She stood, crossing to the fire and turning her back on it. “While I am here, though, I could look at your schedule for you?” Her teeth had only clacked once then.
He glanced at the clock and winced. “I seem to have forgotten my schedule entirely. I am meant to be in a meeting five minutes past.” He looked at her, a torn expression on his face.
“Go on then, I will just warm up a bit more and—”
“No,” he said flatly, already sifting through some papers on his desk. “You remain here, and I will accompany you home when the rain has slowed. “Donot,” at this, he looked up and met her eye, “leave without me.”
She pressed her lips together to hide a smile. This was more the Andrew she’d remembered. The blunt, but ever kind man. Not the aloof, gentlemanly one she’d seen in the last several days. “You act as if I were a wayward child. I am not the rebellious sort.”
“The devil you aren’t.”
She sputtered out a laugh. “I am no contrarian.”
“That you may not be.” He tucked several papers under his arm, paused, and began searching his desk once more. “But you do not always listen to reason.”
“I do. My own reason.”
“Well, listen to mine this once, won’t you?” He crossed to her, proffering a paper. “And if it will keep you here and out of the rain, here is my schedule. Do with it what you will.”
She grasped it, eyes lighting. “Wonderful. I shall have this squared away when you return.”
“Splendid,” he said, though it sounded rather more like a grumble. Then, with one final look her way, he exited the office.
Chapter Seven
Even with her ever-peculiar requests, the meeting with Mrs. Honora Gillingham was less an exercise in patience than Andrew’s unexpected one with Sophie. What had she been thinking, going out alone with the weather precarious as it was? She could have been lost, or worse. He’d seen how the water blanketed the windows of the bank and had felt how cold her hands had become from her time out there.
Blast, now he was thinking about her hands.
Why could he not get a firmer grip on these wretched emotions of his? She was married. Entirely unavailable to him. He could not have his heart leaping into his throat at a single touch to her hands.
And yet, again, he could not help but wonder at the stupidity of the situation. Why was her husband not here caring for her? Why was Andrew having to see to her well-being when she had a different deuced man who should be doing it for her? She’d called him elusive. Andrew would use a far stronger term.
The meeting bled into one with the bank’s shareholders, which adjourned without much progress actually being made, and Andrew left without his usual making of the rounds of investors. As his career aspirations included opening a bank of his own, these meetings with the lofty men who either ran or funded the bank were critical to his success, but he had a woman in his office. And he very much believed she would slip out if he did not return directly.
Sophie had always done what she thought best; it might have been frustrating if she hadn’t been right in her assessments the vast majority of the time.
Which actually made it doubly frustrating, because she both went against advice often, and proved his—or others’ opinions—faulty.
He crossed the public room of the bank, entering his office and, to no one’s surprise, not finding Sophie.
“Devil take it,” he muttered, rubbing a hand across his mouth.
“My, Andrew, your language has flowered over the last few years.” She popped her head around the armchair, grinning.
Andrew’s heart leapt, once again, into his throat, but he took it firmly in hand and propelled it back where it belonged as he shook his head, crossing to her. She was curled up in the chair, even her legs tucked up beside her, a paper in hand.
Her unrepentant grin dissolved into a businesslike expression. “I hope you do not mind; I helped myself to your desk, but I grew too cold so returned here after a time.”
“I do not mind in the least. Let us get you home where you can become warm in earnest.” The wordhomeslipped from his mouth without his thinking. Itwashome:hishome. But something about referring to it as that to her made his neck grow hot.
“Just a moment,” she said, unfurling her legs and coming to a stand. “I think I have discovered the problem with your schedule.”
“I have too much to do?”
Her lips twitched. “Well, yes, there is that. Does everyone at this bank work like a madman as well?”
Andrew shook his head. “It is only I on the verge of being institutionalized. Not everyone has the same goals.”
