Family Bonds- Ava and Seth (Amore Island Book 5) by Natalie Ann (ebook reader screen .TXT) 📗

And somehow they got through the meal without anyone coming over to their table and recognizing them. Not even Duke came out from the kitchen and she’d take that as a win.

But when she was walking back to her car, she heard her name called and turned. “Hi, ladies,” she said, moving toward the group of four women. “What are you doing on the island?”

“We thought we’d come spend the weekend. Tracy is moving soon and we wanted a farewell for her.”

“Sorry to see you go, Tracy,” she said of the woman that she recognized who worked in patient services at the Plymouth location. She hadn’t seen her in months, now that she thought of it, but didn’t get back to that part of the building often. The other three women she knew more; they were nurses for the practice and she worked with them often.

“How do you like it here on the island permanently?” Melanie asked her. She worked with Melanie the most it seemed.

“It’s great. I’m getting used to my new place and island life, but I can’t complain about much.” The women were looking at Seth and he was grinning, but she wasn’t about to introduce him either. They didn’t need to run back and start talking. Well, she knew they would, but they didn’t need to know his name.

“That’s great. I might try to put in for a transfer here,” Colleen said. “It’d be nice, but I know finding housing isn’t easy and costs a lot.”

Colleen was married last she knew, but she wasn’t sure what her husband did. She tried not to get too involved in their personal lives and kept her own quiet as much as possible. “It is hard to find and does cost a lot. But if you decided you want to transfer I’m sure they’d love having you here. Reach out to me if you want. My cousins own Bond Realty and have a lot of properties and apartment buildings are going up all the time.”

“Thanks for that,” Colleen said.

She nodded. “Have a great dinner. And Tracy, good luck in your future endeavors. I’m sure the office is sorry to see you go.”

Colleen looked at her oddly, but Tracy just nodded her head and said, “Thanks. Have a good night.” Then the four women went into the restaurant while she walked back to her car.

“Coworkers?” Seth asked.

“Yes. Three are nurses and great women. The fourth, Tracy, worked in patient services. I’m not sure exactly what she did, but she always seemed nice. I didn’t talk to her as much.”

“That’s great you could go out and talk like that. If I see employees out they aren’t quite as friendly.”

She grinned at him. “Because you are their boss. I wasn’t really their boss.”

“I’m sure they didn’t feel that way. You outranked them.”

“Outranking and being able to hire and fire and do scheduling is completely different. I outrank a lot of people in the office, but I’ve got no say over them.”

“True. And let me tell you, having the say isn’t always that much fun.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” she said. “No more talk about work. It’s a little after seven. The night is young. And the big question is, where do we go next?”

“Where do you want to go?” he asked her.

“One of our houses is my preference. Yours is closer and I’m finding I’m not sure I want to wait any longer than we need to.”

“Now you’re talking my language,” he said.

They each got into their cars, her pulling out and following him the few miles to his place.

He pulled into his garage and she parked behind him, then hesitated on whether she should get her bag or not.

He walked back to her car and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to assume anything.”

He looked in her car and saw the bag and instead of saying a word, reached in and grabbed it. “Go ahead and assume.”

She took a deep breath and followed him through the garage and into the house. This was always where things got awkward with a man for the first time.

Did they reach for each other and start stripping where they stood? She was down with that.

Did they talk about what to do? She could do that first and they did seem to talk a lot.

Or did she wait and see what his first move would be since it was his house?

She squealed when he reached down and picked her up in his arms, almost cradling her, his mouth going to hers and not giving her a chance to say anything, let alone do much.

She was definitely fine with this.

This suit-and-tie-wearing banker had no problem carrying her as he walked up the stairs quickly, then pushed the door open with his foot and laid her on the bed, his mouth never really leaving hers.

He was hovering over her while she lay on her back on the bed, her arms around his neck. She didn’t want to let go, but they were going to have to if they wanted to undress.

She sooooo wanted to get her clothes off. To get his off too.

When he leaned back, he placed two more quick kisses on her lips, then put his hands on the bottom of her sweater and lifted it up over her head. “Tell me if I’m moving too fast,” he said.

“How about I tell you that you aren’t going fast enough.”

“I’m afraid if I go any faster it’s going to be done before I want it,” he said grimly.

“We’ve got all night,” she said. “I get the feeling we both might have some pent-up hormones ready to bust free.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” he said, reaching for her jeans now. He made quick work of getting them undone and down her legs, leaving her there with her matching peach lace bra and panties. Her heels had fallen off with her jeans.

“You do know you need to catch up. It’s only fair.”

“Do you