First You Kiss 100 Men.... Carolyn Greene
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‘‘Nothing,’’ she said a bit too hastily. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, Julie saw that he didn’t seem to notice her unease. Emboldened, she decided to probe for his reaction to her column. ‘‘I was just thinking about that mystery kisser they were talking about just now. I haven’t read the paper yet—did you see the column?’’
Spencer hit the enter key. ‘‘Oops.’’
Hunter chose that moment to emerge from his office and ask for the Lifeway Insurance file.
Spencer straightened and handed her the mouse. ‘‘Sorry I couldn’t help you.’’
After he left, Julie stood up to block Hunter’s view of the cryptic error message on her computer monitor. It was still her first day. The last thing she wanted was to let him know she’d managed to mess things up already.
He took the file she handed him and paused to stare down at her. ‘‘You weren’t that short this morning.’’
Without moving from her position, Julie stretched a toe toward the black mules hiding under her desk. ‘‘I, uh…’’ She gave a little laugh. ‘‘My shoes temporarily went AWOL.’’
He glanced down at her nylon-clad feet, then ever so slowly pulled his gaze up her body until his eyes met hers. He grinned knowingly, and the suggestiveness in his smile made her wish it was August already so she could give him another birthday kiss. ‘‘Perhaps you should ask Mr. Oltmeier’s secretary to help you retrieve Mrs. Huffnagle’s letter.’’
Julie hurriedly slid her feet into the recaptured shoes and made a move to leave, but Hunter stopped her with a hand on her arm.
‘‘Before you go, I’d better warn you that Priscilla is a notorious matchmaker. She has tried to fix up her bachelor brother with every single female in the office.’’
Julie smiled broadly. Another potential kisser.
Hunter appeared irked by her reaction. ‘‘Why are you looking so happy? I’m trying to warn you not to let her sic her brother on you.’’ He shifted the folder to his other arm. ‘‘And while we’re on the subject, you should probably stay away from Spencer, too. He’s totally trustworthy where numbers are concerned, but that kind of integrity doesn’t always follow him into his social life.’’
Once again, Julie felt like a ten-year-old being lectured by her older, more worldly brother. She clenched her teeth and accidentally bit her cheek. With a grimace, she sought to remind him once again that she wasn’t the little girl next door who needed to be reminded not to run into the street.
‘‘I’m stating the obvious here, but you’re my boss, not my date filter.’’
His eyebrows pulled together in the frequently used expression of his youth. He had done that a lot when they were neighbors, mainly when Julie had used her own form of logic to explain whatever mischief she’d managed to get herself into.
‘‘Huh?’’
She paused for a second, reminding herself that Hunter wasn’t normally the type to interfere in her personal life. The only times he’d ever butted into her business were when he was concerned that she might get hurt. Like the time he’d caught her trying to make an explosive out of cap-gun powder. So she sought to reassure him. ‘‘Thanks to you and Gran, I’ve accumulated all the savvy advice I’ll ever need. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.’’
‘‘Yeah, but you still see only the best in people, sometimes even when they don’t deserve it.’’ His expression turned serious, as it had when they used to hold their philosophical discussions about whether cats had nine lives or lemmings really committed mass suicide. ‘‘I don’t want you to get hurt.’’
She lifted her chin. When would he understand that she was no longer an impulsive child who needed his protection? ‘‘I can take care of myself. Contrary to your long-held opinion, I’m not an accident waiting to happen.’’
At that moment, the deejay announced his return from the commercial break with the sound effect of shattering glass. Julie started at the noise, and Hunter gave her one of those knowing looks that once again managed to make her feel as if he had read her very thoughts.
His response was a resigned sigh. ‘‘When you talk to Priscilla, ask her to block out some time every day for the next week to give you some intensive training.’’
He turned to head back to his office, pausing only long enough to straighten one of the stacks of papers on her desk.
Julie popped a toffee into her mouth and tossed the wrapper into the trash can. This next month was going to be a long, hard one.
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