It seems a bit unimaginative.
On the contrary. How many dogs do you know named Dog?
I stand corrected. Down you go, and don't get any ideas about these receipts.
Nathaniel tossed a ball, and Dog gave joyful chase.
That'll keep him busy,
he said
as he came around the desk to help her gather up the scattered papers.
You don't seem the puppy type to me.
Always wanted one.
He crouched down beside her and began to toss papers back into the cigar box.
Fact is, I used to play around with one of Dog's ancestors over at the Bradfords', when I was a kid. But it's hard to keep a dog aboard a ship. Got a bird, though.
A bird?
A parrot I picked up in the Caribbean about five years ago. That's another reason I bring Dog along with me. Bird might eat him.
Bird?
She glanced up, but the laugh froze in her throat. Why was he always closer than she anticipated? And why did those long, searching looks of his slide along her nerve ends like stroking fingers?
His gaze dropped to her mouth. The hesitant smile was still there, he noted. There was something very appealing about that touch of shyness, all wrapped up in stiff-necked confidence. Her eyes weren't cool now, but wary. Not an invitation, he reminded himself, but close. And damn tempting.
Testing his ground, he reached out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. She was on her feet like a woman shot out of a cannon.
You sure spook easily, Megan.
After closing the lid on the cigar box, he rose.
But I can't say it isn't rewarding to know I make you nervous.
You don't.
But she didn't look at him as she said it. She'd never been a good liar.
I'm going to take all this back with me, if you don't mind. Once I have things organized, I'll be in touch with you, or Holt.
Fine.
The phone rang. He ignored it.
You know where to find us.
Once I have the books in order, we'll need to set up a proper filing system.
Grinning, he eased a hip onto the corner of the desk. Lord, she was something.
You're the boss, sugar.
She snapped her briefcase closed.
No, you're the boss. And don't call me 'sugar.'
She marched outside, slipped into her car and eased away from the building and back into traffic. Competently she drove through the village, toward The Towers.
Once she'd reached the bottom of the long, curving road that led home, she pulled the car over and stopped.
She needed a moment, she thought, before she faced anyone. With her eyes closed, she rested her head against the back of the seat. Her insides were still jittering, dancing with butterflies that willpower alone couldn't seem to swat away.
The weakness infuriated her. Nathaniel Fury infuriated her. After all this time, she mused, all this effort, it had taken no more than a few measuring looks to remind her, all too strongly, that she was still a woman.
Worse, much worse, she was sure he knew exactly what he was doing and how it affected her.
She'd been susceptible to a handsome face and smooth words before. Unlike those who loved her, she -refused to blame her youth and inexperience for her reckless actions. Once upon a time, she'd listened to her heart, had believed absolutely in happy-ever-after. But no longer. Now she knew there were no princes, no pumpkins, no castles in the air. There was only reality, one a woman had to make for herself and sometimes had to make for her child, as well.
She didn't want her pulses to race or her muscles to tense. She didn't want to feel that hot little curl in her stomach that was a yearning hunger crying to be filled. Not now. Not ever again.
All she wanted was to be a good mother to Kevin, to provide him with a happy, loving home. To earn her own way through her own skills. She wanted so badly to be strong and smart and self-sufficient.
Letting out a long sigh, she smiled to herself. And invulnerable.
Well, she might not quite achieve that, but she would be sensible. Never again would she permit a man the power to alter her life and certainly not because he'd made her glands stand at attention.
Calmer, more confident, she started the car. She had work to do.
Chapter 3
Have a heart, Mandy.
Megan had sought her sister-in-law out the moment she returned to The Towers.
I just want to get a fee! for my office and the routine.
Cocking her head, Amanda leaned back from her own pile of paperwork.
Horrible
when everyone's busy and you're not, isn't it?