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Her eyes dropped to the food.
Something sparked in his chest. Suspicion. Desire had muddled his senses but now instincts were returning. ‘You’re hiding something from me.’
Her eyes flicked to his, guilt obvious in their honey depths. Her hand lifted then, searching for something at her throat. She pulled down the rollneck of her sweater and found a small necklace—a diamond on a silver chain, pulling the pendant from one side to the other. A tell, if ever he’d known one.
He waited.
‘Technically, I don’t usually do this kind of thing at all.’
He stared at her, the admission catching him completely off guard. ‘What kind of thing?’
‘Any of this.’ She took a long sip of wine, then placed the glass down, tinkering with the stem.
His eyes narrowed. ‘Turn up at people’s houses and walk in uninvited?’
‘Well, that too.’ She gnawed on her lower lip. Yearning spread through him like a tidal wave. He could barely remember what it was like to lose himself in a woman, her soft curves and undulations, to feel her warmth surrounding him. His groin tightened to the point of pain. His face gave nothing away.
‘Technically, I’m not an events planner.’
His gaze narrowed. ‘Then what are you?’
There was a plea in her eyes, one that very nearly weakened him. But Thirio wasn’t interested in being this woman’s saviour. It just wasn’t within his skill set. He sipped his wine and waited silently.
‘I’m an administrative assistant for an event management company.’ The words were drenched in bitterness. She blinked, as if to clear whatever ungenerous thought had darkened her mind for a moment. ‘The company I work at was my father’s. I grew up in the office, learning the ropes from him. But when he died...’ her voice faltered, and her eyes shifted away ‘...my stepmother took over.’
‘And she hired you to do the administrative work.’
Her lips pressed together, as though she was biting back her first response. He didn’t want that though. He didn’t welcome secrecy.
He had no patience for lies. ‘I deserve to know the truth.’
‘Because I offended you by coming here in person?’
‘Because you’re lobbying to coordinate my sister’s wedding. And if I was going to hire you, I’d need to know I could trust you.’
‘You can.’ Her eyes almost pierced him with their intensity. She appraised him slowly, as if evaluating him, and finally lifted her shoulders, as if in surrender. ‘My stepmother gave me the administrative responsibilities because I’m good at that. I’m great at making our office run like clockwork. But I’m even better at people. I’m good at reading them, great at delivering for them. I genuinely care about our clients. She doesn’t realise how much I do behind the scenes, how many events I’ve coordinated without her looking. I promise, I will deliver your sister the wedding she never dared dream of.’
He stared at her long and hard, wondering if she could feel the crackle in the air around them. Wondering if she was just very adept at ignoring it, and other things too, such as if she had a boyfriend, a lover, a husband? If Thirio hadn’t sworn to abstain from pleasure, from anything that could bring him happiness he didn’t deserve, he would have acted on the feelings that were rioting through him. He’d have leaned closer and let his breath brush her ear, his body lightly touching hers. He would have made it obvious that he was trying to inhale her sweet, vanilla scent, or fantasizing about throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to his bedroom...
But Thirio had denied himself so much for so long that, despite the temptation that had walked into his home, he had no intention of weakening now.
‘Please, Thirio. I need this.’
Despite the softness of her words, the sentiment cracked around the room like a whip, drawing him in. His name on her lips was an aphrodisiac. His control was in the balance.
And so he fought back hard now, while he still could.
‘My sister’s wedding is not a charity. I won’t give you the job just because you beg.’
