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Thank God he checked himself just in time.
What the hell was going on with him? What were these feelings? And what the hell was he supposed to do with them? As Felicity’s boss, he could hardly put the moves on her to test them out.
He finally hooked the blasted necklace together and took a safe step back.
“Thanks.” She let her hair loose and it cascaded down around her shoulders. His groin tightened, and he shifted his weight from one foot to another hoping to lessen the tension. “I just need to bring the dogs in. They’re out in the backyard taking care of business. Do you want a drink? I have wine and beer in the fridge.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine,” he said as he followed her out the back door and down three steps to a bricked patio. The plants and flowers were lush and made him think of the book The Secret Garden, which his mom had read aloud to him and his siblings when they were younger. “Did you plant all this?”
Felicity beamed and stood up a little straighter, as if it were a point of pride. “I sure did. I love plants and flowers. Gardening is my therapy.”
At the sound of her voice, three corgis bounded onto the patio from the yard. With their tongues lolling out the side of their mouths and the playful way they barked and bounced around each other, they reminded Austin of a trio of tumbling court jesters. Exactly what he needed to lighted the mood.
“Someday, I’d love to put a greenhouse right over there.” She pointed to a small section of yard past the patio. “That would be my idea of heaven.” She bit her bottom lip. “And that probably makes me seem like I lead a very dull life.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he said. “It makes you seem like you know what you like, like you’re very connected to your home and the earth around it.”
Her lips curved into a slight smile and her cheeks colored. Felicity of the sharp wit and no-nonsense demeanor suddenly looked vulnerable. He realized that she was very good at taking care of others—at taking care of him—but she wasn’t used to being the focus.
“And that’s a compliment, in case you were wondering,” he added.
“Thank you. Taken as such.”
This first glimpse inside her world only made him curious to know more.
* * *
Austin had been a good sport listening to her talk about her garden dreams. She felt a little foolish going on about it. The Fortunes had a staff of workers who tended the gardens of their beautiful Garden District mansion. A woman who liked to get her hands dirty was probably about as unattractive to Austin as it got. But he had been a good sport about it, complimentary and indulgent, actually.
At least she always made sure her fingernails were scrubbed clean. Maybe that was why he was so surprised to learn gardening was her hobby. Macks of the immaculate French manicure probably would think such an interest quite plebeian. Oh, well, it was her loss.
One thing Felicity never had trouble with was being herself. Even after being on the outside looking in to the glamorous world of Austin Fortune, she had never forgotten her place. Tonight, as she and Austin had walked the gorgeous, gilded ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel checking and double-checking the details for the ball, she had never been more aware of her role as facilitator. She would attend the party, but she would be working. She would not be there to have fun or donate money to the cause or have any opportunity to forget exactly who she was and where she came from.
After the walkthrough, she reminded herself of that as she and Austin sat at a lovely table for two in a cozy corner of R’evolution.
It was a banquette-style table, a built-in semicircle covered in soft, tufted white leather, just big enough to make a cozy space for two people. The good part about the bench seating was it forced them to sit next to each other, which meant eye contact was optional and she might not completely give away her feelings for him. The bad part was it forced them to sit next to each other, which meant she could smell his cologne, an intoxicating scent that smelled expensive, with hints of cedar, coffee and leather.
She’d caught whiffs of his scent before as he passed by her desk or leaned in to hand her paperwork to process. But tonight, Austin sat with his body angled toward hers, first, talking business—about the final details they needed to firm up for the charity event, then venturing into the personal realm—asking her questions about herself, her past, her future.
