Scandalizing the CEO

“Not because of the size of your body,” he said. “Because you made yourself unremarkable. You’ve changed. I don’t think it’s just weight loss. I think it has to do with your personality.”

She took a sip of her espresso and then joined her hands together on the table. “A man would see it that way.”

“Anyone would,” he argued. “You used to make yourself invisible. Maybe you felt more comfortable that way. But the woman you are right now is who I’m attracted to, and it wouldn’t matter what size she was.”

He saw her blink and turn away. “Now I want you to try a bite of this dessert. It’s delicious.”

“I can’t, Steven. One bite will turn into the entire cake. You have no idea what a struggle it is for me to keep from overeating.”

She was too disciplined now to overeat. He could tell by the way she held herself that she wouldn’t let her control slip. She just wasn’t that sure of herself. He vowed that she would be. That he would show her that she was so much more than unfulfilled wanting.

“Trust me.”

She looked over at him and he felt like this had become about something more than dessert. The moment sharpened until he knew this would change the course of their relationship. Either she would trust him and it would move forward or she wouldn’t and he’d sleep with her and they’d never see each other again.

He wasn’t sure which scenario he preferred. Because if she started to trust him, that meant he had the burden of continuing to be worthy of her trust—something he wasn’t sure he could do. He’d been dead inside for so long. He’d settled for one-night stands and short-term affairs.

But as the fork was suspended between them and he watched Ainsley move slowly toward it, he knew that things were changing. Not just for her, but for him as well.

She was the first woman he’d wanted physically who had tempted him emotionally. And that scared him. He’d always been alone and he didn’t want to depend on a woman whose career was so important.

She took a bite, the fork entering her pretty mouth, and when he pulled it away he noticed that she’d closed her eyes. She savored that bite of cake the way he wanted to savor her. He wanted to linger over every curve of her body, wanted to explore each inch until he knew her better than she knew herself. And he would.

If she trusted him, he’d do his best to live up to that for as long as he could. He knew himself well enough to know that eventually he’d let her down.

He’d done that most of his life when it came to relationships, but for the first time he didn’t want that to happen. He wanted to be a man that she’d always be able to look up to.

“Thank you,” she said. “That was delicious.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. He put the fork down and signaled for the check.

He hadn’t realized that by playing games with her, by seducing her slowly and trying to find her weaknesses, he’d find his own.

With her wide violet eyes and her full red lips, she’d drawn him into her web. And a part of him would be happy to stay there. But a bigger part of him knew that weakness lay with emotional dependency.

Not the small weaknesses that made up character flaws but the bigger ones, like needing Ainsley, that were something that could cost him the competition with Henry and Geoff. And possibly the success of the retail group.

Ainsley was dangerous.

Looking at her sitting across the table from him, it was hard to believe it, but she was. She made him want things that weren’t work-related. She made him want to sit at home at night in front of a fire with her curled up by his side.

She made him want to think about the future with her and maybe having some kids. And that was a very frightening picture. Being a parent and being successful just didn’t go together.

Nine

Finding herself sitting outside her house with Steven again, she had an odd sense of déjà vu. Her emotions were all in a jumble and she was worried about what she might do or say. For the first time in a long time she felt out of control. She wanted Steven and that desire was taking over every part of her.

She wanted to be smart and charming—Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. But she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she’d come off as more unsure and awkward.

“Haven’t we been here before?” she asked.

“I believe we have,” he said.

He’d turned the car off and turned to face her. It was a lane dimly lit by streetlamps. The light from one of them illuminated his face but kept part of it in shadow.

He was a mystery to her. Even after all her research about him, she still couldn’t figure him out. He sat with his body turned toward her and his arm resting on the steering wheel.