“Mist…Alexander. I’m unemployed, and your shoes probably cost more than my rent this month. There is nothing we could possibly have in common.” The barista rushed over with her breakfast sandwich and gave Elizabeth a wink. This was a mistake. Nothing good could come of it. “I’m sorry. I shouldgo.”
“Stay.” With a single word, Alexander sent a shock of warmth to her core. “I cannot drink all this coffee alone, and even if we have nothing in common but our good taste in tea, I believe the next hour will be more interesting than the rest of my day. Board meetings are my least favorite task. Steel me for the day with your smile, willyou?”
He depressed the plunger on her press pot, and even in a busy coffee shop, the fresh scent of the brew invigorated her. She inhaled deeply and couldn’t help butsmile.
“Now that is better. You have a lovely smile, Elizabeth. We will eat first, and then perhaps you will tell me how you came to discover Fortnum &Mason.”
Alexander poured her coffee, then his own, and unfolded a paper napkin across his lap. Elizabeth did the same and then bit into her sandwich. She watched him eat, deft fingers tearing into the flaky pastry. His lips twitched into a half smile after every sip of coffee, and she found that hers did as well. By the time she polished off the last bite of her sandwich, she was nearly grinning. Alexander’s energy was magnetic. He had long finished his croissant, but said nothing, waiting for her to answer hisquestion.
Elizabeth sat back and wiped the cornmeal from her fingers.“I used to travel to London and Paris every year with my family. I fell in love with Queen Anne ten years ago. There’s a tea shop on Newbury Street that carries it. It reminds me of all those trips. Well, the good parts of them anyway. The lights of the Eiffel Tower, riding the London Eye overlooking the Thames. I used to love to travel.” She dropped her gaze to hercup.
“Used to?” heprompted.
She cleared her throat and took another long sip of coffee. “I don’t see my family any more. We had a fallingout.”
“Is that when you left the familybusiness?”
“Yes.”
“Family is important, Elizabeth. They do not wish to see you? The holidays are fast approaching. You do not even visit atChristmas?”
“No. This...I’m sorry. Will you excuse me for a moment?” Elizabeth shoved back from the table, nearly toppling over her chair. The air in the shop was too thick. Too hot. It pressed in on her like a blanket. Where was the damn bathroom in thisplace?
Alexander shot up and took her arm, steadying her. “Elizabeth.” Her name rolled off his tongue with such a commanding and calm tone that she looked up into his sharp green eyes. “Take a deep breath. I’m sorry that I pried. Forgiveme.”
She inhaled his spicy scent. Coffee, cloves, pine, and freshly cut wood. “I don’t like talking about my family,” she said after she managed to catch herbreath.
“Clearly. Will you answer one more question aboutthem?”
“You can ask. I may or may not answer.” She allowed Alexander to pull out her chair again and she sat. Her hands shook, so she shoved them under her thighs. She hadn’t had a panic attack in years, but between losing her job and Alexander’s prying questions, she wasclose.
“Why did they shut youout?”
Anger rolled over her, drowning the panic. “Do you have any idea how much it costs to manufactureZocazim?”
“I do not know what Zocazim is, so no.” Alexander leaned forward, his gaze fixed onher.
“It’s an anti-nausea drug for chemo patients. It costs six cents a pill to manufacture. For years, you could get a month’s worth for under twenty dollars. Until my parents’ divorce. Then they raised the price to more than seventy dollars a pill. Insurance companies won’t cover more than ten percent of that cost. We—” Elizabeth shook her head. “Bennett Pharmaceuticalsused to donate pills to low-cost cancer treatment centers for women without insurance. But then my father had an affair, and everything went to hell. My parents still run the business together, but since they have to share the profits now, all they care about is making as much money as theycan.”
“And you donot.”
“Money’s great. Don’t get me wrong. Speaking as someone who doesn’t have a bank account the size of a small country, it’s a necessity. But my parents have enough to last three lifetimes. I tried to get them to listen to reason, but they told me I was acting like a child. That I didn’t understand thefinances.”
Alexander’s brows rose. “You’re anaccountant.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “I couldn’t, in good conscience, keep working for them. But…” Her cheeks flamed, and her heart thumped painfully in herchest.
Just stop, Lizzie. He doesn’t need to know therest.
Alexander’s warm fingers feathered over hers around her coffee mug. With that one move, he tore through her defenses, and she crumbled. “I gave theSeattle Timesan anonymous interview,” she began reluctantly. “Explaining how much the drugs cost to make. The stock price collapsed. And then my ex-fiancé told my parents that I was the source. They fired me, disowned me, and told me they never wanted to see me again. That’s how I ended up inBoston.”
Elizabeth tried to extricate her hands, but Alexander’s fingers tightened on hers, and a muscle in his jaw ticked. “I admit that I did a bit of research on you, Elizabeth. And I am sorry that you lost your family, but knowing why, I find myself even more interested in getting to knowyou.”
Heresearchedme?Normal people didn’tresearchtheir dates. Sure, maybe they looked up their Facebook profile, checked out their Twitter account, but they didn’tresearchthem. Anger flared again. “Am I a project toyou?”
“A project?” He chuckled dryly. “No. Why do you askthat?”
“I don’t appreciate being researched. Do you know my bank account balance now? My dress size? My credit rating? What about my Internet searchhistory?”
