Before he responded his lips crashed down over mine. He licked deep and kept the kiss going for so long we heard the elevator doors open and then close and the lift go back down with us not in it. I locked my arms around his neck and went right into my Jonah kiss haze where all things happy and good lived.
He pulled away but kept his forehead pressed to mine. “I keep wondering when you’re going to turn.”
“Turn?” I panted, still out of breath from his kiss.
“Yeah, turn into a bitch, or become needy, or crazy, or any of the above. Simone, you’re too damn perfect to be true and I’m having trouble believing all I’ve ever wanted ended up in my lap during one of my cases. I went through hell with Helen, baby. Ever since I was promoted to a profiler five years ago, it all turned to shit. She became someone I didn’t recognize. And maybe that had to do with me. We’d been together for so long we got used to one another. Then when I wasn’t there all the time, she changed. Or maybe that’s who she always was but I didn’t see it. Whatever the case, I never felt this connected or on the same path with a woman. Are you sure you can handle a man whose career means you’re going to be having a lot of those dinners alone with your children?”
I shrugged. “If my husband was out protecting other people from being killed and trying to put away extremely bad people for crimes I wouldn’t want committed on my worst enemy, yeah I’m pretty sure I’d be fine. I’d miss you heaps, but that would just make it more exciting when you got home. Something to look forward to.” I cupped his cheek. “Relationships are hard. Lord knows I’ve had my fair share. More than my fair share to be accurate. Though I never once saw myself in a white dress with kids underfoot like I have when I’m in your arms. You make me see a future. A real one that’s all mine. One of my own making, and that’s something to hold on to. I’m sure any marriage is hard, but if you keep the lines of communication open, anything can work. You just have to be willing to try.”
He kissed me again and bit down on my bottom lip. Arousal slid through my form on gossamer wings. “Can we maybe go back to your place first?”
“Why?” He pressed the button on the elevator to bring it back to our floor.
I squirmed where I stood and bit into my own lip sizing him up.
He shook his head. “Oh no. No way. We stop back home we’re not leaving, and I’ve made up my mind about Tracks. You don’t love it. It’s not your dream. It’s not even a stepping stone to your dream so we need to get you checking into other options. And since I need to talk to my father anyway about the numbers, we should go there first.”
I pouted. “Fine. Ruin all my fun.”
“We’ll have fun, baby. A lot of it. Tonight. When we’re safely locked into a hotel.”
“A hotel?” The surprise in my tone was obvious.
“Not making love to you for the first time and having Ryan busting in. I fear I may pull my gun on him.”
I chuckled and the elevator doors opened. He led me inside.
“This is an excellent plan.” I batted my eyelashes and stared into his handsome face.
He pecked me on the lips. “I know. You. Me. No interruptions. Candlelight dinner in. Chocolates. Champagne. The whole nine.”
I covered my pitter-pattering heart. “You do have a plan. Still, I want to stop at your house on the way. Pick up something special to wear tonight and a change of clothes.”
His eyes blazed white-hot fire with the amount of lust searing me. “Done.”
“Any special requests?” I taunted.
“Black. Lace.”
“Naughty.” I grinned, knowing exactly what I was going to wear.
Jonah tugged at his collar and adjusted his crotch before the elevator opened.
Tonight, was going to be epic. I just knew it.
A+ Construction headquarters were set up in an older part of town about twenty minutes from Oak Park. The front was made of horizontal windows with painted green slats surrounded by brick and beige-colored concrete. I had expected some type of rugged, rusted out warehouse, but was pleasantly surprised at how the front of the building was a bit contemporary with a touch of downhome Midwestern charm.
Jonah opened the door for me and placed a hand to my lower back as I entered.
The front had a crescent-shaped wall that separated the large reception desk from the waiting area. A set of six seats and a coffee table were on one side of the room. In the other corner was a pretty table with a pristine white orchid sitting on top, a gilded brass rectangular mirror hanging on the wall above it. Behind the reception desk I could see glass partitioned offices.
Luca was standing over the desk holding a file folder and discussing something with a heavily pregnant Asian woman. I lifted my hand and gave a jaunty wave. Luca smiled, finished his conversation, and left the woman’s office. He walked the short hallway to the door that separated reception from where the bulk of their offices were.
“Hey, I uh, didn’t expect to see the two of you so soon. Everything okay?”
Jonah tightened his hold on my hand. “Here to see Dad. He mentioned to Simone he’d show her around the company. If everyone feels she’s a good fit, I’d like to see about him hiring her earlier, prior to her finishing her last class. Maybe in a part-time capacity. This would allow her the time to study and secure her degree, while giving Lisa time to train her on the position in advance.”
Luca blinked slowly and didn’t say anything for what seemed to me like a long time. My nerves were ramped up to the max and I had to keep myself from spewing all my thoughts a hundred miles an hour into the weighted silence.
“To be honest, Dad did tell me about the idea of Simone working here and I wasn’t sure you’d be okay with that. Considering our history.”
“Maybe this was a bad idea.” Jonah grumbled and made to turn to the entrance, but I locked my other arm around his and held on.
“I’m very interested in working with you and Marco. I’ve had a ton of experience in customer service, and I filled in at Tracks any time the business manager was sick or on vacation. I’m a super-fast learner, intelligent, and you will not find a harder worker. And I’m looking for a position that I can stay with long term. Something that will support the future I want.”
Jonah looped his arm over my shoulders. “Hope some of what you want in the future has me in it, baby.”
I grinned and elbowed him in the ribs.
Jonah chuckled. “Ouch. Sorry. Okay, okay.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. Dad was taken with you. You have been all he’s talked about for the last couple days. Why don’t you come on back and I’ll introduce you to Lisa and the rest of the office team? Most of the men are out on jobs.”
“Do they clock in here?”
He shook his head. “No. The office isn’t open until eight. Our team starts when they step foot on the job usually around six-thirty or seven in the morning depending on the weather and what the job site entails. We trust them to do their job and follow their foreman’s lead. We have five foremen. Each person has a team of four to five under him or her. We have one female foreman and two female construction workers.”
“That’s cool.”