ll let you buy the gown.” The gala had been in the works for months, but it had taken on new meaning as they negotiated more heavily with Jack and Lisa about acquiring his company.
“It’ll be our last performance together, if everything goes according to plan. The signing date is two weeks from now.”
Her eyes flicked down to the floor, but the hesitation on her face was gone as soon as it appeared. “It’s getting close.”
“Very close.” The air between them thickened and tensed. “That’s why I want to have this presentation done. If it falls through for any reason, I can’t leave everybody hanging.”
“Everybody?”
“My brothers. Everybody at Preston.” And you. Not that she would be obligated to help him close another deal, but would it jeopardize things if the second company thought he’d had a quick marriage and divorce? Drew kept his private life very private after Susan, so nobody in his business circles had seemed surprised to find he remarried without a big announcement. “I just wanted to get it done.”
Penny stepped forward and dropped her bag into one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Let’s do this, then.”
“Are you offering to help?”
“I’m insisting on helping. If you’re going to buy me a fancy gown, then I’m going to help you with this presentation.”