her more times than I could count. On wheat-blonde hair and honey-brown eyes. On the smile that always seemed to hover around the edges of her lips, ready to break through like the sun through clouds. Too beautiful for me—she was sincerity and laughter and goodness.
Was that why her lips affected me like no other woman’s ever had? After our encounter in her brother’s study at that godawful party, they had nearly brought me to my knees.
I shake my head at my own thoughts. Staying away is no longer an option. Minimizing fallout—that has to be my priority now. So I go to work the following Monday, not scheduling any out-of-office meetings, to show both her and I that we can handle it.
That I’m stronger than my attraction.
Blair’s at work early. Bent over her desk in the open landscape, her hair is neatly curled down her back and a red, silken blouse curving around her form.
I stop by her desk. It’s the first time I’ve visited her desk in these past weeks—or acknowledged her at all when not mediated by Gina. One by one, the firewalls I’ve erected seem to be coming down.
She pushes away the commissioned logo designs for B.C. Adams and looks up at me with surprise. “Mr. Park?”
Mr. Park. She only ever calls me that at work. I can only imagine how much she hates saying the words.
“I want an evening briefing tonight,” I say. There are only a few other employees in the room, and they know better than to eavesdrop, but I make sure my voice is professional.
“Of course.” Something about the softness of the words makes me want to smile. “Yes. Should I prepare anything?”
“No. I just want your opinions.” Our gaze catches and holds, and there’s a ton of questions in hers. “Be in my office by seven.”
“Certainly.” I can see the quiet confusion in her eyes, but after the way she’d ambushed me in her brother’s kitchen… we’ll have this conversation here, far away from prying eyes.
The rest of the day is packed, as usual, and yet I find it hard to focus on anything but her pending arrival. It’s a relief when my assistant finally announces her arrival, a few minutes past seven.
She’s late.
My brandy sends a familiar burn down my throat. Rare are the times when I drink in my office in the evenings—yet one more thing she’s reduced me to doing.
“Hi,” she says. Her hair falls like golden silk around her face. “I’m here.”
“I can see that.” I gesture for the chair opposite my desk.
She sits down, crossing her legs. “So?” she asks. “Am I here to be fired? Reprimanded? Told off for the other day?”
“Those are the only options you could think of?”
“Oh, I have about a hundred more on the list, but these seemed the most likely.”
My lips curve. “None of those three, actually.”
“Oh? You surprise me.”
“My goal in life,” I say, her eyes widening at the teasing. I haven’t often indulged in that with her. “So you want to get to know one another better.”
Blair’s eyes blaze at my words. The fire there is one I’m used to seeing—but it’s never before been turned on me in anything but irritation. The change is…well, irresistible.
“You asked me to your office to discuss us?”
“Was that not one of the options on your little list?”
“No,” she says. “Never even crossed my mind.”
“Well,” I say, making my voice a dark drawl. “I can’t very well have you attacking me again where your brother might catch us.”
Her eyes flash. “Attack you!”
“First, the strip poker,” I say. “And then the kiss in the kitchen. I’d say you were playing with fire, Blair, if I’d think it would have any effect on you.”
Her gaze deepens at the mention of the game of strip poker. Though I keep my face impassive, it stirs me too.
The image of Blair on the couch dressed in nothing but her underwear and the fall of her hair comes back to me. With the firelight flicking across her golden skin, it’s an image I’ll carry with me until the end of my days.
“That’s why you wanted to meet in your office? You think you’re safe here?”
“Safe enough,” I say, daring her to object.
A slow shake of her head as she comes to some understanding. I curse myself, watching her formulate her words. She’s always seen more than I’d wanted her to. “You’re hoping I’ll back out of this,” she says quietly. “But why?” She speaks again before I have