Free The Cinderella Bride by Barbara Wallace Page B

easily, and she definitely sings yours.”
    Another blush. Gideon leaned back against the sofa,taking in the woman across from him. For someone so competent, she sure wasn’t use to compliments. Hard to believe. You’d think she’d be swimming in them.
    â€œHave you ever thought of applying for a management position? You have a nose for business.”
    She laughed, clearly deflecting the suggestion. “Down in the lobby you said it was an eye for design.”
    â€œSo I did. Maybe you’ve got both, a nose and an eye.”
    â€œGoodness. I can’t wait to find out if I have a mouth.”
    Oh, she did…a gorgeous one. It was Gideon’s turn to look away as a half-dozen images, all of them inappropriate, popped into his head. That she seemed clueless to the innuendo made the remark all the more arousing. How on earth could a woman be so oblivious to her charms?
    He pushed himself to his feet and moved to the window. Nighttime had claimed the sky, transforming the view into a study of shadows, shapes and light. After years of endless tropical horizons, he wasn’t used to seeing buildings clustered so close together. It looked strange to him.
    â€œWhat an amazing view.”
    Emma approached, her eyes wide as she gazed out at the skyline. “It’s breathtaking.”
    â€œAbsolutely.” Though he wasn’t thinking about the view. Like this afternoon in the lobby, he found her expression far more captivating than his surroundings. Watching her made the male part of him flood withawareness. Forget sweet. She was beyond sweet. Why weren’t there men lined up to spoil her?
    Then again, maybe there were. Maybe there was a guy back in Boston spoiling her to death. For some reason Gideon found that idea unsettling. Probably because if there was a guy, he was doing a pretty poor job. A spoiled woman wouldn’t blush at every compliment. Or lack expectations.
    There were elements to Miss O’Rourke that just didn’t line up.
    â€œWhat building is that?”
    Her question drew his attention. Emma had moved closer and was pointing to an angular structure a couple blocks away. She looked at Gideon expectantly.
    â€œI’m not sure. The skyline’s changed since my last visit. I think maybe a bank.”
    â€œOh.”
    Dammit if he didn’t feel he’d let her down. Determined to make up for it, he steered her by the shoulders until she stood in front of him. “Here,” he said, “look to the left. That’s the Chrysler Building.”
    He watched as she craned her neck to get a better view. Though he hadn’t meant to, his maneuvering left her cradled against his chest. He could feel her body heat through his shirt. When he turned his own head to follow her gaze, his nose caught a hint of her vanilla-scented skin.
    â€œYou can’t get views like this from the second floor,” he said. It was taking all his self-restraint not to bury his nose in the curve of her neck and inhale.
    â€œNo, I don’t suppose you can.”
    She smiled at him over her shoulder. A shy, half-lidded smile. Bedroom eyes, thought Gideon, his blood heating, with bedroom lips to match. So pink and luscious. He bet they tasted as sweet as everything else about her. All it would take was a little dip of his head…
    â€œWould you like me to type up in one document what we discussed this evening?” Emma’s voice suddenly dissolved the spell. “That way you can have all the figures in one place when you review them in the morning.”
    Breaking free of his orbit, she moved back to the center of the room, back to where their paperwork lay strewn across the coffee table.
    Back to business.
    Just as well, thought Gideon. He swallowed his sigh and straightened his shoulders. “Thank you, Miss O’Rourke. That would be very helpful.”
    Â 
    Talk about making a fool of herself. After Gideon left, Emma slipped the dead bolt in