Page 43 of Tempting Her Forbidden Boss

No more talking. She wouldn’t look at him. She wasn’t going to let him in on it—her disappointment, her fear, her hurt. And that made him almost as disappointed himself.

His phone beeped again and he wanted to chuck it in the waste-disposal unit. He wanted to help her. Wanted her to have the success that he hadn’t—to find the happiness she wanted. Instead he was rendered useless.

When he looked up from tapping out a message she’d abandoned the spinach. ‘I don’t feel like pizza anymore.’ She put the knife down. ‘What a mess.’

‘The housekeeper will take care of it.’

But she wasn’t talking about that mess and he knew it. Her shoulders slumped. ‘I’m sorry the search is taking up your time, Alex. I know you have more important things to be doing.’

Was that defeat he’d just heard from her? He saw the way her fingers trembled as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Well, that wasn’t right. He wanted the strong, sassy Dani back.

‘You mean, you think I actually do important things?’ He tried to tease her out. ‘I thought I was only about swanning around and seducing the nearest available woman.’

‘Okay, I admit that when you’ve done your seducing for the day you might put some effort into your work, as well.’ Clearly she was not herself.

‘Why, thank you.’ He walked to her side of the bench, determined to bring the sparkle back to her eyes. ‘But you’re mistaken about something.’

‘I am?’ She finally looked at him. ‘What?’

‘I’m never done with seducing for the day.’ He smiled down at her. Then his smile stuttered as he saw how the pain came from right inside her, her big brown eyes dulled with sorrow and uncertainty.

He wound his arms around her and pulled her close for a plain old-fashioned hug, tempering the desire that surged every time he got within three feet of her, pressing her head into his shoulder so he didn’t have to see that hurt anymore, because somehow it hurt him. And he wanted to pretend he really was helping somehow.

‘It’s going to be okay, Dani.’ It was all he could think of to say. And it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t guarantee her anything, but in this moment it didn’t stop him trying.

* * *

Dani figured she must be the worst temp ever. She hadn’t been paying any attention to what Cara had been saying. All she could think about was the news Alex had relayed. The disappointment was overwhelming.Nothing.No leads—no possibilities. She might never find Eli. She might never get to tell him how sorry their mother was—how she’d thought of him every day—how she’d wanted to love him. Dani might never find her family. The thoughts cut her heart. She had to focus on something else—like answering letters or inputting numbers. But futility drummed a relentless beat—she wasn’t going to do it; she wasn’t going to be able to do it for her mother.

And the follow-on questions grew louder and louder in her head—if she wasn’t going to find her brother, why was she still here? How much longer did she give Alex’s PI to find him? How much longer would she let herself be with Alex?

For the first question the answer was easy—they had to have more time. She hadn’t packed up and moved countries to give up after only a few weeks. She wouldn’t let them stop. Somewhere someone must be able to help—surely they’d find him eventually.

As for Alex, he was just part of the deal, wasn’t he? The physical favour. Hardly—she mocked herself. No way was it ‘just sex’ and uncomplicated—it already was complicated for her. Half her heart was his. And he hadn’t asked for it. How she wished he would.

‘Did the meeting run late last night?’

She finally heard Cara. ‘Oh. Not too bad, no.’

‘Oh.’ Cara smiled. ‘You seem a little tired today. Distracted.’

Dani felt her cheeks warm. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay,’ Cara said. ‘There’s not much to do today anyway.’

Dani’s mobile rang.

‘I’ll send a taxi to pick you up this afternoon.’ Alex got straight to the point. ‘I have a thing I have to go to. I forgot to mention it this morning.’

‘Sure. No problem.’ So he didn’t need his ‘date’ for this one. Dani battled against feeling disappointed but lost. Nor could she control the feeling of concern from rising—he’d sounded tired, which was unusual. She wished she could see him—to read his expression—because something had definitely been off.

Silly. She reminded herself with hard words—she wasn’t his mother, or his girl, not even a friend. She was his flatmate with fringe benefits. That was all.

‘That was Alex?’ Cara asked.

Dani nodded, knew her colour was rising.

‘Gorgeous, isn’t he?’ Cara sparkled. ‘He and Lorenzo are the most eligible bachelors in town—and not because of their bank balances or bodies. Although—’ she looked coy ‘—I don’t know that Alex is going to be a bachelor for much longer.’

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