gently between his teeth, she nearly gasped from the delicious sensation, came close to dissolving in a puddle at his feet. The touch almost made her forget that he was her boss. He was simply a man—who made her ache for so much more.
Olivia wished that she’d been the one to pull away first, but that wasn’t the way it went. The only small satisfaction she got was that Brady looked surprised. And his breathing was definitely not steady. With luck that would keep him from noticing that she was having a bit of trouble pulling enough air into her lungs. Or that she was quivering with reaction and wanted more.
“So...” He took a step back. “What’s the verdict? Are the rumors true?”
She blinked up at him and the words sounded like a recording played back on slow speed. That was because her brain didn’t have enough oxygen to process his question at more than a crawl. “What?”
“You know. The rumor that I’m not much in the kissing department?”
Olivia snapped to as surely as if he’d dumped ice-cold water over her head. Her mind kicked into high gear as she put a thoughtful expression on her face.
“I can’t speak for your other women,” she said, “but as kisses go, that was adequate.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” She tapped her index finger against lips still throbbing from the all-too-brief, way-above-adequate close encounter. “I think that’s a fair assessment.”
“Adequate?” He sounded shocked and annoyed in equal parts.
“Yes. It was nice. I think the rumor must have come from someone who had expectations of more.”
Technically that was true because, she’d made it up when he started pressuring her about Leonard being the one to relocate. Where Brady was concerned, she couldn’t quite suppress expectations. In her own defense, she’d had to think fast, something that was becoming a necessity of late.
“Adequate? Wow. I never thought I’d say this, but that makes me wish you’d said it was fine.”
From that she guessed he hated it when a woman used less than glowing adjectives about his performance. She couldn’t resist messing with him, just a little.
“That works too,” she agreed. “It was fine.”
He groaned. “You’re killing me here, Liv.”
“I didn’t mean to offend your fragile male ego. I’m just trying to be honest.”
And failing miserably. That kiss was so much better than fine or adequate. It was truly spectacular and she would swear the earth moved.
“From now on, I think I’d rather you lie to me.”
“I can do that.” Better than he knew.
“Okay, then.” Brady dragged his fingers through his hair. “Look, do you mind locking up? I’m going to see Maggie and my niece. It’s been awhile and I want to spend a little more time with them.”
The visit was on his schedule and Olivia looked at her watch. This was a little earlier than he usually left. Frankly, she could use some time alone to collect herself. “Of course. I have some work to finish, but I’ll make sure everything is shut down and the alarm is on.”
“Thanks.” He moved past her on his way to the doorway.
“Yeah. Tell Maggie hi and have a good evening.”
Over his shoulder he said, “See you tomorrow.”
When he was gone, a wave of sadness broke over her as reality sank in. He wouldn’t be saying that to her too many more times and she would miss it terribly.
Sighing, she shut down his computer. Just then her cell phone rang and the caller ID announced her mother. Her stomach knotted because they hadn’t talked yet. She’d had to leave a message and now her mom was getting back to her.
She hit the send button. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hey, Livvie. Sorry I didn’t call you sooner, but your text said to call when I had time to talk. Even now I barely have a minute, but wanted to get back to you. What’s up? Is everything okay?”
Without actually answering that question, she asked one of her own. “Have you seen Maureen O’Keefe?”
“Not since we had breakfast this morning. Why?”
“There’s something I have to tell you, Mom. You’re aware that I’ve been thinking of quitting my job.”
“Of course. You already gave your notice twice and Brady talked you into staying.”
“He has a way of doing that. But this time I made sure it will take.”
“You quit?” There was barely a question mark in her mother’s voice.
“Yes. I didn’t tell you guys in advance this time because of the other two times it came to nothing. But I had to tell Brady I was leaving.”
“Well, of course you did. He’s the boss and will need to replace you.”
“Exactly. But Maureen dropped by and he told her.”
“So that’s why you’re sharing now. You wanted us to hear it from you.”
“Partly. It’s just that this time I wanted to make sure I went through with it. The thing is, Mom, I’ve accepted a job with a college friend of mine who’s starting up a technology company in California.”
There was a moment of silence, long enough to make Olivia hate herself for not delivering this information face-to-face. But she couldn’t chance that the news would get back to her mother before she’d had an opportunity to say something.
Finally words filled the silence. “That sounds like an exciting opportunity, sweetie. It’s good to shake things up.”
“Speaking of that...” She took a breath. “Maureen will ask you about my boyfriend...”
“You’re going out with someone? Have I met him?”
“I’m pretty sure you haven’t.” No one had. Not even Olivia.
“That’s wonderful, honey.” Her voice sounded rushed. “Look, I’m so sorry. But I have to run. Are you still coming for dinner this weekend?”
“Of course.”
“Good. You can tell us all about your news then. Bye. Love you.”
“Okay, Mom. Love you.”
She hit the end button, then looked around Brady’s office as she was about to turn off the lights. Her gaze rested on the place where they’d stood when he kissed her. Memories of that perfect moment squeezed her heart.
Why did he kiss her now, when she was really leaving? It would be one more thing to miss when she was gone. And she had a bad feeling that no man’s kiss would ever be quite
