“What time is it?” He had one eye open and the other closed. His voice was groggy and sleepy. So sexy.
“A little before seven. I wasn’t sure what time you wanted to get up. You must want to get back to your place to get dressed for work.”
Grant groaned and rolled to his side, draping his arm across her waist and then pulling her closer. “Let’s call in sick. No one will care if we aren’t there.”
“You’re the boss. Everyone will care.”
He drew in a deep breath and blew it out, seeming duly exasperated. “I suppose you’re right. Still doesn’t make it any better.”
Tara was about to agree with him when the doorbell rang. For a moment, she and Grant looked at each other in confusion, and then it dawned on her. “It’s probably Britney next door. She’s always complaining that my sprinklers are watering the sidewalk. Her dog doesn’t like it. He has very sensitive paws.” She threw back the covers and grabbed her silk robe from the chair opposite the bed. She loved seeing her clothes and Grant’s mingling on the floor, a distinct trail leading from her bedroom door to the bed. “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t be long.” Grant swished his hand across the spot on the bed where she’d just been. “I’d like a replay of last night before I go.”
“Which part? There’s no way there’s time for all of it.”
“So we start and see how far we get.”
Tara smiled, but a wave of goose bumps raced across the surface of her skin. Grant had always been sexy and fun, but she hadn’t banked on how different he would be in bed. She never, ever would have guessed that there was a growling alpha beneath that quiet exterior. The doorbell rang again and she rushed down the stairs. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Tara arrived in the foyer and plucked last night’s heels from the floor, chucking them into the front closet. She flipped the dead bolt for the front door, amazed she’d had the presence of mind to lock it. Grant had been all consuming and he’d wasted no time getting things started.
She opened the door and her mouth fell open. Astrid.
“Good morning, Tara,” Astrid said, snoopily peering inside.
Tara left the door open only a sliver. “Astrid. What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d drop by and say hello.”
This was all kinds of strange. It was seven in the morning and Astrid lived downtown. Why had she decided to turn up at Tara’s door on a lark? “I’m about to get ready for work, so now’s not a good time. I’m sorry. Maybe we could grab lunch sometime soon?”
“I haven’t heard from you about my position at Sterling. I’ve been waiting and there’s been nothing.”
Dammit. No, Tara hadn’t pushed Grant on the question of where Astrid would fit within the company structure. “I’m sorry. It’s been a crazy week. Just trying to get settled and everything.”
“That’s great for you, but I own just as much of the company as you do, and I feel like I’m being left behind. If we’re going to do this, I need to be included. Right now, I’m just sitting in my apartment all day long. It isn’t fair.”
These were all valid points. Tara had promised Astrid a role and she’d done nothing about it. She needed to get her act together or this was all going to fall apart. Astrid could do anything she wanted with her share of the company...like sell it to someone who had no interest in keeping Grant and Tara in their positions. “I’m genuinely sorry. I’ll talk to Grant and we’ll get something worked out.”
“He’s upstairs, isn’t he?”
The air was knocked right out of Tara’s lungs. She wanted to construct a cover for what was going on, especially since it was never going to happen again, but she couldn’t lie. She didn’t have it in her. She opened the door a little wider. “How did you know?”
“I was at the game last night. I couldn’t sit in my apartment for another night. The kiss cam? You two really went for it. It was almost like this has been going on for some time.” Astrid pressed her camera-ready lips together, playing coy.
“It hasn’t. At all.”
Astrid shrugged, but it was apparent she didn’t believe Tara’s answer. “Well, whatever. I followed my hunch and drove over this morning. As soon as I saw Grant’s car in front of your house, I knew I was right.”
Tara’s neighbor Britney with the sensitive dog was standing out on the sidewalk, watching Tara’s exchange with Astrid. Just what Tara didn’t need—more people talking. Tara had to take away the show. “Do you want to come in?” she asked Astrid.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Astrid stepped across the threshold.
Tara closed the door behind her, struggling to come to terms with this turn of events. She was always so careful about things like discretion, but she hadn’t ever had someone as shrewd as Astrid watching her. There was no question now that things with Grant could not continue. They could not be sleeping together while he was in charge at Sterling and she was carving out her niche. It was stupid of her to think for even a moment that it might work. She’d let her desire for him overshadow everything that was truly important—her new career, her rightful place at Sterling and her chance to finally stop waiting to be happy. Work made her happy. Not men. That had been proven time and again in her life. Aside from any of that, she’d promised Miranda and Astrid that she would make this work for all of them. She’d been entirely too focused on herself.
Tara led Astrid into the kitchen and
