Page 33 of The Deal Breaker
After opening the door, Raina greeted him with a wide smile.
“Hey.” She wore jeans and a turtleneck. Her dark brown hair fell past her shoulders. Only a little makeup was on her face, which he liked, but her lips glimmered, more sparkly than normal. She must have gone shopping this weekend. “This is a nice surprise.”
Dash hugged her and then kissed her cheek. “You look way more relaxed than last week.”
“I am. I was in a better mood at work, too.” Raina stepped back from him. “Come in.”
He entered the apartment. The minimalistic décor—something he’d learned about from Laurel Matthews—featured white and black with gray and yellow accents. The couch was more magazine-worthy than it was comfortable, but that didn’t stop him from sitting.
“I wasn’t sure I’d see you this week, so I was happy to get your text.” She sat next to him, leaving no space between them. “Miss me?”
Dash hadn’t. Iris had been on his mind this weekend, but he knew better than to admit that. Truth was, he rarely missed anyone, which was why he never understood why any of the guys, except Henry, went crazy when their wives or fiancées weren’t around.
He stretched his legs out in front of him. “You needed the time away.”
“I did.” She scooted closer, nearly parking herself on his lap. “So what’s up?”
“Iris quit.” The words tasted bitter, but he didn’t react to that. “She’s moving out of the cottage this week.”
Raina’s mouth dropped open. “I… That’s unexpected.”
Dash nodded. “Took me by surprise.”
“Does it have anything to do with Henry?”
Even though Iris had said the two were just friends, Dash’s muscles bunched. “No.”
“Wow.” Raina tilted her chin. “I never thought Iris would willingly leave her position with you. It’s great she has.”
An alarm sounded in his head. “What do you mean by that?”
“Iris does an excellent job, but she’s so…attached to you.”
He didn’t know what Raina was talking about. “We’ve been friends for over fifteen years.”
“Yes, but this will be good for everyone. Especially you.” Raina beamed as if he’d handed her a winning lottery ticket. “I’m happy to help pick up some slack.”
Huh? What Raina said made no sense. She worked as many hours at her job as Dash did. Sometimes more to prepare for a launch. Besides, he couldn’t picture Raina doing his laundry, laying out his clothes for the week, running his errands, or touching his gaming equipment. “Iris hired a husband-and-wife team to handle the house and managing the other staff and a chef.”
“That’s overkill when you have me.”
“You don’t have time—”
“I’ll make the time.” Raina cut him off. “You mean a lot to me. And I know how much you depended on Iris. I want to do that for you.”
Too bad the only person he wanted doing anything for him was Iris. “Thanks, but the people who’ve been hired can handle it.”
“Maybe, but this is the perfect time for us to reexamine our relationship.” She placed her hand on his chest. Her fingernails were painted black. They hadn’t been last week. A manicure must have been part of her spa day treatment.
And the fact he was focusing on her hand instead of this conversation told him all he needed to know. “That’s not why I came over.”
Raina shrugged, but she showed no indifference. Only interest and anticipation shone in her eyes. “Don’t you think it’s time we got more serious about each other?”
No. Dash wanted to say that but pressed his lips together instead. He didn’t want to get into an argument. “We haven’t been dating that long.”
He couldn’t remember the actual date when they’d first gone out. Late September or early October? Whatever it was, only a few months had passed.
“Longer than your friends who are engaged or married,” Raina countered. “Didn’t you tell the guys, ‘When you know, you know’?”
