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Monty and I are both breathing faster, but he wasn’t the one dancing around, shaking his ass and cleaning.

“Let’s go, Kindling.”

Yes, the ridiculous name stuck. But I don’t mind it.

“Let me just…grab my, um, things,” I tell him.

My brain feels like it’s been paused on just one singular thought and it’s not gathering up my belongings.

Once I triple check to make sure I have my phone, purse, water bottle, and lunch box, I push my curls back from my sweaty face and try to give the most gorgeous man in the world an easy, non-sexual smile before he leads the way to the elevator that arrives right away.

While we’ve been on the elevator together plenty of times before, I can’t help but think back to the one ride on my birthday when we were so packed inside, we ended up standing sideways facing each other. His body was so close I could feel his warmth and smell his cedar scent. It felt so nice when the elevator jostled us together, pressing me against his hard body and he grasped my arms to hold me steady.

Our mouths were practically close enough to kiss.

Now it’s just the two of us alone, no crowd to smush us together, unfortunately.

Monty is the first to interrupt the silence as the elevator continues its descent. He says the last thing I expected without looking at me.

“I’m going to miss you.”

My heart swells to twice its size. Butterflies take flight and go wild in my stomach after hearing his sweet confession.

“I’m going to miss you too,” I admit.

Monty clears his throat and adjusts the knot of his tie. “Could I…can I take you to dinner next week? To celebrate your first day at your new job?”

Holy shit. He’s asking me out? I’m not going crazy and imagining this…growing heat between us?

“That would be nice,” I agree then make the mistake of glancing over at him. “I can’t wait.”

“I can’t either,” Monty says before he steps in front of me. He presses the stop button on the elevator, then, he leans his back against the wall, right in the exact same spot as that first day.

He remembered.

Which means he was just as affected by our closeness as I was that day.

When he reaches for my wrist to pull me to him, I go easily, closing the distance between us so the front of our bodies are connected from chest to thighs as I stare up at him.

He lifts a hand, twirling one of the curls beside my face around his finger, then gives it a tug before his fingertips glide over my cheek, down to my chin to tilt it up.

I wet my lips and Monty groans as his eyes darken.

There’s a buzzing sound from the elevator’s intercom, then a man’s voice asks, “Is there a problem?”

Monty’s hand drops and so does my stomach. He was about to kiss me, but now…the moment’s over.

“Next week?” he asks with a scowl that I know is directed at the security guard. Or himself, but not me.

“Next week,” I agree breathlessly.

He steps away to release the stop button, putting space between us again. “We’re fine,” Monty grits out in response to the security guard’s question.

We reach the bottom, and Monty walks me to my car in the garage next door, even though his car is waiting for him at the curb.

“Drive safe and see you tomorrow,” he says as I slip into the driver seat.

“See you then,” I agree.