Page 24 of The Texan's Secrets

“Looks like,” he whispered as he smoothed back her hair, “the Surprise Me! function got this part exactly right.”

She smiled, liking his lightheartedness. “Score one for Surprise Me!”

Nico could have lain on the sofa all night holding the naked Emilia in his arms.

Her toned form fit perfectly spooned against him. Her hair smelled enticingly of citrus. It was soft against his chin. Her breasts were perfect, and he had to fight to keep from cupping them in his palm all over again.

Instead, he rested his hand against her smooth stomach. He kissed her temple and adjusted his thighs more intimately around hers. Then he sighed and wondered exactly how long she’d be willing to lie here with him.

“I sure wish I could reach my spritzer,” she said on a note of regret.

He took that to mean she was ready to move.

“I’ll get it for you.” He gently disentangled himself, sat up and rose from the sofa.

She followed him back to the desk and slipped into her panties.

He tracked her in his soft vision rather than staring, sorry to see her put on her bra and pull her T-shirt over her head.

It was cool in the office. And he really didn’t expect her to sit around naked sipping her drink. Still, he felt like something precious had been taken away.

He dressed alongside her, and they settled back on the sofa.

“Hungry?” he asked. He was both thirsty and starving.

She nodded. “Are there snacks in that fridge?”

He retrieved his phone. “I was going to order something. There’s a great Thai place next door.”

“I’d go for Thai.”

“What do you like?” He pulled up the app.

“Surprise Me!” she joked, and her smile lit something warm and bright deep inside his chest.

“You got it.”

“Though I’m not sure spritzers are the right beverage for Thai food.”

He agreed with her on that. “There’s beer in my fridge,” he offered. “And probably some wine in the boardroom. But I don’t know if there’s much of a selection in stock.”

“Can I check it out?” She came to her feet.

“Absolutely. Pick whatever you like. And grab a couple of glasses from the shelf,” he called as she headed to the hallway.

He ordered satay, shrimp wraps, curry and noodles. Then he added marinated beef and plain rice to make sure they didn’t run short.

As he confirmed and paid, Emilia came back, a bottle in one hand, two glasses in the other, and a corkscrew tucked into the pocket of her khakis.

“I don’t recognize the label,” she said. “But it’s a merlot.”

“I don’t buy the wine, but our administrator, Sandy, has excellent taste.”

“Thank you, Sandy,” Emilia said cheerfully, setting the wine and the glasses on the meeting table. She peeled off the foil top and twisted in the corkscrew.

“Food is on the way,” he said.

“We can do some more work while we let this breathe,” she offered.

---