Free Saving Cinderella! by Myrna Mackenzie Page B

day.”
    She chuckled. “Is this like one of those movies where the sun shines through a break in the rocks, bounces off something, and magically opens the entrance to a secret cave? We certainly seem to be out in the middle of nowhere.”
    “Not exactly nowhere,” Wyatt said, wishing Alex’s little chuckle wasn’t so low and sexy. “We’ll only be an hour outside of the city. I promise this will be special, Alex.”
    Within minutes he heard her gasp as the sun hit the stark ancient red rocks that stretched out before them. The stone was gold and crimson and deep orange where the sun’s rays caressed the rock, and shadowy black where the rays couldn’t reach. “It’s—that’s so beautiful. What’s it called?”
    “It’s the Valley of Fire, the oldest state park in Nevada and my favorite day-trip.”
    “It’s wonderful. A good place to recommend to people who want to get away. Is that why you brought me here?”
    Her question caught him off guard. He didn’t have a clue why he had brought her here. Originally he’d told himself that he was trying to show her as many sights as he could, but now he suspected that he’d been hoping for that gasp at the first sight of his favorite retreat. Which had nothing to do with work.
    That made it personal and unacceptable. She was his employee, in his care. What was more, she’d been so hurt by men that she’d given them up, and he certainly had nothing to offer her. Still, they were here, so he drove to some of the more scenic areas along the road.
    “Look, people are getting married,” she said, gesturing to a woman in a white wedding dress, her groom slipping a ring on her finger.
    Alex’s comment almost made Wyatt smile. “People are always getting married everywhere in Las Vegas, and in every way imaginable,” he reminded her. “But, yes, this is a well-known wedding destination.”
    “Do you have many weddings at McKendrick’s? I saw apicture of the hotel on the Internet last night. Before it was yours it was a sad little place. No one would have gotten married there.”
    “They do now. It just needed some tweaking.”
    She laughed.
    “What?”
    “ Tweaking is far too tame a word for what you’ve done with the hotel. It’s unique and beautiful.”
    Okay, how could he not smile at that? “Are you sure you’re not a bit biased?”
    “I’m totally biased in some ways,” she conceded, “but not in every way. I try never to let my personal feelings overshadow my common sense.”
    It was, Wyatt thought, something that should have made him feel better. Instead it intrigued him. He wanted to know her better. That could be dangerous. Already he was doing things with her that he never did with any woman.
    Like smiling, teasing, wanting to get closer than was wise.
    And when they returned to the hotel, and he took her hand to help her out of the car, he had an aching desire to raise her hand, place his mouth on her palm, kiss her fingertips and pull her into his arms.
    Instead he merely held her hand a second too long, and she looked as if he’d burned her.
    That was a warning. He could hurt Alex. He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted to kiss her.
    “Good night, Alexandra.” He forced himself to walk away.
    But somewhere in the night he woke remembering her smile, her scent, her soft skin…which was totally unacceptable. Alex Lowell wasn’t for him. She was an employee, an emotional woman, and he had ripped that kind of thing from his life years ago. He needed and wanted no one.
    Still, the thought of Alex’s soft voice seduced him. He stepped out onto the balcony of the penthouse, hoping for distraction in the night scene below. Clamping his hands on the railing, he stared into the darkness for a very long time.
    Working with Alexandra Lowell was going to be a challenge.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    A LEX’S mind was a torrent of activity. She tried not to remember Wyatt’s rare smile last night, how it had felt to be alone with him as the sun’s rays hit