She gave me the thumbs-up before disappearing through adjacent door. Taking a deep breath as my hand wrapped around the doorknob to Roman’s office, I tried to calm myself down.

It was just another day at work. I’d had plenty of talks with him like this over the last few weeks. Many of them, I’d even pictured him naked when he sat there, berating me for how I’d sent a fax or emailed a client. So, if he were about to yell at me again, it would be no different.

Except that I actually knew what he looked like naked now.

Shaking my head, I pushed open the door and walked in. At first glance, I saw him leaning back in the chair he’d huffed over for weeks but secretly fallen in love with in seconds. He seemed calm and relaxed, not at all like a man who was about to dole out a punishment or long lecture.

“You asked for me?” I said, taking a seat in front of his desk.

“Is she gone?” he asked, peeking down at me from his reclined position.

“Who? Lauren?”

He nodded.

“Yes, she’s gone.”

“Ah, good. Her voice was getting on my nerves. Plus, she was starting to get unnecessarily nosy.”

Realization dawned. “Did you call me in here just to get rid of her?”

A wide grin appeared on his handsome face, doing all sorts of things to my body.

“No, that’s not the only reason.”

From the rich resonance of his voice alone, that same intense flutter returned deep inside my belly.

“What can I do for you, Roman?” I asked with a flirty smile.

Two could play this game.

His smile faltered slightly but then just grew wider. “So many things, Cara. So many things. But, for now, I want you to do just one.”

“And what’s that?”

“Go on a date with me.”

“Isn’t that a step backward?” I asked, laughing.

He leaned forward. “Maybe, but you deserve all the steps, Cara. We deserve every single step. And this weekend we might have been a bit hasty. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed our hasty decisions, and I plan on making a lot more of those hasty decisions with you, but I also want to make all the right ones. The first date, all the corny anniversaries, meeting the parents.”

I was dumbfounded. “You want me to meet your mom?”

I knew from various conversations with Roman that his father had passed. Everyone in the company knew that.

“Don’t you want to meet her? She’s quite lovely,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Yes!” I said, beaming. “I’d love to meet your mom and go out on a first date with you. And everything in between.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, doing a mental survey of my closet, wondering what one wore on a date with a Cavenaugh.