Free Head Over Heels for the Boss (Donovan Brothers) by Susan Meier Page A

had to be any the wiser.
    “This is nice.”
    Isabelle’s whisper floated up to him. He glanced down into her smiling face, the pretty green eyes, her pert pink lips. The desire to kiss her was so strong his head actually began to lower, but he stopped himself. He absolutely, positively could not lead her on. They both had to be on the same page.
    “Are you looking for an affair?”
    “What?”
    The very fact that she said ‘what’—not even taking into consideration her confused tone of voice—told him the answer. This sexual thing he felt was something bigger and more important to her.
    And he was going to have to kill it.
    He stepped away from her, turned, and headed for the back door, still holding her hand. He led her through crowds of men drinking, women laughing, kids weaving through the adults. He walked her past the men on the sidewalk holding plastic cups of beer, past the lovers chatting or kissing in dark corners, the whole way to the darkest part of the area behind the fire hall.
    Then he stopped.
    “If you’re flirting with me because you think there can be something between us, you need to stop now.”
    “What?”
    “You seemed to be taking that dance in a whole different way than what I meant.”
    She turned away. “Because you don’t like me.”
    His eyes widened. “Is that what you think?”
    “Why else would you tell me to back off?”
    “Because I am attracted to you.”
    She faced him again. “You’re not making any sense.”
    “Isabelle, you’re gorgeous. And in that dress, you stop men’s hearts. I sighed with relief when I saw the entire ambulance crew is here. There are some old men who are probably going to need CPR if you fast dance.”
    She laughed and looked down at her hands.
    He took her chin and lifted her face until their gazes met. “My God, woman. You’re perfect. But we work together.”
    “Piper and Cade worked together.”
    “That was totally different. They were equals. They both owned half of O’Riley’s Market. We’re not partners; you work for me. If I were to make a pass at you, even if you welcomed it, we’d set ourselves up for a sexual harassment suit.”
    “You think I’d sue you?”
    “I don’t know. But I’m a lawyer, trained to consider even the appearance of impropriety.”
    “Even the appearance of impropriety? Don’t you think that’s taking things a bit too far?”
    “You know how this town is. Give them a gossip inch and they’ll take a mile. They’ll say I’m taking advantage of you because you work for me and depend on me for your livelihood.”
    “They don’t think I’m smart enough to say no, if I want to?”
    He gaped at her. “Why would they, when a scandal is more fun?”
    She frowned.
    “My family has been through enough of the gossip mill already. My dad was a miserable son of a bitch. But because we’d never talked about him hitting my mom or me and my brothers, when the news finally broke, no one believed us. Everybody thought we were out to ruin him to pave the way for my mom’s divorce. Even after he punched Finn in the park across from McDermott’s, people still took his side.”
    “It was awful.”
    “Yeah, it was.” He sucked in a breath. “It was especially hard on my mom.”
    “It’s nice she found someone.”
    Devon shook his head. “Right.”
    “You don’t like Bob?”
    “Let’s just say my mother was alone for decades. Then she inherits a share of a billion dollars, and suddenly she’s got a man hanging all over her.”
    “Bob’s not like that.”
    “Everybody’s like that when it comes to money.”
    “I’m not.”
    He sniffed a laugh. Mary Louise Stevens would probably deny it, too. Still, he didn’t push Isabelle.
    “Seriously, Devon, I think it’s kind of clear we’re interested in each other.”
    He shook his head. “But not in the same way. I don’t date; I have affairs. Is that what you want?”
    “No.”
    And that was all the answer he needed.
    Because the side of the