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He lingered there.
"In a word?" he said, quietly.
"Heavenly," she murmured.
Tom mumbled something incoherent and gave up the fight.
Zac turned back to him. "If you aren't interested in the finite details of this particular aspect of the investment portfolio, perhaps you wish to pursue something else?" He was shedding the others, taking up where she had left off.
She moved on his words immediately. "Yes. Perhaps we should go over the more detailed analysis of restoration proposals, and so on." She looked at him. "In my office?"
He nodded and stood up immediately, closing the meeting with his movement.
Caroline leaned back in her chair, one arm draped over the back. She winked at Abby, who smiled her appreciation and wondered again how much she had guessed. Tom was mumbling again as he got up and stomped out of the room. Zac stood and held the door open, watching Abby as she lifted her papers and walked over to join him.
"Would you like to follow me?" Abby said, as she led him from the room.
"With pleasure," Zac replied, and bowed his head close to her as she passed. He followed her down the corridor. When they got closer to her office, she could see that the door stood open and it was empty of other people, thank god. She glanced back at him and paused at the doorway, waiting until he'd stopped beside her.
She loved him, but if she stopped to think about all that had happened, confusion swamped
her. She took a moment to look at him, to consider what would happen when they were alone, what would be said. She had to know.
* * * *
Zac followed her in and closed the door behind them. He'd seen every tiny reaction pass over her, felt her every change of mood. Each expression of shock and indignation hurt him that bit more, each hint of tenderness like a gift of hope. He waited to hear what she was going to say, giving her the chance to begin.
She folded her arms emphatically, her papers still clutched in one hand. "I should never speak to you again after what you just put me through." She crushed her papers against her chest defiantly and waited for his response.
"I thought you handled it very well," he replied after a moment, deadly serious.
She glanced at him with a warning note in her eyes, but he wasn't teasing her now. He had led her to this. Now it was her turn. They stood motionless a moment, captured in time by their conjunction, their destiny.
"You kept your head while all around you people were losing theirs," he added.
"I'm flattered that you were listening to my ramblings." Her expression was controlled but he could see that her arms were tense across her chest. "But maybe I'm just a good actress."
"Of course I listened. I listened to every word you've said."
"You listened because you didn't trust me." She stared at him, the hurt obvious in her eyes.
"I admit that and I'm sorry. But you soon showed me how wrong I was."
"It was because I lied, wasn't it? And because you'd been hurt before?"
He nodded. "Once I realized my error, I had to find a way out of the pit I'd dug myself into. I love you, Abby. I had to find the right way to handle this."
She looked poised, and yet she awaited his explanation. He wanted to take her into his arms but restrained himself.
"The best I could do for you was to show you how much I loved you, and let you do what you do so well. You told me how important it was for you to remain professional. I respect that. I wanted to let you do that, but I was there for you every step of the way."
"I know you were, I can see that. But why didn't you tell me I was working for you?"
"At first I thought why complicate things? Then I realized something more important, that I wanted us to negotiate our relationship on our own terms, not those forced on us by our circumstances. When I invited you to Paris, it was because I wanted us to be alone, to be ourselves."
"But you knew. You had me at a disadvantage."
He shrugged. "That was no easy thing to carry, believe me. This last week has been hell for me, trying to decide what would be best for you. I've wanted to tell you every second of every day, but once I felt I understood you, I realized how important your work is to you and I didn't want to step in the way of your professionalism. In the end I decided to walk the line, to let you do your job and to try to show you how I felt in a way that you would remember after this strange moment in time has passed."
