Free The Millionaire's Secret Wish by Leanne Banks Page A

see, however, from Dylan’s stony expression that he had that door of possibility locked tighter than Fort Knox. Much like his heart.
    “You look disappointed,” he said. “You need to get over this notion of happy endings. They just don’t happen every time.”
    “I know they don’t happen every time,” Alisa said. “But if I give up on the possibility, then I’ll be cynical and unhappy like you. It may sound crazy, but I think hope is magic.” She lifted her chin at the glimmer of disbelief in his eyes and pointed her index finger gently at his chest. “Besides, I think you hope for more than you admit. Otherwise, why would you have spent so much time hoping for me to regain consciousness when the doctors said my chances weren’t very good?”
    “That was different. It was a matter of life and death.” He closed his hand around her finger and lifted it to his lips. “And I know the world is a better place if you’re here.” He gave a wry smile and gently nipped her fingertip. “I’m not a total heartless cynic.”
    Her heart raced at the combination of his touch and the intent expression in his eyes. She knew he wasn’ta total heartless cynic. That was a big part of her problem. He would be so much easier to dismiss if he were. Instead she got glimpses of the heart of Dylan that made her want more and more of him.
    “Will you stay?” he asked.
    Alisa tried to picture herself refusing Dylan and walking away, but she couldn’t. After all he had done for her, refusing him wasn’t possible.
    “One week,” she said, pulling her finger from his lips. She had the strange sensation that she’d just agreed to a week-long emotional roller-coaster ride. How, she wondered, was she going to make herself stop wanting more of him?
     
    The first couple of days, with the exception of riding to work with him in his car, she stayed away from Dylan. She planned the menu for the dinner with the housekeeper and sent written invitations to the addresses Dylan had given her. During the short commute, however, she was sensitive to his closeness. His scent stirred her, and she often felt him watching her. Alisa always had the sense that there was a caldron beneath his seemingly calm surface and that she had something to do with it. Thoughts of the night he’d kissed her heated and haunted her. Restless, she headed out to the horse barn and offered to help Meg with her classes. Looking outside of herself instead of always looking in provided her with a much-needed break.
    Alisa drew a special joy from assisting with thehandicapped students. She could tell that every minute they spent on horseback provided them with a desperately needed feeling of progress. With her own memory returning at a slower rate, she easily identified with the need for progress because there were plenty of moments when she felt as if she was going nowhere.
    More and more she craved independence and mobility. Five days into her last week at Dylan’s, after work, she dropped by her apartment and decided to see if her car would start after two months of sitting. Sure enough, the dependable Honda revved to life with only two tries. Although the doctor had not yet released Alisa for driving, she decided to release herself. After leaving a quick, vague message on Dylan’s voice mail, she drove to Granger’s for her tutoring appointment.
    After the tutoring session, she walked to the cottage she had shared with her mother. Sitting on the porch, she felt a dozen memories wash over her. The scent of chocolate chip cookies and dinner filled her mind. Her mother was an excellent cook. She remembered her mother stroking Alisa’s hair at bedtime as she tucked her in. She remembered the long hours her mother had been forced to work and how she had often told Alisa that Alisa deserved better, and that one day things would be different.
    Alisa hadn’t really minded their small, cozy home. She had felt safe there. Although she’d missed her father’s