Did she have to smell like flowers and oranges? Reminded him of summertime, and women, and food. Pretty much everything he loved in life.
He walked back to his desk and shifted papers. “What can I do for you?”
“I-I…” She stopped, and he heard her take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m not good with confrontation.”
He looked up. Was she kidding? “You seemed fine with it on the boat.”
She frowned. “That was different. This is work. And on the boat you—you pissed me off.”
True. People typically acted professional at work. So which was the real Ireland? The feisty boat version or the intelligent but passive, professional?
“So the boat was a one-time deal?” He didn’t know if he was referring to her temper or the make-out session. Most likely both, because all of a sudden, he needed to torture himself.
She crossed her arms. “I don’t know. You seem to have a knack for pissing me off.”
There was the fire.
All this time, Bran had dated quiet, nice girls, and now he couldn’t get enough of a brainy woman with one hell of a temper. There was something wrong with him. “You came here for a reason. I’m assuming it wasn’t to tell me how much I frustrate you.”
Ireland closed her eyes. “No. Of course not. I’m sorry. I-I…”
“It’s just the two of us. There’s no need for nerves. Remember, I’m the guy you feel comfortable yelling at.”
A smile softened her mouth. “That’s true.” Yet she hesitated. “I wanted to talk to you about what you saw out there. It’s not what you think. There’s nothing going on between me and James.”
Bran set aside the paperwork he’d been sifting through. “That’s not what it looked like.”
“I promise I have zero interest in him.”
“He touched you.”
A shadow crossed Ireland’s eyes. “It wasn’t…”
“It wasn’t what? Did he touch you without permission?”
She wrapped her arms around her waist and closed her eyes briefly. “He doesn’t like me. Or respect me. When that’s the case, men sometimes…”
Bran’s heart pounded, and his skin heated with the rush of blood pumping beneath. He took a step closer, breaking up the few feet between them. “They sometimes what? Tell me what’s going on, because I’m beginning to visualize scenarios that aren’t helping my blood pressure.”
“Why do you care? You don’t like me either.”
He glanced away. “I like you fine.”Too much.“Now tell me.”
“They’re dicks.” She covered her mouth. “Sorry. That was inappropriate. What I meant to say is, sometimes the men I work with… Well, when their pride is pricked—and for some reason, I have a knack for pricking men’s pride—they become jerks. What you saw was James being an overbearing ass.”
Bran shifted his jaw. He’d seen James manhandle Ireland, and if it had nothing to do with erotic passion, then Bran might need to kill James.
How dare he threaten her? Or any woman?
Ireland was smarter than James, and the idiot knew it. “That’s not a man being a jerk. That’s a man sexually harassing you. Possibly assaulting you.” Bran paused and ran a hand through his hair. Suddenly, something else occurred to him. He was Ireland’s boss, and he’d… “Did you feel that way about me? On the boat?”
“No.That was different. Besides, I didn’t work for you then.”
Still, he was angry with himself. He’d been a dick to her as well, even if she hadn’t been his consultant at the time. “I should have never touched you. It was wrong.”
Ireland stepped forward. “It wasn’t. I mean, yes, you pissed me off, but…”
“But?” He didn’t need buts. He needed her to agree with him.
