Page 76 of Dirty Boss

“Honey, come on?—”

“I knew this would be a disaster the minute I suggested it,” Vaughn growled.

“The minuteyour assistantsuggested it, you mean?—”

“Honey,” her husband said, gentle warning in his tone.

“I’m just saying?—”

“Well, say less,” Vaughn snapped, then sighed as he rubbed his temples.

I sipped my water, and I wondered if this was worth it. Then Vaughn slid his hand onto my thigh, and I turned to meet his gaze. He gave me a tight smile, something like an apology in his gaze. The tension that had stolen up my spine dissolved away.

Yeah—it was worth it. Worth it to have Vaughn here beside me, touching me like I belonged to him. Worth it to make a life for myself, finally. To choose something for myself.

I leaned forward, and Tiffany’s gaze snapped back to me. “I’m an image consultant,” I told her. “I helped Vaughn update his look.”

“I see,” she said, eyes flicking from me to him. “I had noticed the haircut. You’re not so scruffy-looking anymore.”

“That’s what she called me,” Vaughn grumbled, tilting his head toward me.

Tiffany huffed, and it looked like she’d tried to hold back her laugh. “She wasn’t wrong. You still have that old pair of clippers you bought for ten dollars?”

“They worked, didn’t they?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘worked,’” I cut in, which made Tiffany huff again.

“Oh I get it,” Vaughn said, leaning back in his chair. “The way to get you two to get along is for you to pile on me. I’m sure Dale has his own clippers that?—”

“Keep me out of this,” the taller man said, lifting his palms. “I’m just here for the food.”

Tiffany elbowed his ribs. “Liar.”

He laughed, leaning over to press a kiss to the side of her head. Tiffany relaxed slightly, her smile turning softer as she glanced at her husband. He gave her a long look that seemed to say,Give her a chance, honey. She rolled her eyes.Fine.

Turning back to me, Tiffany took a deep breath, like she was preparing for a long and arduous session scrubbing scum from her bathroom tiles instead of an evening at a fancy Mediterranean restaurant getting to know me. Her smile was forced, but she was trying. “So—image consulting. How did you get into that?”

“Um,” I said, frowning, “I kind of…fell into it.”

“Barged into it, more like,” Vaughn corrected, and it was my turn to elbow him in the ribs.

At Tiffany’s questioning look, I shook my head. “Long story.”

“I see,” she said.

From there, the waiter came to take our orders. Conversation turned to Charlotte, then to sports, and to Tiffany’s work (freelance copywriter for various online publications, including a fashion e-magazine I loved). By the time we turned down the waiter’s offer to bring over the dessert menu, I felt like I’d run a marathon. We said goodbye to the other couple, and then Vaughn stood with me to wait for a cab.

“That was nice,” I said as cold wind made me flip the collar of my jacket up.

Vaughn snorted. “You don’t have to lie to me,” he said, arm sliding around my back as he pulled me closer. “Thank you for coming tonight. It means a lot to me.”

And how could I stop the way my heart melted at his words? I knew I was falling too hard and too fast for him—but he wasn’t making it easy for me to slow down. Meeting his daughter, attending the Noble event with him, sleeping over at his place every night his daughter wasn’t…

He made me feel like there was a future for me other than drudgery. Other than crawling back to the family fold so I could kill the part of me that thought for myself. I could have a life with Vaughn. Sure, he had a snippy ex-wife, a daughter, a business that took up so much of his time, and a thousand other things that would make life complicated…but it would be worth it, just to hear him talk to me in that dark velvet voice, telling me how much he appreciated me.

“I wish you could come home with me tonight,” he said, leaning down to press his forehead against mine.

I smiled, touching the tip of his nose with mine. “Me too. But I’ll see you Monday for your fitting at Koval’s shop.”