Love's Second Chance (Second Chances #1)(27)
“Oh my goodness! What did you say?”
“I told him I loved him, too,” I admitted sheepishly.
“Then why do you sound sad about it, Ducky?” she asked.
“I’m not sad exactly, but I can’t seem to shake the guilt I have over Carson. I haven’t told another man I loved him since him.”
“Wow.” She sighed. “Well, did you mean it when you said it to him?”
“With all my heart I meant it.”
“Then you have nothing to feel guilty over. Oh Ducky, I’m so happy for you! You need to be able to move on and it looks like things are going great for you,” she said happily.
“I know,” I agreed. “I’m also going to work for him. I start tomorrow.”
She squealed again, only louder that time. “It must have been one amazing weekend for all these things to happen!”
I laughed. “It was, but I’ll let you know how my first day on the job goes.”
“You do that. Take care, Ducky, and I’ll talk to you later,” she said, wrapping up the conversation.
“Will do, Twink! Love you!”
I finally made it home to my small, lonely condo. The getaway weekend was phenomenal. Hearing Galen say he loved me made me extremely happy, but it also scared me to death. Was I really ready to take that big leap on fully opening my heart? I wasn’t completely sure.
Riding the elevator to one of the top floors of M&M’s Architectural Design, I couldn’t stop the butterflies and nerves from going crazy in my stomach. Why was I so nervous? Failing had never been an option for me, but I was afraid I wouldn’t live up to everyone’s expectations. The elevator opened and I walked into a lobby with a huge desk in the center. A middle-aged woman was staring intently at her computer and typing away. She saw me approach and a huge smile took over her face.
“Well hello there Mrs. Anders. It’s good to see you again.” She stood up and held out her hand. I clasped it and shook it firmly earning an even bigger smile from her.
“It’s nice to see you again too, Rebecca,” I said warmly.
“I knew he could get you here. I got onto him for taking so long to ask you to work for him. You wouldn’t believe the amount of calls we get for people asking about you.” My eyes went wide, but she continued speaking and overlooked my shocked expression. “You are one hot commodity around here.”
“Oh, Rebecca, we don’t want to scare her on her first day now do we?” I jumped at the sound of Galen’s voice, and when I turned around that devilish smile of his took me away.
Rebecca waved him off and took a seat back at her desk. “I’m not scaring her,” she said looking at me, but then she shied away when she saw my shocked expression. “Uh oh, well maybe I am scaring her. Well anyway, you two lovebirds have fun working or whatever it is you young people will be doing in there behind closed doors.” She snickered after saying that and I knew my face had turned bright red in embarrassment. I stood there, frozen and speechless, until Galen walked over and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the confines of his office.
Galen’s work space was not only huge, but he had a wonderful view of downtown Charlotte. It was a good thing I wasn’t going to be spending much time in there, because if I did I wouldn’t get anything done. Galen’s drafting desk took up one whole wall while another desk took up the center. There also happened to be another desk in a private corner off to the side, which I was assuming would be mine. Model houses were on every single surface in the room, and of course I could tell they were all Galen’s designs. He had a specific brand to him, and I could spot them from a mile away.
“Good morning, beautiful.” Galen greeted me with a hug and a delicious kiss. He tasted like coffee with a splash of hazelnut. I didn’t drink coffee, but I absolutely loved tasting it on him.
“Good morning to you, too,” I replied sweetly.
“Are you ready to get started?” he asked. “Or do you need more time to adjust?”
I laughed. “No, I think I’m good. Tell me what I need to do.” I glanced at the empty desk and then back to Galen, eyebrows raised. “Were you actually serious about me sharing your office?”
He peered over at the desk and nodded. “Of course I was. Why, do you not want to?”
“Oh no, it’s perfectly fine. I just thought you were kidding.”
He shrugged and put his arm around my shoulders. “Well, look at it this way. We can make love anytime we want during the day.” My face blushed crimson at his admission and he chuckled at my expense. Maybe sharing an office wasn’t such a good idea. I couldn’t help but wonder how many days we could go without having sex in there … most likely none.
Galen searched his desk, and when he found what he was looking for he handed it over. “Here’s the list of all the clients that are begging for you. I’ve spoken to them all and they’re waiting for you to respond. You’ll see I’ve also written notes in there to give you an idea of what they want.” When I looked at him and smiled, he shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “I did it so you would be prepared. I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to make sure you weren’t overwhelmed on your first day.” I took a look at the book and opened it to the first page. My eyes went wide at the mile long list of clients. That was going to be enough work to last ten years. Well, maybe not that long, but it would sure keep me busy for a while.