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She gripped her bag tighter, her knuckles standing out, as he glimpsed another sign Beth ‘fancy feet’ Walker might be more rattled than she let on.
“Shoes this good are always appropriate…” she trailed off as he frowned at her and her fingers flexed around the strap of her leather carry-all again. “Considering I broke a heel on my pumps in the tram tracks out the front a few minutes ago, I had no choice. It’s my stilettos or go barefoot and I’d hazard a guess you wouldn’t go for the bare look?”
Finding his gaze drawn unwittingly to those sexy shoes again, he wrenched it upward with effort, determinedly ignoring how great she’d probably look padding around these hallowed halls barefoot.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Just make sure you wear something more appropriate tomorrow.”
Her lips curved in a tentative smile. “So that means I’m not in trouble for being five minutes late?”
“Don’t push your luck,” he muttered, intrigued by the contrasting combination of confident woman one moment, vulnerable new employee the next.
Even now, while her fidgeting fingers on her bag strap belied her nerves, she met his gaze without the slightest hint of intimidation.
He’d never met anyone like her. Most of the people he worked with deferred to his experience or were in awe of his connections in the archaeological world. As a new employee, she would know about his family and their role in the museum, yet she acted as if he were an acquaintance. Or worse, as if he were a guy she could flirt with.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll get started?”
Nodding, he tried another frown for good measure. It had little affect as her sunny smile banished the last hint of any susceptibility and transformed her into cheeky ingénue in a heartbeat.
“Fine. I take it you had a tour following the interview so you know your way around?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then you can start in the Australiana gallery today. It should be quiet in there as we’re not expecting many school groups, and Monday’s are notoriously mundane around here anyway. Any questions?”
“No thanks. I’m ready and raring to go.”
Aidan blinked, struck by how every word tumbling out of her lush mouth sounded like a naughty invitation.
Annoyed at his wayward thoughts, especially in relation to an employee, and hating how she had him on the back foot since he first laid eyes on her, he injected the right amount of coolness into his voice. “That’s all for now. Good luck.”
Her confident smile never wavered. “Thanks, but I don’t need it. I’m good at what I do.”
With that, she turned on those ridiculous three inch heels and strutted away—in the wrong direction.
“Beth, the Australiana gallery is that way.”
She stiffened and paused mid-step, swinging back to face him and he pointed over his shoulder.
Something akin to panic flickered in her eyes for a second, though it could’ve been a trick of the light as the bright sun’s rays of a Melbourne spring morning filtered through the towering glass comprising the museum’s shell.
“I knew that.” She fidgeted with the strap on her bag, sending him a tight smile at total odds with her previous self assurance. “I was hoping for a quick caffeine fix before I started.”
“The staff cafeteria is that way too.”
He grinned, somewhat satisfied to see her flustered as she gripped her bag tighter and swung her head as if expecting to flick her hair over her shoulder.
With a dismissive shrug, she set off in the opposite direction. “I’ve always had a lousy sense of direction.”
“Well, I expect you to get up to speed pretty quick around here. After all, how do you expect to take tours if you need a map and a compass yourself?”
“I’ll be fine.” Some of her earlier spark returned as she tilted her chin in the air and shot him a haughty glare. “Thanks for the welcome but it’s time I started my new job.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her confidence, eager to return to his office and check out her CV. Either his father was losing his touch at reading people or there was a lot more to their newest tour guide than met the eye.
“I better get started pronto because hear the boss is a compulsive clock-watcher.”
With that parting comment, she sashayed away, looking way too appealing for a woman in a boxy black suit, leaving him with an unimpeded view of those sensational legs.
