Page 9

With a yelp, I throw out a hand to brace myself at the same time the wall grabs my hip to steady me.

I slowly release the fistful of a button-down, which is when it occurs to me that I’m patting a man’s warm, hard chest.

Then his woodsy scent hits me, and I realize it’s not just any chest, but my boss’s.

“Sorry,” I say when I jerk my hands away and tilt my head back to look at his face. “I didn’t hear you or see you. You’re like a six-foot tall ninja.”

“What are you doing here?” Monty asks. His grip on my hip tightens a second before he drops his hand and takes two steps back to put more space between us, causing the plastic bag in his other hand to crinkle.

“Uh, probably the same thing as you. I was visiting Lily.”

The scent of fajitas fills the air, clueing me in to the contents of Monty’s bag.

Did he bring Lily and Steve dinner?

How…sweet and surprising.

“Right,” Monty replies, then reaches up with his free hand to adjust the knot of his tie.

I can’t help but see him differently after finding out he has such a big heart as I stare up at his face in the shadows.

God, I would give anything to see Monty out of his fancy suit with a hammer in his hand. His biceps bulging as sweat drips down his bare, sculpted chest while he builds a house out of thin air for people who need shelter.

I blink myself back to reality and shake my head.

“Okay, well, I-I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” I stammer. “I’ll have the notes from today’s meeting ready first thing.”

“Thanks,” Monty says blandly, as if that’s the least I can do.

I have to step into the grass to walk around him and continue to my car.

For some reason, I glance back over my shoulder before I reach the driver's side and catch Monty watching me over his shoulder. He quickly turns around and walks up the porch steps to the front door.

A smile stretches across my face, because even if it was only for a second, he was watching me.

Not curiously or angrily, but like a man attracted to a woman who couldn’t look away in time to avoid getting caught.

And that feels like a nice way to end my birthday, even if I know nothing can ever happen between us.

3

The next morning, I grab coffee on the way in and drop one off at Monty’s desk, where he’s already working half an hour before the office opens. Then I print out his calendar to tape to his door and email him the meeting notes I typed up last night.

Before I call the candidates to fill in for Lily to cancel interviews, I decide to do a little digging on my boss.

When I put his name in the search engine, a ton of articles come up.

Some with photos of him dressed down in jeans and tees, wearing a hard hat.

Wow.

I read a few articles about his nonprofit. His organization has built hundreds of houses not just in Charlotte but in other cities too.

I wonder if he misses the physical labor and the pure joy that comes from helping others.

I mean, I guess he helps the employees here too, but it’s probably not the same.

The rest of the administrative floor employees have just started filtering in when Monty walks out of his office, sipping his coffee in another perfectly fitting three-piece suit.