Chapter Two

      Tess wasn’t particularly concerned about Scott’s sudden distraction. This was an expression she knew very well, the way he always looked when he’d been struck with a possibly brilliant solution to a troublesome dilemma. She would wait patiently for him to share what he was thinking—or not. Sometimes he had to mull over details for days before he enlightened anyone else about his latest inspired idea.

      Glancing around the reception area, she decided she’d finished decorating. The offices looked festive and welcoming but not over the top. “I’m calling it done,” she said, more to herself than Scott, who probably wasn’t listening anyway. “Any more would be too much.”

      He gave a little start in response to her voice—honestly, had he forgotten she was even there?—then cleared his throat. “Um, Tess?”

      Picking up an empty ornament box to stow away in a supply closet, she responded absently, “Yes?”

      When he didn’t immediately reply, she glanced around to find him studying her with a frown. The way he was staring took her aback. Did she have something on her face? Glitter in her hair? She thought he might look just this way at finding a stranger in his reception room.

      “Scott?”

      He blinked, then glanced quickly around them. “Not here,” he muttered, apparently to himself, then addressed her again. “Have you eaten?”

      “I was going to stop for takeout on my way home.”

      “Want to share a pizza at Giulia’s? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

      It wasn’t unusual for them to share a meal after working late, and the nearby casual Italian place was one of their customary destinations. Because she had no other plans for the evening, she nodded. “Sure. I’ll just grab a notebook.”

      “You won’t need to take notes. We’re just going to talk.”

      That was odd, too. They’d worked through shared meals but never just talked.

      He was still acting peculiarly when they were seated in a back booth in the restaurant.

      Sipping her soda while waiting for their pizza, Tess studied Scott over the rim of the glass. He was visibly preoccupied, but she knew occasionally it was possible to sidetrack him from his musings, at least briefly. She gave it a try. “Tell me a funny story about your nieces,” she suggested, leaning back in her seat. “I could use a good laugh this evening.”

      He blinked a couple of times before focusing on her from across the table. Candlelight gleamed in his dark blue eyes. His hair, the color of strong, rich coffee and a bit mussed from the winter evening breeze, was brushed back casually from a shallow widow’s peak. A few strands of premature silver glittered in the dark depths. There was no denying that her boss was a fine-looking man, trim and tanned with a firm, square jaw, nicely chiseled features and a smile that could melt glaciers when he turned on the charm.

      Sometimes she still thought of the first time she’d met him. She’d been struck almost dumb by her first sight of the great-looking, intensely focused man sitting behind a cheap, cluttered desk in his first office. She still cringed a little when she thought of how incoherent she’d been during that awkward interview. She wasn’t sure what he’d seen in her to take a chance on hiring her, but she was so glad he had. She loved her job and took great pride in the success of the business.

      Scott thought for a moment before complying with her impulsive request. “During breakfast Thanksgiving morning, Madison reached for the butter and knocked over an entire glass of cold milk directly into Eli’s lap. Eli jumped and knocked over his cereal bowl, which landed on their shih tzu. The dog went tearing through the house scattering milk and Cheerios all over the floors while the girls chased after it, smashing the cereal underfoot. Eli was laughing when he told us the story over Thanksgiving dinner, but his wife was not amused.”

      Tess laughed. “That sounds like a scene from a TV sitcom.”

      “Right? Eli said it’s pretty much life as expected with energetic almost-five-year-old twins.”

      “I can imagine. It must be exhausting.”

      He smiled up at the server who set their pizza in front of them, then continued the conversation as Tess reached for a slice. “Eli and Libby put on the long-suffering act, but they love every minute with those girls.”

      She’d met all the members of Scott’s family, most recently in September, at the annual PCCI picnic at sprawling Burns Park in North Little Rock.

      She doubted he got the same kind of grief from his family that she did from hers just because he hadn’t yet found his own life mate. From what she knew of them, she thought perhaps they’d tease him a little, but probably not in the insultingly patronizing tone her sister used toward her. With Thanksgiving behind them, the holiday season was now well under way. Parties, traditions, family gatherings loomed ahead. She wished she could feel a little more enthusiastic about what was to come in the next month.

      “You like children, don’t you, Tess?” Scott asked unexpectedly.

      “I love children.” She hoped her quick smile hid the wistfulness that underlaid her reply.

      “Yeah, me, too.”

      Looking down at his plate, Scott toyed with his food, seemingly lost in his thoughts again. With silence reigning, she took another bite of her veggie pizza.

      He cleared his throat and she glanced up. Her eyebrows rose in response to his expression. “What?”

      “You remember when I had that unexpected appendectomy last year and you had to come to my house to work the next day because we had that big deadline?”

      She was rather surprised he’d mentioned that incident. He’d seemed to try very hard to forget that day since. “Of course I remember.”

      Hypersensitive to the painkillers, Scott had spent a few hours rambling somewhat disjointedly until the effects wore off. He hadn’t said anything too far out of line, but he’d been amusingly whimsical and had continually heaped praise on her, telling her how important she was to him and how he couldn’t get by without her. Even knowing his effusiveness was fueled by medication, she’d taken the compliments to heart.

      The only seriously awkward moment had come as she’d prepared to leave. Though Scott wasn’t a “hugger,” he’d hauled her into his arms for a somewhat clumsy embrace, thanking her too heartily for her help. She’d convinced herself afterward that he had surely intended to kiss her cheek, but he’d missed. His lips had landed squarely on her mouth.

      It had lasted only seconds. Hardly long enough to be called a kiss. Even under the influence of the medicines, he’d been aware enough to jump back immediately, stammering apologies, flustered, his face uncharacteristically flushed. Tess had laughed it off, attempting to mask her own reactions behind indulgent humor. Despite her assurances the next day that he’d said nothing untoward, Scott had been embarrassed by his lack of control and obviously concerned that he’d crossed professional lines. They had implicitly agreed to put the incident behind them and never refer to it again. To be honest, though, there’d been times when she’d found herself reliving that