Imperfect Match (Elixir Bachelor Billionaires #1)

Before I can process Charles’ bombshell declaration, my phone pings with an incoming text.

Willow: I’m here.

Thank goodness.

I end Jimmy’s call right when there’s a knock on the door. I rush to the door and swing it open.

“I love you the most.”

I’m about to throw my arms around Willow, only to realize it’s not her.

No, it’s my boss on the other side, with an unreadable expression on his face. I’m held in stunned captivity under Charles’ penetrating gaze. Moments roll into one another until I’m blinded by the flashing lights of a camera, reminding me that I’m just in my undergarments. Cold sweeps over me as more cameras whir, and finally Charles steps forward. He shields me from the intrusive lenses before guiding us back into the room and closing the door behind us.

“Daisy? What the fuck are you doing here?” His brows furrow and stay on my face for another second before his gaze slides lower.

Heat blooms in my stomach, spreading like wildfire across my skin under his weighty scrutiny.

“Where are your clothes?” His usually composed voice is nothing but a growl right now.

“I…had an accident,” I stammer.

Charles’ hands grip my shoulders, their warmth searing into my bare skin. Despite the heat, a shiver runs down my spine.

He’s worried about me?

“With a cake,” I quickly add.

“You were hit by a cake?” His jaw tightens, a flicker of emotion breaking through his indifferent expression, and the next instant, he withdraws his hands and removes his jacket before handing it to me.

“Thanks,” I mumble, slipping it on and inhaling the scent of pine and tobacco that envelops me.

“So what happened?”

“I was hit by a door, which sent me crashing into a cake.”

I wait for him to scream at me any second. This would definitely be a first time, but I’ve never ever fucked up like this before. As his assistant, I should have been at the town hall hours before anyone. I wasn’t just late, but I also ended up in his room in my underwear. I messed up big-time and would completely understand if he fired me right now. But instead of reprimanding me, he surprises me once again.

“Are you hurt?”

A lump forms in my throat at his soft foreign concern. I shake my head, both in reply to his question and as a reminder to my own erratic heartbeat to settle down. This unfamiliar caring version of Charles is giving my poor heart tiny jerks, as if alerting of an imminent heart attack.

“I thought you were Willow. She’s bringing me a change of clothes.”

Before he can say anything, there’s a knock on the door. I take a hesitant step forward, then glance back at Charles to find his gaze fixed on me. I used to think I’ve learned to read his every expression, but the way he looks at me today is completely alien.

“I’ll get it,” he says finally, striding away to answer the door.

“Someone’s here for Miss Price, sir,” Steve’s voice rings out from behind the door.

“It’s alright. You can send her in.”

A second later, Willow breezes past Charles as he holds the door.

I rush to her. “What took you so long? You said you were here like ten minutes ago.”

“It hasn’t been ten minutes, Daze. Plus, I was at the light when I said I was almost here.”

She never mentioned “almost.”