Page 45 of Bride By Committee

“None of which has anything to do with Sunflower business, Igather.”

A knock at the door saved him from having to reply and Rosy trotted into the office. “Hey, Jones. Some guy phoned who claims he’s a former client. He says it’s urgent and call him back right away. You gonna do what he says or should I tell him to go to hell for you?”

“Does he have a name?”

“Yeah. Bradford.”

Her expression turned sly and Madison winced, wondering if Harry was familiar with that particular look or whether she should give him a heads up. Oh, why bother? It would be a lot more fun to watch him deal with whatever scheme her devious cousin had inmind.

“I don’t suppose he’s related to the computer game people?” Rosy asked.

“He’s not related to them, no.” Harry paused a beat. “He is the computer game people.”

Rosy grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She crossed the room and rattled a piece of paper in his face. “Here. This is for you.”

Harry regarded it warily. “What is it?”

“A list. When you go take care of his emergency, make him give you the games I wrote down. They’re not out yet, and I can’t wait any longer for them.”

“Not a chance.”

She narrowed her eyes, long mascara spears jutted fiercely in his direction. “So you’re sayin’ you’re a big shot, just not that big.”

Taking advantage of Harry’s distraction, Madison twitched Harley’s file from between his fingers and buried it beneath a stack of papers on her desk. “I’m disappointed,” she baited in an undertone. “Here I thought you could do anything.”

“Hell.” He snatched the paper from Rosy’s hand and glared at her. “If I didn’t owe you—” he muttered.

“Yeah, yeah.” She swaggered across the room, her microscopic skirt swishing against the tops of her thighs. Turning at the door, she puckered her purple-coated lips and blew him a kiss. “Save the huffing and puffing for someone whose house blows down easy, Jones. Big bad wolves don’t scare me.”

“How about lions?” he shot back. “Do they make you nervous? Because I have it on good authority that I possess an excellent roar.”

Her only response was a gurgling laugh better suited to a schoolgirl than the smart-mouthed hard-case she preferred to impersonate.

Madison waited until the door closed before confronting Harry. “Okay, spill it. What do you owe her and why?”

Instantly, his business mask slammed into place. “It’s a personal matter.”

“What sort of—”

“I have a suggestion,” he interrupted smoothly. “Why don’t you come with me when I call on Bradford?”

She wasn’t about to let him get away with that one. “Are you asking in order to change the subject?”

“The subject has been changed. You just haven’t realized it yet.” The lion had definitely taken over, his roar loud and clear. “I’m asking you to come along for another reason altogether.”

Madison reached a decision. She’d let her questions about Rosy go for now. She could always bring it up when she required a quick change of topics herself. Besides, this sounded far more interesting than another day spent analyzing spreadsheets and financial plans. “All right, I’ll come. Although I’d like you to explain why you’ve suddenly decided I should.”

“This has been a good week. We’ve had a few squabbles, sure. But you have to admit there’s something happening between us.”

She didn’t bother denying it. They couldn’t look at each other without wanting to touch. And they couldn’t touch each other without needing to kiss. Soon the kisses would lead other places, places she wasn’t certain she could resist. “What does our relationship have to do with Bradford?”

An odd tension filled him, stealing some of the grace from his movements. “I want you to know who I am. Iwant you to see the whole man, not just various aspects.”

It took her a minute to realize what he was saying. “Oh, Harry,” she murmured in dismay. “Are you worried that my opinion will alter once I see you on the job? That my feelings for you might change?”

His demeanor turned even more intense. “Something like that.”

“But I’ve seen that side of you. We’ve spent the last week working together.”

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