“I’m glad you think so,” I said, adding a quick wink before my brain could stop me.
Crap.
I had just winked at my boss.
I forced myself to breathe. Theo and I had always had a slightly flirty dynamic. Something that came with being his little sister’s best friend, with years of harmless teasing.
So hopefully, he wouldn’t think I’d crossed a line.
Still… things were different now. We had new roles, which would mean new boundaries.
I licked my lips and drew in a steadying breath as I rinsed a plate under the running water, hoping the normalcy of the task would ground me.
“Go on,” I said, keeping my tone light as I nodded toward the back door. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
He gave me a grateful look before turning back to Charlotte, who was already bouncing toward the yard like she’d been released from captivity.
Once I’d finished loading the dishwasher and wiping down the counter, I cut two big brownies and slid them onto small plates.
One task down. Now to focus on the logistics of my new job and keeping things professional.
By the time I stepped out back, Theo and Charlotte were already working to build a sandcastle in the sandbox. She was crouched beside him, tongue poking out slightly as she pressed damp sand into a plastic bucket while Theo held it steady.
“Okay,” he said once it was full, carefully turning the bucket upside down. “Moment of truth.”
When he lifted the bucket, revealing the compacted sand beneath, the castle held.
“Itwooked!” Charlotte clapped, gasping like they’d just pulled off a magic trick.
“It absolutely worked,” he said, holding out a hand for her to high five. “That’s a solid structure right there.”
I pulled one of the patio chairs closer to the sandbox and sat, watching the two of them. Theo with sand on his hands. Charlotte beaming at him like he’d personally invented sandcastles.
It was way too cute.
“All right,” Theo said, handing Charlotte the little shovel again. “Think you can fill this one up on your own?”
She nodded eagerly, taking the shovel in her hands.
While she got to work, Theo brushed the sand from his hands and turned toward me.
“Thank you,” he said, smiling up at me when I offered him the brownie and glass of milk I’d brought over for him.
And man, that smile of his really was something—making my chest pulse before I could stop it.
“You’re welcome,” I said quickly, taking a bite of my own brownie so I didn’t just sit there staring at him like an idiot.
We ate in companionable silence for a moment. The air was warm. The sky was soft with that golden-blue early evening light.
“Okay,” Theo said, setting his brownie and glass down in the grass beside him and leaning back. “So as far as my summer schedule goes, most weeks will look a lot like this one did. I’ll leave the house around six in the morning and usually get home around six or six-thirty.”
I nodded. “That works for me.”
The mornings were early but would be manageable.
Especially if I could get over my fear of him seeing me in my natural state and actually take him up on his offer to let me get ready here, instead of showing up each morning with my hair and makeup already fully done.
Theo pulled out his phone and scrolled through his calendar.