AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Either way, it didn't make her any less desirable in his eyes, and these tears of hers could only work to his favor.
Seeing her sniff, he handed her a fresh sheet of tissue, intending merely to help but to his amusement, the gesture only had Pippi looking even more miserable.
And then she started apologizing again.
"I'm just so sorry, Mr. Evans. I know this is completely unprofessional of me, and I cannot apologize enough. There are just no words. It's beyond shame—-"
"Relax, Ms. Jones." Gareth deliberately kept his voice light. "You're acting like you blew up the whole building when you've only blown your nose in my presence."
She let out a choking sound that also suspiciously resembled a giggle, and Gareth's lips twitched. "I hadn't pegged you to be the giggling kind."
Her boss' casual banter helped Pippi gradually regain her composure, and she could even feel the pain in her heart fading to a dull ache all the while her humor slowly restored itself.No point in being self-conscious with him now, Pippi thought,after everything he's seen.
And so she deliberately swallowed past the lump of shyness in her throat and made herself treat him like she would a member of her family. Giving him a tentative smile, she said, "I've been known to manage a chuckle here and then as well, sir."
Gareth's lips curved in appreciation of how Pippi was doing her best to overcome her reservations. "That's my girl." As expected, this had color bursting in her cheeks, and he murmured, "I'm glad to see I'm right."
Pippi wondered if she had missed something. "Right about what?"
"About your ability to blush."
Bollocks.
This time, the glint of sexual interest in Gareth's eyes was unmistakable, and Pippi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was this what it meant to jump from the pan and into the fire? Or maybe it was the other way around?
Either way, it was utterly insane, to have one wealthy man after another suddenly act like she was the most desirable thing within reach.
"Has Tim ever made you blush?"
"N-No."
"Keep it that way." He saw consternation flash in Pippi's eyes, and he said lazily, "I like knowing that I'm the only one to have seen you blush."
But he wasn't.She almost said this out loud, too, until she realized that doing so would be pointless. They were over anyway. And so all she said was, "It's just a blush."
"Not when you're the one doing it, Ms. Jones."
Pippi bit her lip hard.
Would it be possible to pretend that she didn't notice him flirting—-
A low chuckle interrupted her thoughts.
"I can almost hear the gears in your mind working overtime, Ms. Jones." A pause, then Gareth drawled, "Shall I make a guess? You were thinking if you could act like you've misread the situation—-"
Pippi strove hard not to start blushing again, but it was impossible.Was she really that embarrassingly easy to read?
"For the record, Ms. Jones—-" Gareth's voice lowered to a husky caress. "You haven't misread anything. I like you the way men have liked women - and vice versa - since the beginning of time."
Pippi's head reeled at how nonchalantly her new boss was admitting his attraction to her.
"You are, of course, free to respond however you wish. I'm certain you're smart enough to know I'm not the type to force myself on women." His gaze turned dark with promise. "But I think it's only a matter of time—-"
She started shaking her head before he had even finished speaking.
But Gareth only smiled, his self-assurance obviously unaffected by her silent rejection of his words. "We'll see."
"I'm not going to change my mind, Mr. Evans."
