Free Passionate Persuasion (Entangled Indulgence) by Rosemary Clement-Moore Page A

just persuade Alex to cooperate.
    He reached her as the next set of musicians struck up a waltz. Not Some Enchanted Evening , which was a bit of a disappointment. But maybe that would be a little too on the nose.
    “Hi,” Alex said.
    “Hey,” she said, and then stopped to see what he would do. Or more importantly, say.
    “I heard you were looking for me.” He said it like he wanted it to be true.
    “Really?” she answered with a bit of a smile. “You looked like you were looking for me.”
    His answering smile was a little sheepish. “Maybe I was.”
    “Good.” She poked a finger, hard, on his lapel. “Because I want to tell you, this is not easier for me, Alex Drake. Not because I’m a woman , you sexist, or for any other reason.”
    All around them were people pretending they weren’t watching the quiet drama in the middle of the dance floor. Or maybe it was a farce. Kiara wasn’t quite sure yet.
    Alex blinked in surprise. “How did you hear that?”
    “I may have been standing on the other side of the tent wall.” She raised her hands in innocence. “Not on purpose. At least, that’s not how I got there in the first place, but I may have stayed when I heard you and Greg talking. I have a feeling we’ve been played like a cheap deck of cards.”
    He turned to glare over his shoulder at Greg, who stood by the second entrance and gave him an exaggerated thumbs up of encouragement. With a resigned, but not at all angry, sigh, Alex turned back to Kiara.
    “I shouldn’t have said easier. I should have said it comes more natural. Not because you’re female,” he hastily added. “But because of that .”
    He pointed to the stage, and even though it was full of the dance orchestra now, she knew he meant because of the way she played the cello. “You put your heart into your music every day.”
    “Don’t you put your heart into your pub? Into all your businesses, but especially into the pub?”
    “That’s different,” he said, taking her hands as if worried she’d run away. Or throw something at him. But she was unarmed. “I can control the business.”
    “Oh really. You can control the economy, and the weather, and the competition…” He made a “Point taken” face, and she squeezed his hands, as if she could squeeze her conviction into him. “Alex, you put your heart into Port Calypso. This is your home, and you want to make it better.”
    He hadn’t seen the parallel, obviously, though he’d clearly given the rest of it a lot of thought. “It is, and I do. But you’re only here for a year.”
    “What made you think that?”
    “Your contract is up at the end of the year.”
    “Yeah. And contracts can be renewed. And people can rack up frequent flier miles—especially with a cello, because you have to buy a seat for it on the plane.”
    “Really?” he asked.
    “The unpressurized hold is pretty much stringed instrument death…”
    He laughed, which was what she wanted. She wanted to hear that again, wanted to see that flash of smile, that glint of devil in him. “No. I mean, you’d really stay here. With me.”
    “I’m pretty sure that if anyone could persuade me,” she said, letting him see the devil in her, “it would be you.”
    He pulled her a step closer, tucked her hands against his chest. She half-noticed that the people nearest them had stopped dancing, stopped pretending not to watch. She was pretty sure Alex hadn’t noticed at all. Or maybe he didn’t care.
    “You should know, I’m not good at throwing my heart into things. But you’re different. I mean, I’m different with you. That’s why I lied to get a date with you. That’s why I can be such an ass around you. It’s like my want short circuits my brain and these stupid things come out of my mouth—”
    “You’re going to have to get over that, you know, if you want a life in public office.”
    “It’s okay. It only happens with you.”
    “Oh, that makes me feel better.”
    “It should.” He