He continued to meet her stare.“I think I was clear.I want you, Sofia.”
Silence hung, stretched, grew taut.Finally, finally, she exhaled.“If I have to oversee everything, it will cost you more.A lot more.”
“I’m always willing to pay for excellence.”He extended his hand.“Do we have a deal or not?”
“After you sign the contract,” she hedged.
“But we have a verbal agreement to meet and proceed.”
“We don’t need to shake hands on that.”
“Perhaps I prefer to do business the old-fashioned way.”And perhaps he wanted to know if she felt as soft and feminine as he imagined.
She regarded him for several seconds.
“It’s going to be a pleasure to work with you.”
“I think I’m going to regret this,” she replied.
“Probably,” he agreed easily.
She slid her palm against his.He felt her warmth and softness.
Her breath caught as he squeezed just a little, and she looked up at him through her impossibly long, dark eyelashes.
She blinked then extracted herself from his grip.
The sounds of a country-and-western ballad spilled from the clubhouse.He recognized the song from the radio, knew how to pick a few of the chords on his guitar.And because there was something about a wedding, something about being alone when other people had partners, something about the temptation of a beautiful woman on a starlit evening and the fact he wanted an excuse to talk with her a little longer, he asked, “Do you dance?”
“I love to.But I rarely have the opportunity.Occupational hazard.”
“You’re the one making sure the party is a success, not the one enjoying it.”
“Precisely.”
“Dance with me.”
Her mouth parted.He could tell he’d caught her off guard.
“With…” Sofia glanced over her shoulder then back at him.“I’m working.”
“I know the boss.”
“That’s true,” she conceded.
He couldn’t look away from her mouth and her inviting red lipstick.“It’s just three minutes.Four at the most.”
“That’s also true.”
“And you want to.”
“I…” She took a breath.
Cade glanced at her left hand.“We’ve ascertained that there’s no Mr.McBride and that you haven’t had a lot of opportunity to color outside the lines.”
She hesitated, seeming to choose her words.Obviously she’d noticed the way he’d looked at her and she realized she had a choice in how she wanted to respond.She could shut him down, or she could take the chance he was offering.
She fingered back a stray wisp of hair.
