Page 26 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

‘I have complete faith in Micah,’ Thadie told Alta, before flashing Ella her mega-watt smile. ‘And you, of course, Ella.’

Ella thanked her but refrained from telling her that her faith might be misplaced. And optimistic. She wondered if she should try to temper Thadie’s expectations but, before she could decide, Micah walked in, holding an enormous mug in his hands.

He handed it to Ella. ‘Milk, no sugar. Strong.’

They’d often stopped for coffee on their trip to Clarens and back and Micah had surprised her by not having expected her always to do the coffee run. He’d asked her how she took her coffee and remembered. It was such a little thing and it shouldn’t make her feel tingly. And special. Most of all, special. Micah, she told herself, was a super-smart guy and no doubt he remembered lots of little things, often.

Ella took the mug, wrapped her hands around it and took a grateful sip. Great coffee, she decided. Expensive coffee.

Yum.

Micah ignored Alta’s gesture for him to sit next to her—ah, so that was the way that wind blew!—and sat down on the leather ottoman at a right-angle to Ella, their knees inches apart. He rested his forearms on his thighs. Ella looked at his broad hands with their long fingers, and was transported back to how those hands had stroked her from hip to breasts, how his fingers had slid between her legs...

‘Don’t you think so, Ella?’ Micah’s question was accompanied by a nudge to her knee, and she jerked her head up to look into those amused blue eyes. He was laughing at her, as if he knew exactly where her thoughts had wandered to. Dammit, she hated it when he seemed to read her mind.

‘Sorry, I missed that,’ she apologised, blushing.

‘Micah was just saying that none of the venues in Clarens was suitable,’ Thadie explained. ‘I wanted to know whether you agreed.’

Ella crossed her legs, leaned forward and nodded. ‘There are some lovely venues, but some aren’t big enough, some aren’t luxurious enough, some are just blah.’

‘So what’s the bottleneck?’ Thadie asked, her intelligent gaze meeting Ella’s. She narrowed her eyes the same way Micah did when he was focused on a problem—or making love to her—and tapped her index finger on her knee, the same way her brother did. They looked nothing alike, but both had similar mannerisms and a no-nonsense way of looking at a problem.

‘The problem is that you don’t have enough time, Thadie! If you postponed the wedding, you’d give everyone some breathing room!’

Thadie didn’t acknowledge Alta’s outburst, but Ella noticed her pinched face and the hard twist of her lips. Why was Alta one of Thadie’s bridesmaids? They didn’t seem to be friends, or in any way close. Was she just there because she was Clyde’s stepsister?

‘Ella?’ Thadie asked, steel in her still sweet-smile.

Right, business. ‘I think it’s a combination of all three issues. You want a huge venue that is special and luxurious, able to accommodate many people. And you want it soon, when most venues have been booked for a year, sometimes two.’

‘She’s Thadie Le Roux,’ Micah said. ‘She’s one of the most famous women in the country and that should count for something.’

He said it as a statement of fact, without a hint of elitism or boasting, and Ella couldn’t take offence at that.

‘Yes, I am. I am also marrying one of the most famous men in the country,’ Thadie said, sitting up and dropping her feet. She sent Ella a rueful smile. ‘But hotels are not going to bump a bride for me, especially at this late date. And they shouldn’t. I’d hate for a bride to lose her big day because of me; that would be dreadful.’

‘Not finding a decent venue would also be dreadful, a complete disaster. Really, you should postpone!’

Wow, Alta really wasn’t bringing anything to this conversation. Ella decided to follow Thadie’s lead and ignore her. ‘Micah mentioned looking for a venue somewhere in the Drakensberg or the KwaZulu Natal Midlands...’

‘But you don’t think there’s anything,’ Thadie stated.

Ella wrinkled her nose. ‘There are some big operations, and maybe something will turn up; it’s worth a look.’

But how on earth was she going to be able to spend more time with Micah without being in his arms, in his bed? It was supposed to have been a one-night thing but, man, she wanted more. But Micah wasn’t a ‘more’ type of guy and, even if he were, he’d never look at her in a ‘let’s have a relationship’ way. She came with too much baggage. She had daddy and trust issues, disappointment issues, being believed issues. Finding her confidence issues.

A relationship was impossible.

Ella looked at Micah. ‘If you like, I can go drive down myself, scout out the venues and report back. If there is anything viable, you could then come down.’

Thadie sent Micah a guilty look. ‘I know how busy you are, Micah, and that you can’t afford to take time away from the office. Ella seems sensible and straightforward, so I’d be more than happy to trust the search to her.’

Micah surprised her by shaking his head. ‘No, I said I’d do this, and I’m doing it. I’ll—we’ll—find you a wedding venue, Thadie. I promise.’

Ella winced, wishing he hadn’t said the P-word. She didn’t know if she could fulfil that promise. But maybe this was a good time to raise another option. ‘Would you be open to doing something different?’

Thadie shrugged. ‘Like?’

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