The dress had a navy belt cinched around her waist and flared out below it, but the top was fitted enough to give me yet another great idea of what she was working with. I sighed internally, willing myself to stop noticing these things about her.
“Hey,” she said, her voice cheerful as she shut the door behind her. Her gaze swept past me and rested on the satchel lying on my desk. “About ready to head home for the weekend?”
“Just about.” I turned to grab my phone, wallet, and keys. “What’s up? Did you need something?”
“No, I’ve finished up what I had to. I just wanted to know if you needed anything else from me before I took off.”
“No, you can go. You’ve done a great job this week.” I grinned and resisted the urge to go over to give her a hug. “Better than I was expecting even.”
“Thank you.” She was smiling fully now, radiant and proud. “It means a lot to hear that from you.”
“No problem.” I picked up my laptop and motioned her to the door. “Shall we go? Are you ready yet, or do you need to pack up?”
“I’m ready.” She walked backward until she reached the door, then turned the doorknob and stepped back to swing it open. Preceding me out, she waited in the hall for me to join her. “What’s on our agenda for next week?”
I groaned, shutting and locking the door behind me. “How about we go for a drink to celebrate your first week, not talk about business, and see what next week holds when we get there?”
“You want to go out for a drink?” She lowered her chin, but her brows went up. “With me?”
“Yes. It’s been a long week and I could use some conversation that isn’t about work. Are you in, or do you already have plans?”
She hesitated for a second, but then the contemplative haze disappeared from her eyes and she gave me a nod. “Sure. Why not? I don’t have any plans.”
“It’s not the most enthusiastic answer I’ve ever gotten to an invitation, but I’ll take it.” Why, though? Why had I even invited her out? I needed to get these fantastical ideas of her out of my head.
She wasn’t interested. No matter how much it sometimes looked like she was. I had the wrong kind of equipment for her. End of story.
Except now I’d invited her, and she’d agreed. It didn’t happen often that a woman was completely unavailable to me, but this one was. There had been nights after I’d gotten home when I’d been lying in bed wondering what her eyes would look like glazed over in pleasure or what my name would sound like if she cried it out.
I’d tried to convince myself that was the only reason I had developed this stupid crush. That I only wanted her because she was unavailable. The more I got to know her, though, the more I realized that wasn’t true.
I’d wanted her before I’d known she was unavailable, for starters. But there was more to it than that.
Either way, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on getting gender reassignment surgery, and that was the only way she’d be interested in what I had to offer.
Even so, I enjoyed her company. I wanted to get to know her better despite the option of hooking up with her not being on the table. Hell, who knew? Maybe she’d become a great friend and wing woman in addition to being a team member at work.
Addy bumped my shoulder with hers as we walked, looking up to flash me a smile. “It wasn’t an unenthusiastic answer. It was simply an unexpected invitation. You’re sure it’s okay to be drinking together when I work for you?”
“Absolutely. I’m the boss, remember? What I say goes.”
She laughed as we exited the building, releasing a contented sound as we stepped into the fading sunlight. “God, I love this place.”
“How long have you been here?” I asked, placing a hand at the small of her back as I led her toward the canal. The action had been out of pure habit, but when she didn’t look at me funny or question why I was touching her, I decided to keep my hand there.
One small touch, even over her clothes, was still something. It was the most I was going to get, so I was more than happy to take it. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Aldo would have a field day with that thought if he ever got hold of it.
Addy angled her body toward mine while we walked. “How long have I been in Florence? Four years. I’ve been in Europe for almost five.”
“Ever think about going back to the States?” I asked as we weaved our way through the Friday afternoon crowds on the sidewalk.
“No, not really.” She chewed the inside of her cheek and then shrugged. “I mean, I have thought about it. Especially at times when it felt like I might not have a choice. Last week, for example, I was feeling pretty hopeless about staying.”
“Why last week in particular?” I frowned. “Wait, is this about not being able to pay your rent?”
“Yeah.” When she looked into my eyes again, there was more vulnerability in hers than I’d ever seen there. She was such a firecracker, such a proud woman who seemed to tackle everything in her life with a vivacious tenacity, that I hadn’t expected to see it in her. “I wouldn’t have been able to cut it at the club long term. I was applying for other jobs, but I still haven’t heard anything back.”
“The situation was that dire?” I almost couldn’t believe it. I knew she’d been desperate for rent money at the very least, obviously, but I hadn’t realized the extent of it.
She averted her gaze to the end of the street where the canal had come into view. “Yeah,
