Free Tempting Aquisitions by Addison Fox

grateful he didn’t sidestep the question or pretend he didn’t understand what she was really asking. “It’s who I am.”
    “No, it’s who you choose to be. Your business has been quite successful up until now. Why us? Why now?”
    “You call it choice; I call it good business.” He took a sip of his drink before that deep blue gaze bore into hers. “Call it whatever you want—I follow through on my choices and I don’t turn away from a course of action once it’s been set.”
    With startling clarity, Keira sensed his words went far deeper than his business.
    And in that moment she recognized just how hopeless it was to think the attraction between them could ever produce anything other than heartbreak.

Chapter Five
    Keira dropped onto the plush couch in her suite, determined to take five minutes for herself before going back into the crush of the show. What she really needed was about a million miles of distance from Nathan Cooper, but that wasn’t likely to happen any time soon.
    Moments from the last hour washed through her mind’s eye, but one stuck particularly hard. The bleak look in the depths of those blazing blue eyes when he talked about dreams. She’d been so focused on the man trying to take over her company, she hadn’t spent much time thinking about the real person underneath. And no matter how hard he tried to hide it, there was someone underneath, someone who had far more kindness and compassion than he was likely ever credited with.
    How had it all gotten so complicated so quickly?
    The slamming of the suite’s main door echoed through the lofty area, followed by the unmistakable bellow of her sister. Mayson came tearing through the suite in a colorful wrap dress, her voice practically at a pitch only dogs could hear. “Keira McBride! I want details!”
    “I don’t have any details.”
    “False.” Mayson dropped down onto the couch next to her, an eager smile on her face. “You were spotted having a drink in the bar with Mr. Nathan Cooper an hour ago. What is going on?”
    “How did anyone have time to spot me doing anything? It feels like there are a billion people downstairs. Anyone who knows me should be working to keep them well-fed and happily liquored up.”
    Mayson patted her leg. “Yes, well, we do give our trade show slaves a break every now and again. We’re not Dad, remember?”
    Keira couldn’t hold back the giggle at her sister’s words. “Which is likely the reason our employees come back every year.”
    “Exactly.” Mayson kicked off her heels and curled her feet up underneath her. “Enough stalling. Tell me what’s going on with you two.”
    “I don’t know, Mayse. Honest, I don’t.”
    “Okay. What do you want to be going on with you two?”
    “That’s an even harder question. And one you have every right to be angry about, since the more time I spend with him, the more I want to be going on.”
    Mayson’s eager smile faded, replaced with deep concern. “Why wouldn’t I be happy for you? And how can you say that?”
    “How can’t you? The man wants to ruin us.”
    “No, he wants to take the best of us and make a profit off us. There’s a very big difference.”
    Mayson’s words hit with laser precision, and Keira turned them over in her mind. “What do you mean?”
    “Think about it. He sees what we’ve built and sees how we’ve brought the company back. It’s what he does for a living, and if his business is any indication, he’s been quite good at it. I’m not saying I want him to be right, but he’s got every reason to think well of the work we’ve done.”
    Before she could say anything, Mayson pressed on. “Look, sweetie. I see you around guys. You’re nice, cordial, pleasant, and you smile at all the right times. But you never let them matter.”
    “That’s not true.”
    At her sister’s raised eyebrows, Keira pushed once more. “Come on. There was Bradley last year. He’s handsome, well educated, and already a partner at