Brushing Off the Boss: A Half Moon Bay Novel (Entangled Bliss) by Annie Seaton Read Free Book Online

work.” Sienna kept her fingers against her lips as she looked at him thoughtfully. “There’s a real shortage of rentals here in Carmel…and it’s really expensive. You might have to move to a hotel.”
    Jack bit back the niggle of temper that tugged at him. She might like to be organized and call the shots, but there was no way she was going to send him to a hotel when he owned a perfectly good studio to sleep in. He kept his voice even. “I hate hotel living.”
    “Even for two weeks?”
    “Even for one week. It’s not an option I’d consider.”
    Sienna stared at him and frowned. Her fingers drummed on the table, and she held his gaze. Her expression changed, and a slight smile tipped her lips. Jack looked at her mouth and was surprised by the rush of feeling that ran through him. She looked at him thoughtfully.
    “I might have a solution. I have a proposition for you.” Her smile was wider.
    The thoughts running through Jack’s mind had nothing to do with where he was going to live, and he forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying.
    “There’s a small apartment in the back of my cottage. You could have that until you find something better. You could move in today, and I could keep working in the studio. Two weeks. What do you think?” Her eyes were wide and her expression hopeful. His return to take over the gallery had really put a hole in her plans.
    “I’ll take a look at it and think about it.” He didn’t know how interested he was in her offer. Sure, he could see she’d only offered because it meant she could get back into the studio. But as far as working with her in the gallery, and living in her house…well, he didn’t know how he felt about that. He wanted to date her, but living and working in the same place? That was a bit too much.
    “How about we go and you can look at it now? Then I can get to work as soon as we get back.”
    A strong desire to reach across the table and put his hand around the back of her long, slender neck and pull Sienna to him so he could kiss those lips overtook him.
    Whoa, not yet. Let’s get the first problem sorted out.
    “Okay. Won’t hurt to take a look.” Jack knew his voice was gruff, but he was fighting the feelings tugging him back and forward. He stood, pushed his chair in, and walked across the courtyard to the cash register. He’d check out this apartment of hers, but it would be better if he found a place of his own. Maybe he’d make some calls after he looked at it, and see if he could find somewhere else to live for a while.
    And quickly.
    He needed somewhere he could have his own space—somewhere to put her at a distance. Jack needed privacy and solitude for the muse to kick in. And he couldn’t afford to risk it—his deadline was fast approaching. He didn’t want anything to dent his confidence; God knows, his dad had a big enough go at doing that. Living in close proximity to Sienna would complicate matters even more, and if there was one thing he didn’t want, it was to make it hard to focus on his sculptures because his head was somewhere else. He’d been living with his parents since his father’s heart attack, and was more than ready to live alone again.
    That was just one of the reasons he wasn’t too keen on taking up Sienna’s offer. The other one was that she was just too damn appealing, and he didn’t want to put himself near her just yet. They had to keep a professional relationship now that they would be working closely together. Sex complicated matters. He’d been down that road before…and more than once. His last girlfriend had read him wrong, and Arielle had mapped out a whole future for them before he’d pulled back. He wasn’t going to risk it again, especially when they had this business connection. If it were just a fun relationship, they could move on—with mutual agreement—when it burned out. Jack wanted no complications, and having the gallery connection would complicate matters. Let alone