Page 18 of A Wedding Negotiation with Her Boss

‘If you’re sure,’ Gabriel said gruffly, knowing very well that she’d cleverly put him on the spot. He shuffled, raked his fingers through his hair and decided that it made no difference whether his secretary came or not.

Better if she didn’t!

She was suddenly a distraction on a blockbuster scale and, the faster he got over that, the better. He might just tack on an extra week out here, catch up with Terry and his wife and check out the vineyards again. He could spend more time with Arturio when he saw him—quality time, nothing about vineyards or work.

He had asked about his family, which had been like asking about strangers, in a way, yet oddly satisfying. He’d had some pieces of a past he’d never known slotted into place. He’d rather like more of those pieces slotted in. He was beginning to find out what it meant to have a family, even if it was late in the day. It meant more to him than he could have imagined. So, yes, he and Arturio—it would be good.

It would also give his body time to recover from its unexpected response to a woman who was off-limits. He would make it back to London with his head screwed back on.

‘I’m sure.’

‘Come on, Helen...’ A coaxing plea came from one of the young lawyers and Gabriel’s teeth snapped together at the smile she flashed the guy—half-distracted, half-amused, full-wattage.

‘Looks like you have an admirer,’ he said tightly, dropping his voice.

‘Nice, isn’t it?’ She was already making her way to the door, saying the usual goodbyes, shaking hands and laughing at something or other one of the older guys said, something about ‘should she ever need a job this side of the pond’.

How had he not noticed just how dynamic she was in her own, very special, low-key way?

‘He’s a lawyer,’ Gabriel returned, standing back with her while the rest filed out of the conference room, talking amongst themselves. ‘I’d take what the guy says with a pinch of salt.’

‘Thank you for your concern.’ Her face fell into a wry smile. ‘You’re actually not telling me anything I didn’t already know.’

Gabriel smiled back at her and there was a moment of perfectly shared compatibility.

Helen’s breath caught in her throat. If she took away the surge of sexual attraction that had sprung up between them, and took away all these weird, disturbing interactions that had muddied the calm water between them, and what she got was this—the sort of easy familiarity where words were unnecessary and where entire conversations could be had in just one exchanged glance.

‘You must be looking forward to having some time with Arturio, Gabriel.’

He’d told her of the family connection and now he flushed, before admitting seriously, ‘I am, as it happens. Might make some time after everything’s done and dusted to spend a little time with him.’

‘You should.’

‘Thank you for sharing your opinion with me.’ But he was half-smiling. ‘And, now we’re in sharing mode, tell me what happened between you and your fiancé.’

‘Gabriel...’

‘What was his name?’

‘People are waiting for you.’

‘Not that I can see. Well?’

‘George. His name was George.’

‘What happened? And I can see that you want to tell me that it’s none of my business.’

‘Well, it isn’t, as it happens.’ But she was tempted. Barriers eroded, doors opened—what harm could it do? It was hardly a state secret. ‘It didn’t work out. We were very young and, before we could tie the knot, he came to his senses and broke it off.’ She gazed away with a little frown. ‘And, if he hadn’t, I would have.’

Gabriel didn’t say anything. Her reticence made sense. He wanted to pursue the conversation and ask her for details, but she was right when she’d said that the rest of the crew would be waiting for him.

The rest of the crew, including the guy with his eyes on stalks. Had her thoughts begun to drift to resuming her single life, with her ex firmly behind her? Had the weird romance of the place turned her thoughts away from work and onto play? The place had certainly got to him. Had it got to her as well?

‘Lost for words, Gabriel?’ She had an insane desire to pull the tiger’s tail. ‘Maybe I needed a little break like this. It’s certainly been very relaxing, having a handsome young guy flirt with me. Course, I told him I wasn’t going to be here long enough to go out with him.’

She felt her skin prickle as again she ventured into foreign territory. She told herself that there was nothing outrageous about this conversation. It only felt outrageous because of the working relationship they had cultivated over the years, one in which personal things had seldom been mentioned.

‘Who knows? Maybe if I’d been out here a little longer, I might have been inclined to go on that date he asked me on.’

---