of flowers did you send me?" She was sure the housekeeper had ordered them.
He raised his eyebrows. "Roses."
A safe answer.
She glanced back. She'd closed her office door as she always did since finding Phoebe Cattus snooping in there.
"What color?" She didn't understand her strange determination to embarrass him, except that she refused to let him get away with treating her like all his other women.
His eyes met hers. "Yellow. I overheard you once telling Rosie they were your favorite color."
For a second she thought she saw a flash of amusement in his gaze, but then she decided she must have imagined it when he said, "Plan to have lunch with me. We'll go out."
She repressed a sharp sigh. Would he ever issue an invitation, rather than a command? But he was her boss. What choice did she have?
At lunchtime, he ushered her out of the building into a cold, but sunny, day. The limo idled at the curb.
Logan glanced at her feet. "I usually walk at lunchtime, but I asked Felipe to be available in case you preferred a ride."
"Walking is fine." She had no intention of acting like one of the pampered princesses he was undoubtedly used to.
Logan waved at Felipe, and they set off going south on Fifth Avenue. Cars whizzed by, and pedestrians hunched into their coats, gripping their cell phones. Honking horns punctuated the urban energy that pulsed in the air. A blast of wind pushed against them. She shivered.
Logan grasped her elbow. "Let's buy you some boots. Ferragamo is nearby."
"I don't need boots."
"But I like them." He dropped his arm around her and pulled her to his side. "Since I know you're practical, think about how much warmer they are."
She tried not to notice how good it felt to have him tuck her protectively against his body. Nothing could warm her up better than he did. But she could not afford to start feeling mushy about him.
"I don't need boots," she repeated. She knew damn good and well that if she said she couldn't afford them, he'd begin wearing down her resistance.
"Most women like to shop."
She had to grit her teeth for a moment. "As I mentioned earlier, I am not most women."
He tugged her inside the wide doors of Tiffany's. She sighed, but knew better than to balk. If he had a chore to do, he wouldn't be interested in hearing about the work she had waiting for her back at the office. For all his charm, Logan Winter was a man who did exactly as he pleased.
They walked past the gleaming glass counters presided over by watchful, black-clad employees.
"You feel like browsing?" Logan asked.
She looked up at him. "Are you kidding? I don't shop here."
"Fine." He pushed the elevator button. "I have a person who shops for me. I asked her to set aside a few things."
Amanda stepped into the elevator. "Who are you buying for?"
A slight frown creased his brow. "You, of course. Why else would we be here?"
Her jaw fell open. "Me? You'd better not mean that!"
An older man and woman, the only other occupants of the car besides the attendant, watched them discreetly as the elevator hummed upwards.
"Of course I mean it." A trace of impatience colored his voice. "What's the big deal?"
The doors opened and the other couple got off. But not before the woman said in a low voice, "He likes you, honey. Go for it."
Amanda sputtered with fury. Even a stranger thought she was bought and paid for.
"It is a big deal to me," she said, baring her teeth at Logan, "that you are treating me exactly the way you treat your—your paid companions. I do not want flowers or jewelry or—or boots!" She had to resist the urge to stamp her non-boot-shod foot.
A slight frown creased his brow. "I can't buy you anything?"
The elevator doors opened just as she hissed, "I am not for sale!"
The very handsome, impeccably clad, older man who got on looked from Amanda's face to Logan's. He stepped close to Logan, but his deep voice carried too easily. "Double your offer," he muttered. "Always works."
"Double of nothing is still nothing," Amanda snapped. "Which is precisely what he's going to spend on me."
The other man raised his brows at Logan. "Spitfire," he mouthed.
Logan shook his head slightly at the man before turning to Amanda. "You don't even want to see what they've set aside? I'd like to get you something."
Amanda grabbed for her control. She couldn't afford to humiliate him or really anger