Free Heart & Soul: The Surprise (Heartland Series) by Nicola C. Priest

the money, he'd expected it.   Yet
he hadn't expected the hostility towards Samantha.   Anthony had never been bothered about the
women in his past, why this one?

 
    Making a mental note to discuss it
with him later, he pulled out his cell phone.   Checking the time, he saw he had ten minutes left before he had to
return to the twentieth floor to meet with Samantha.   He ’ d
only been away from her for a short time and he knew it was crazy, but he had
missed her.   It was irrational and
stupid, but he really did miss not being with her and for the life of him he
didn't understand why.

 
    He had never been the kind of guy who
fell over themselves to impress a woman, yet, as he thought about his brother's
words, he couldn ’ t help but wonder if that was that the
reason he'd gone and bought this place.   There were plenty of other places he could have bought, even others in
this building, so why had he just shelled out millions on somewhere he would
probably only visit a few times a year for a few days at a time.

 
    Pushing his hand through his hair, he
realised something. He hadn ’ t done it to impress her; he ’ d done it to be near her.   Just the thought of being all the way across town from her made him
shudder.   He wanted to be as close to her
as possible and if things went the way he planned, when he was here, she would
be spending all her time here with him.  

 
    Tucking his hands into his pockets, he
looked at his surroundings. He knew the place was a blank canvas, as his
realtor had put it, and he would have to shell out more money to update the
place to his requirements, but the more he looked around, the more he wondered
how Sam would decorate the place.  

 
    Was she a shabby chic or ultra modern
girl?   Did she go for traditional or contemporary.   If she
was going to be spending as much time here as he hoped, he wanted her to feel
comfortable.   He would need to get her
opinion on what he wanted to do to the place.

 
    Sighing as he began to think he really
was going crazy, he turned and punched the call button on the elevator.   The doors slid open a moment later and he
stepped inside, hitting the button for the twentieth floor.  

 
    oOo

 
    Checking her watch for what must have
been the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, Sam frowned when she realised
she was actually waiting on a guy.   She
never waited like this.   What was it
about Alistair that had her all but counting the seconds until she could see
him again?   Oh yeah, thats right, the man
is fucking hot, looks at you like he wants to devour you and kisses like he's
going for gold in the Olympics.  

 
    Shaking her head, Sam knew she had to
get herself together.   She wasn't going
down that road again.   Going gaga over
the guy wasn't an option.   Been there,
done that, bought the tee-shirt.   Jumping
in with both feet only wound up with her getting her heart broken.   It had happened before and, considering who
Alistair was, it would more than likely happen again.  

 
    There was no way anything between them
could be a long-term thing and she knew that her heart wouldn't be able to get
through it in one piece if she let him get any closer.   Now that she effectively worked for him,
their relationship needed to be strictly professional.   She knew plenty of women who lusted after
their employers.   She would just become
one more in a long list.

 
    When she checked her watch again, she
grumbled to herself and jumped up from her desk.   Spinning around quickly, she found herself
face to face with a too familiar solid wall of muscle, encased in the same dark
blue shirt.   His scent filled her nostrils
and she felt herself go giddy as his fragrance seeped into her.  

 
    God he smelt good.

 
    Resisting the urge to take a deep
breath and breathe him in, she instead took a step back.   Her first instinct had been to put her hands
on his chest and push him away to create some space, but