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Five
Nothing that can’t be canceled, Bran amended.
His date with Tammie was tonight—something he’d remembered, oh, about thirty seconds ago. She’d forgive him. Probably.
Addi crossed her legs primly, one calf sliding over the other, one sexy wedge heel stacked on the other. In the tight confines of his new car, those legs looked a mile long. Long enough to make his breaths shorten and his mind wander. Was it any wonder she’d wiggled into his fantasies?
He’d gone back and forth deciding if she had a boyfriend, but this situation had given him the definitive no he’d suspected. If Ad was dating someone, she’d have called him, not Bran. And no decent guy would let her drive that rattletrap of a car, either. Unless she’d started dating the barista. Who knew what Ken would allow her to do? Bran wrinkled his nose.
Leaving Addison standing alone in the middle of the highway was not an option. She could be hit by an oncoming truck, or hiton by the tow truck driver. Anything could happen to a beautiful woman in the center of the freeway. He understood that she liked to rely on herself, a quality he respected. He had no problem with a strong woman. But she had to know when to let someone take care of her. Today he’d had the time, the means and the inclination to pick her up. He’d have done it for anyone.
But driving her to Tahoe? That wasn’t something he’d have done for just anyone.
That was something he’d offered to do for Addi. And why is that?
Why didn’t he arrange a rental car for her instead? Why didn’t he talk her into taking the corporate jet? Why did he insist on delivering her personally to safety?
Because we’re friends.
Because she’s a valuable employee.
Because I want her to know she can count on me.
Damn.
He’d never thought of himself as having a white knight complex, but that last reason was a touch more honest than the other two. When he’d offered to drive her to Lake Tahoe, her shoulders had dropped from their position under her ears. Setting her at ease was enough, even if they never closed the chasm between them.
The offer of dinner tonight was as casual as the coffee the other day, he further defended. But it wouldn’t stay that way if he kept eyeing her legs.
He was fairly certain he’d felt an answering sexual awareness the moment they settled into the bucket seats of his car. Despite her saying she wasn’t interested in him, he’d felt that bolt of lightning when she’d touched him. He had a hard time believing that zap only went one way.
Regardless. He wasn’t pursuing her. The two things he’d focus on during this road trip were not Addi’s legs. That would be safe travels and the new girl in his life: his Misano Red Audi RS 7 Sportback.
There.
Now that he’d justified that half to death...
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into his driveway and parked. When she didn’t get out behind him, he opened her door, narrowly avoiding eyeing those long legs again.
“I’ll wait here,” she said.
“You sure you don’t want to come inside?”
“No. No, no, no.” She’d turned him down—four times, no less—with a smile.
“I’ll be quick.”
“Okay.” She pulled out her cell phone and began scrolling, busying herself with something other than a tour of his place. Maybe it was inappropriate to invite her into his house since she’d never been here before.
When he’d hired one Miss Addison Abrams, he’d been pleased when she lived up to her résumé. Her work record was impressive. She’d been employed for several large companies and understood corporate regimens. She interviewed well, too. She was confident, poised and beautiful. Which he wasn’t supposed to take into account, but her attributes were impossible to dismiss.
Bran never considered himself to have a “type” but he did love a California girl, and Addi was golden, blue-eyed and blonde. His weakness.
“Well, you’re going to have to be strong,” he reminded himself as he stuffed clothes into a bag. He’d done a fine job of compartmentalizing her until recently. Damn Taylor.
He changed from his suit pants and oil-streaked button-down into jeans and a T-shirt and tied his sneakers. At the last second, he grabbed a fresh suit, too, in case dinner was formal.
He jogged downstairs with his bag, excited at the prospect of taking a break. Hell, if tonight went well, maybe he’d stay the weekend. He’d felt no such excitement about meeting Tammie at Vive. Which reminded him...
