Free Melting the Millionaire's Heart by Linda Morris Page A

hit you up for a donation, after you’d had a chance to pump me for information about Horizons, why didn’t you tell me the truth then? Oh, wait.” She scoffed and reached up to wipe away a tear. “Don’t tell me. I can figure out that one for myself. You realized after I badmouthed Ryan Langford that you would never get laid if you revealed that you were him. That at least I can understand. The oldest reason in the world for a man to lie.”
    “That’s not true,” he said, feeling the situation slipping from his control. He hadn’t expected her to be happy to find out who he was, but he’d hoped to be able to manage this better without her doubting every single thing he told her. He had to put all of his cards on the table and hope she would forgive him. “Look, I’m sorry I lied. I never know where I stand with people I first meet. I wasn’t kidding last night when I said I didn’t have a lot of friends around here. Or friends, period. Besides, you were the one who went on about how you needed a fling to get over your ex-boyfriend. I didn’t think it would matter—”
    “Didn’t think it would matter?” she echoed, incredulous. She stood in such a hurry the blanket fell. Her deliciously bare skin distracted him, but only until she wrapped a blanket around her waist, glaring at him. “You thought that if we were just having sex once, I didn’t have the right to know who I was sleeping with? Are you nuts?”
    He spread his hands wide. “You were the one who said all that stuff about enjoying the moment! Letting next year take care of itself and deciding to be the kind of person who could enjoy this. I guess you didn’t really mean that, huh?” His arms dropped to his side. He wished he could call it back as soon as he said it. Just because they’d planned never to see each other again didn’t make his lies okay.
    “Don’t you dare try to make this my fault!” she shouted. “I thought we were two strangers who might never see each other again. I didn’t know you were a potential donor to Horizons! Dr. Dunne would kill me if he knew I slept with you. I never would have done it if I’d known who you were.”
    His mouth dropped open. “I’m not going to tell Dunne about this! Besides, I didn’t think about all that, I swear. We were hitting it off, and—”
    “Oh, yeah, we were hitting it off. Because I didn’t know you were Ryan Langford! I could lose my job over this, not to mention… Shit!” She walked away from him, stumbling over the long blanket. She gathered it up in both hands and yanked it clear of her feet, but that left her without a free hand to wipe away the tears now streaming down her face.
    He watched, helpless. Frustration burned in his gut. Jesus. Couldn’t she see it from his point of view? He’d been at ease with her last night in a way he hadn’t been able to relax with a woman since he became wealthy. No second-guessing everything she said, no scrutinizing her for any signs that she might be a gold digger. They’d been themselves, just RJ and Kayla. And they’d been pretty great together. Last night, he’d thought her ex sounded like an asshole because he’d hurt her. This morning, he’d been the one to put tears in her eyes. The sight of her crying over him made him want to punch something. “Where are you going?”
    She spoke over her shoulder without looking at him. “To the bathroom to get dressed. When I get out, I’m making some coffee and waiting until the roads are clear. I’d prefer you leave me alone until then.”
    …
    She still looked hotter than hell in those boots, which didn’t help the ache in his chest. And now that he knew how high the fire between them could burn, he hated to think about how he’d screwed this up.
    When they heard the roar of a truck, she got up to look out the front window, her boot heels clicking in an unforgiving rhythm on the wooden floor all the way down the hall. “Looks like the snowplow is finally here.”
    He