days.”
“I swear he makes it impossible for me on purpose.” Noah sighed. “All right. I’m going to charge him for a half day today, though. I can’t keep calling my guys out here and then sending them home without pay.”
“But they didn’t work.”
“Roman won’t mind. If he was here I’d just tell him to pay them and he would.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “It’s the right thing to do. He doesn’t always see what the right thing is, but once I point it out to him he listens.”
“I didn’t know he was such a softhearted boss.”
“Not softhearted, smart. He makes the business decisions. I make sure he doesn’t alienate the whole world with that heartless routine of his. We’re a good team.”
“I don’t know that he thinks of you as a team.”
Noah smiled. “He probably doesn’t think of us as friends, either, but that’s Roman. He’s all right.” His hands found her thighs again, sliding up and down the muscles. So warm. “If we’re knocking off here, you can come home with me, huh?”
“I, uh, have to call my dad.”
“After that.”
“I should probably go back to the office. I don’t usually … yesterday was …”
“It was, wasn’t it? Let’s do it again.”
“I can’t.”
“It’ll be mid-afternoon by the time you get back to Miami.”
“Early afternoon.”
“It’s a nice day,” Noah coaxed. “Stay here, I’ll take you out on my boat.”
“I don’t really do boats.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’ll like it.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit.”
“You won’t need a swimsuit.”
“If we’re going to be—”
“Just say yes, baby. Yes, you want to see my boat.” He licked over her lips. “Yes, you want to go out on the water and get hot and drink a couple beers with me. Then we can grab some awful fried seafood and go back to my place again.” He moved his mouth over her cheek. “I’ll strip that skirt off and eat you out in the shower. We’ll drop onto my bed naked and dripping and fuck each other until we’re so worn out we can’t move.”
Carmen couldn’t respond, or really even breathe, or think of anything but the picture his words made. She could
see
it. She could feel what it would be like to take this from him—to accept the gift of life the way Noah lived it.
She could imagine, almost, what it would be like to belong to this man not just for today but for every day, stretching out into the future.
When he looked at her, he saw a woman she’d never been.
When he touched her, she became someone she liked. A woman who responded. Who felt. A Carmen who writhed and smiled and ate fried food.
She gazed at his face—those kind, smiling eyes—and she wanted to be that woman. She was right on the verge of telling him yes when movement behind his arm caught her eye, and she refocused her gaze on the doorway.
Where she saw her father.
The flush came over her so violently, she felt for a moment as though she might be having some sort of health crisis. A stroke. A heart attack. Death by embarrassment.
“Papi! What are you doing here?”
She hadn’t called Heberto
papi
since the fifth grade.
He’d never caught her with a strange man straddling her thighs and her shirt untucked.
“It’s a good question,” her father said mildly. “I could ask you the same.”
“I’m—working.”
He raised an eyebrow. A trick he’d picked up from Roman.
Carmen hastily tucked her blouse back in. “Heberto, this is Noah, um—”
She didn’t know his last name. And he had lipstick on his chin.
Fuck
.
“Noah Archer.” He stepped forward, extending his hand. “Roman’s contractor. Nice to meet you, sir.”
Heberto glanced at Noah’s hand and turned his gaze back to Carmen. “You’re messingaround on Roman with an employee?”
“Roman dumped me,” she said flatly.
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. He’s sleeping with Ashley.”
“Should I know who that is?”
“Ashley the palm tree
“I swear he makes it impossible for me on purpose.” Noah sighed. “All right. I’m going to charge him for a half day today, though. I can’t keep calling my guys out here and then sending them home without pay.”
“But they didn’t work.”
“Roman won’t mind. If he was here I’d just tell him to pay them and he would.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “It’s the right thing to do. He doesn’t always see what the right thing is, but once I point it out to him he listens.”
“I didn’t know he was such a softhearted boss.”
“Not softhearted, smart. He makes the business decisions. I make sure he doesn’t alienate the whole world with that heartless routine of his. We’re a good team.”
“I don’t know that he thinks of you as a team.”
Noah smiled. “He probably doesn’t think of us as friends, either, but that’s Roman. He’s all right.” His hands found her thighs again, sliding up and down the muscles. So warm. “If we’re knocking off here, you can come home with me, huh?”
“I, uh, have to call my dad.”
“After that.”
“I should probably go back to the office. I don’t usually … yesterday was …”
“It was, wasn’t it? Let’s do it again.”
“I can’t.”
“It’ll be mid-afternoon by the time you get back to Miami.”
“Early afternoon.”
“It’s a nice day,” Noah coaxed. “Stay here, I’ll take you out on my boat.”
“I don’t really do boats.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’ll like it.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit.”
“You won’t need a swimsuit.”
“If we’re going to be—”
“Just say yes, baby. Yes, you want to see my boat.” He licked over her lips. “Yes, you want to go out on the water and get hot and drink a couple beers with me. Then we can grab some awful fried seafood and go back to my place again.” He moved his mouth over her cheek. “I’ll strip that skirt off and eat you out in the shower. We’ll drop onto my bed naked and dripping and fuck each other until we’re so worn out we can’t move.”
Carmen couldn’t respond, or really even breathe, or think of anything but the picture his words made. She could
see
it. She could feel what it would be like to take this from him—to accept the gift of life the way Noah lived it.
She could imagine, almost, what it would be like to belong to this man not just for today but for every day, stretching out into the future.
When he looked at her, he saw a woman she’d never been.
When he touched her, she became someone she liked. A woman who responded. Who felt. A Carmen who writhed and smiled and ate fried food.
She gazed at his face—those kind, smiling eyes—and she wanted to be that woman. She was right on the verge of telling him yes when movement behind his arm caught her eye, and she refocused her gaze on the doorway.
Where she saw her father.
The flush came over her so violently, she felt for a moment as though she might be having some sort of health crisis. A stroke. A heart attack. Death by embarrassment.
“Papi! What are you doing here?”
She hadn’t called Heberto
papi
since the fifth grade.
He’d never caught her with a strange man straddling her thighs and her shirt untucked.
“It’s a good question,” her father said mildly. “I could ask you the same.”
“I’m—working.”
He raised an eyebrow. A trick he’d picked up from Roman.
Carmen hastily tucked her blouse back in. “Heberto, this is Noah, um—”
She didn’t know his last name. And he had lipstick on his chin.
Fuck
.
“Noah Archer.” He stepped forward, extending his hand. “Roman’s contractor. Nice to meet you, sir.”
Heberto glanced at Noah’s hand and turned his gaze back to Carmen. “You’re messingaround on Roman with an employee?”
“Roman dumped me,” she said flatly.
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. He’s sleeping with Ashley.”
“Should I know who that is?”
“Ashley the palm tree
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