Free Her Dakota Summer by Dahlia DeWinters

job if I didn’t take this seriously.”
    “But you’re much younger than I am,” Celeste murmured. She squeezed his hand. “You have so much ahead of you. I’m playing a fool’s game.”
    He cleared his throat before speaking. “I’ve got you ahead of me, if you’ll allow it.” He raised his shoulders in a brief shrug. “I have to put myself in your hands.”
    “Dakota.” Celeste squeezed his hand again, sending a thrill through his whole body.
    “Cel.” He drew her close. “We can do this.”
    “Okay,” she whispered and laid her head on his shoulder.
     

Chapter Twelve
     
     
     
    The demand for good editors for the ever-expanding publishing phase of electronic books was increasing and Celeste was in the middle of the storm. Blushing Passion Press—the company she primarily free-lanced for—was one of the premier publishers of romance ebooks and the virtual stack of manuscripts to be edited and proofread, while welcomed, seemed never ending.
    Celeste sat down at her desk to work. Dakota had told her the agenda for today, which included a visit to some Lego demonstration at Raritan Valley College, the park and the drive-thru at Sonic. A quick press of a button woke her desktop up from its after-dark slumber and she rubbed her temples in preparation for giving her author some helpful comments in their document.
    The tinkling tune of her cell phone gave her some relief. Hoping it was Dakota with a check-in, she picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was her boss, Paris.
    “Morning, Celly,” Paris’s words tumbled out one after the other. Sharp-tongued and to the point, she never minced words, but was quicker to praise than to criticize. “I’ve got good news for you.”
    There was a pause and Celeste heard people talking in the background. “Morning, Paris. How are you? What’s the news?”
    “Doing well, sweetie. Listen, we got a new editor. He’s fantastic and will halve your workload.”
    Celeste smiled and spun in her chair to look out the back window. “Paris, you’ve brought me the best news of the day so far. When does he start?”
    “If you go through your files as soon as possible and send him those you haven’t opened, he can get to it today. But if you need more time…”
    “No, I can get them out within the hour.” She loved her job and most of the genres she edited, but the shape-shifting romances were her least favorite. Since she’d been given the opportunity to lighten her workload by choosing which manuscripts to surrender, she knew instantly that she would mix them in with some more traditional romances, but the shape-shifting ones would be the first to go. Excitement began to build as she realized how much more time she’d have to spend with her boys—and Dakota.
    “Cool, baby. Send ‘em to me and I’ll get them out to him. I’ll send an email of formal introduction a little later, but I want to get him in the loop as soon as possible.”
    Celeste clicked her mouse, navigating to the folder that held all the manuscripts. “Working on it right now. Thanks Paris, I appreciate this.”
    “You’re a good editor, Celeste. Didn’t want to lose you by wearing you out. Getting you some help was my first priority.” She snapped back into a more business-like tone. “Besides,” she continued, “we needed a little testosterone around here. And I figured you’d want to spend more time with your boys. I know the load has been a little heavy.”
    “I have a nanny, so it works out.”
    Paris’s voice held a note of surprise, “Ooo, la, la. Very fancy, sweetie. Is it one of those hot male nannies with a great body, who loves to swim in a Speedo?”
    Celeste giggled. “That’s about right, except for the Speedo part.”
    There was a pause at the end of the line. Paris had been shocked into speechlessness. “You’re pulling my leg, Celly.”
    “Would I do that to you?” Celeste chuckled.
    “Well, well. I say you should be glad to be rid of half the work.