Free A Cowboy in Disguise by Victoria Ashe Page B

struggled to pull away from his hold. “No. No. No.”
    He nodded and turned her loose. “I’ve given this more thought than you can imagine. The worst that can happen is I’ll go back to Chicago, you’ll stay here and it will just end. We’ll be discrete and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll survive. Reputations intact,” he assured.
    “It’s not just avoiding an office romance, Scott. After all that happened, I don’t trust myself with you.” She wasn’t used to such emotional honesty. She looked down at her desk.
    “Then trust me . I’m looking for the commitment, Alex. I won’t let things go so far that you’d regret it the next morning.”
    “But what about you?” she countered. “If we become involved, won’t you always wonder if I did it to keep you pliable so that I get my way on the presentation?”
    “It’s a chance I’ll take.”
    “I can’t, Scott.”
    He shrugged in temporary resignation. “Well, then it’s back to friendly colleagues for now.”
    “Well, yes and no. I think we could safely go out together just once.” Alexandra put her purse down and opened up her desk drawer. She pulled out an envelope with the words You’re Invited printed in swirling gold foil.
    “I got this in the mail today,” she said. “It’s from Mac Stevens. Four tickets to Rio’s annual holiday gala with the request of our illustrious presence.”
    “Pick you up at seven?” he asked.

 
     
     
    Chapter Six
    Mary was ecstatic. “You’re giving it a shot? I can’t believe it! Ms. Social Recluse on a date.” She handed Alexandra a cup of coffee and sat down next to her at the kitchen table.
    “He’s picking me up any minute now. It’s not a date, not a real one anyway. It’s for work, and David and his wife are going with us.”
    Mary waved her hand back and forth. “A double date then. It’s romantic. Forbidden office romance.”
    “It’s not a romance. We stopped that before it got out of hand.”
    The other woman rolled her eyes and slapped her hand against her forehead. “You mean you stopped it. For the last time—he’s not Duncan, so why put the brakes on? From the sounds of things, he’s just an amazing guy who can somehow rattle you out of that controlled shell. Count your blessings that you’ve found someone who can jostle your molecules. You need that. Heck, we all need that.”
    “Mary!” Alexandra grimaced and then ran to the window at the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. “He’s here. Be good.”
    Mary stuffed a bagel in her mouth, tossed Alexandra a breath mint, and slipped her jacket on as Scott came through the door. “No hanky panky , now,” she called as she walked around him and made her exit.
    Alexandra shook her head. “That was Mary.”
    Scott laughed. “So I gathered.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “You look …”
    “So do you,” she whispered.
    “Well, Date, do you think our work will suffer because of this sordid holiday affair?”
    “Are you kidding?” She grinned. Her work suffer? Ever since he’d come back to town after their trip to Colorado, she couldn’t wait to get to the office. She was at her desk even earlier than usual and stayed later than she needed, all in hopes of just an extra five minutes she could justify with Scott. And with all her newfound nervous energy, she juggled everything at once and found more to do.
    Scott made her feel alive at work. Being near him was like the rush she got from closing a new deal, and he was going to be very hard to resist in that tuxedo. He looked so strikingly masculine and so supremely confident in it that Alexandra had to look away before he caught her admiring him openly.
    Alexandra held tightly to her little satin clutch. David and his wife rode in the front, chatting away, and leaving the backseat to him and Alexandra. The heat as they drove along was suddenly electric and stifling. She felt their energy move back and forth between them in waves, and was so ready to