Free A Passionate Business by Unknown

that she very badly wanted to spend an evening with the annoying, irritating and, yes,
    exciting man.

Chapter Four
    Monday morning, Hilary treated herself to a walk on the beach before tackling her financial books. It was still quite
    early as she parked the car on the street and strolled, barefooted, across the expanse of white sand down to the water’
    s edge. The sparkling beaches were one of the main drawing attractions for the town, luring countless tourists during
    the warm seasons. Many of those tourists, Hilary had discovered, were sufficiently affluent to warrant stocking some
    very exotic wine in the Silver Salt Cellar’s collection. The two evenings a week on which the restaurant served dinner a
    special effort was made to provide the clientele with out-of-the-ordinary culinary delights. The people who ordered
    such food were willing to pay for it and the wine to accompany it.
    She ought to be sleepy, Hilary decided as she walked. By the time she had finally rid the apartment of Logan, it was
    quite late. But somehow, her main feeling this morning was one of anticipation. Sternly she told herself she ought to
    repress any interest in the man, but that was turning out to be one of those things easier said than done. What was it
    about him that attracted? He wasn’t as good-looking as the other candidates although, presumably he was as
    successful, if not more so. His clothing was more conservative. The brief glimpse she’d had of the car the previous
    evening told her he didn’t drive one of the exotic sports models favored by the last three would-be suitors for her
    hand.
    No, she was skirting the issue, Hilary told herself deliberately, frowning into the distance as she gazed out to sea.
    The simple truth of the matter was that Logan was the first of the candidates her father had turned up who attracted
    her not only on a physical level but on an intellectual one. Being in an honest mood there on the beach in the early
    morning light, she forced herself to acknowledge that there was a curiously intriguing undercurrent to their
    conversations. It had, on the occasion of their luncheon together, become almost comfortable when they had
    discussed their mutual interests. When the talk became bantering, or, as it had at times last night, challenging, the
    undercurrents generated a rare excitement.
    The frown narrowing Hilary’s amber gaze became darker as her thoughts flew to the way she had felt when Logan
    had kissed her. She reminded herself that he was a clever man. He must have reasoned that men, in general, seldom
    bothered with the arrogantly passion ate approach when dealing with a woman like Hilary. They were far more likely to
    try an intellectual or casually sophisticated angle. Some, like Kevin, found her easy-going independence a relief after
    dangerous, clinging women. Her automatic insistence on equality in her relationships probably deterred any who
    might have been tempted to try sweeping her off her feet.
    But Logan had decided to make the attempt and she found herself surprised by the degree of success he’d already
    had. There was a strange feminine satisfaction in allowing oneself to think she had a potent effect on a male. Was this
    the feeling Julia experienced when she conquered one man after another? Hilary wondered if she could find a way to
    ask her.
    But in the meantime she was playing with fire, Hilary decided grimly. She was turning out to be unexpectedly
    vulnerable to Logan’s particular attack and the wisest course of action would be to refuse to see him. Perhaps she
    would do exactly that after tonight….
    Once she’d settled down to work in the little office she maintained at the back of the restaurant, the time rushed
    past. When she finally looked up from the accounts several hours later, Hilary was startled to find that it was nearly
    one o’clock. With a sense of satisfaction, she closed the ledger in front of her and tidied the desk. Success was
    gratifying when one