Nevertheless, she’d felt a tingle of awareness race through her at the thought of having dinner with him, of seeing him outside the confines of the store. And, over the following few days, she’d been aware of him in ways that were scary and thrilling at the same time. She would park him at a desk and point out what she wanted him to do but, instead of getting on with her own workload, she’d find herself sliding little glances across at him while her imagination ran riot.
When she showed him around the various departments, she was aware of how every single person in the entire store looked at him with interest and curiosity.
Ella knew he was dangerous. At least, dangerousfor her. Temptation happened on a daily basis: a murmured remark, araised eyebrow, a slow smile… Little ripples in her previously calm existence bit by bit were waking her up to a general dissatisfaction about her life which she had successfully managed to ignore since she’d returned to the family home.
The breath ofsomething more out therethat he had brought with him on day one didn’t fade as the days went by. It got stronger, stirring a restlessness inside her she couldn’t control.
She was beginning to find excuses to come in a bit earlier than usual and to leave a bit later. Was it her imagination or was he doing the same?
Ella glanced at her phone. It was Friday and it was five-thirty. She could have clocked off at five.
At the desk next to her, Jose was doing something diligent in front of the computer. He was proving to be surprisingly efficient at pretty much everything she threw at him.
‘Ahem.’ Ella cleared her throat and swivelled her chair so that she faced him.
Today he wore a pale-blue polo shirt and black jeans. Her eyes drifted to the bulge of his muscled forearms and the taut pull of the jeans over his thighs.
He turned his chair to face her and leaned back, arms folded behind his head. ‘Ahem?’
‘It’s okay for you to leave now, Jose. It’s Friday, and I’m sure you have lots of things planned.’
‘Why would you assume that when I’m new to the area? Takes time to make friends.’
‘You don’t seem to be doing too badly on that front.’
‘Have you been keeping tabs on me, by any chance?’
He grinned, and Ella reddened. ‘Of course not!’
‘Itisyour job, though, now that I mention it. You wouldn’t want me to accidentally delete something.’
‘That wouldn’t happen. There are back-up systems in place. I’m surprised you don’t know that.’
Was this the sort of Big Retail Store Experience Jose had envisaged when he had wrangled his fortnight here? He never revealed anything. At first, she had vaguely wondered what he was doing here, when everything about him suggested a guy who could take on what life had to offer without anyone’s help, but she had shrugged away her curiosity. He’d come via Sir Ron and it wasn’t up to her to start playing detective just because he didn’t look the part.
‘Anyway…’ She stood up and shuffled stuff on her desk, tidying things away and very much aware of his dark eyes on her. ‘I should get going.’
‘Big plans for the weekend?’
Did the cinema with a girlfriend on a Saturday count as ‘big plans’? Ella wondered. ‘Huge.’
‘Well, spare a thought for me.’ Rocco stood up, taking his time, flexing his muscles and not ungluing his eyes from her face.
‘Why would I do that?’
‘I’ll be on my own on my last weekend here, watching television and eating a boxed meal for one.’
‘I’m sure you could rustle up some company from the fan base you’ve made at the store,’ Ella said politely. She hovered, unsettled by what he had said about this weekend being his last one here, which was a reminder that this strange excitement that filled her whenever he was around came with a deadline.
She considered her life beyond him with a sinking feeling of dread. Her heartbeat quickened and she licked her lips and continued to hover.
Rocco felt the blood rushing through his veins as he held her indecisive stare with lazy, shuttered intensity. He fancied her. He had no idea why he did, when that had happened or how he had managed to surrender his self-control, because he’d never thought coming here on a fortnight’s recce would include thisscenario. He didn’t like complications and he especially didn’t like complications when they involved women.
Reality had no room for sentiment, and sentiment was the enemy of control—just look at his uncle. That said, this was a different place, far removed from the usual concerns he would have in a situation like this. Jose Rivero didn’t have an uncle who had squandered millions and nearly brought the family name to ruin. Jose Rivero was free of those constraints.
Right now, Ella was hovering, waiting, for…what? Waiting for their conversation to continue?
Rocco felt the sharp excitement of adrenaline race through him. ‘I feel I should apologise,’ he said huskily and then held her gaze when she frowned with confusion.
