Eclipse of the Heart Read Free Page A

sympathy. "You want to talk about it?"
    "No," Amanda said. Her fingers worried the button,
as if it could attach her firmly to the job. Logan wouldn't renege on the job
offer if she were too uptight for his tastes, would he? That would be
ridiculous. It wasn't like he was marrying her.
    "Okay." Rosie interrupted her thoughts. "I'm
here if you ever need a listener."
    "Thanks, Rosie. My sister has a lung disease." The
words spilled out of Amanda, without her permission. "She's going to
Denver to stay in a hospital there that specializes in lung issues. My mother
needs to go with her."
    "Of course." Rosie fixed
her gaze on Amanda. "You need to do whatever it takes to help them. I get
it."
    "Yes." Amanda's fingers slipped the button out of
its hole. She breathed a little easier. "I'll take any tips you've
got."
    Rosie tilted her head. "Keep goin '
with those buttons. He likes his women hot and sexy."
    Amanda stiffened. "I am not going to be 'his
woman'."
    "Course not." Rosie laughed, as if to say that
idea was completely ridiculous. "But you know what I mean. Other women
don't mind flirtin ' and showin '
their sexy side. He likes that."
    "Are we back to the 'take off
your blouse' line?" Amanda tried to sound amused. But the reality was , she'd had a strong urge to start removing her clothes
while in Logan Winter's office. She hated to think she was just like all the
other women who melted in his presence.
    Rosie shrugged. "Hey, just tryin '
to help. Clothes are my thing, ya know?" She
gestured to her outfit.
    "Thanks, Rosie. I appreciate it. But I think I already
have the job."
    "Hey, congrats!" Rosie
beamed at her. "That was quick work."
    "I didn't have to get naked either." Amanda smiled
with relief. She liked Rosie, and she'd need a friend now that she was going to
be working here.
    "You will," Rosie muttered as she picked up the
blinking phone.
    Amanda decided to pretend she hadn't heard that. She feared
it was too close to the truth.

Chapter 2
    "This is my hotel
room," Amanda said. She frowned at her new boss, who stood sideways to
her, his broad shoulder propped against the cream and gold striped wallpaper
lining the penthouse corridor in Chicago's Dover Hotel.
    "It’s a suite," Logan said, his deep voice
feathering over the back of her neck.
    She fought back a shiver. She should have worn something
more protective. Kevlar. A burka .
    "Great." Amanda averted her eyes from his
shoulders and jabbed the key card in the slot above the doorknob. "Can you
give me a few minutes to unpack before we start working?" She needed some
time to collect herself away from his demanding presence.
    The light on the doorknob flashed red. She jammed the card
in again, almost folding it in her haste. Still red. Muttering under her breath, she yanked the card out. She couldn’t see anything
the way he blocked the light from the hall fixture.
     "Allow me." Logan plucked the card out of
her hand and gently inserted it. The little green light flashed in invitation.
    "Stupid key thinks this is your room, too," Amanda
muttered. She held her hand out stiffly for the key card. If she couldn’t
control the way her nerves twitched in his presence, she’d never be able to
make this job work. And she had no choice but to succeed.
    Logan turned the handle and pushed the door open. "This
is my suite also."
    She stared at him for a long moment before she recovered her
equilibrium. "I’m not sharing!"
    "Relax." He placed one hand on the small of her
back to propel her through the door. "There are two bedrooms. This
arrangement is much easier when we’re traveling."
    "I don’t care what’s easier. I want my privacy."
    "Amanda." He sighed. "Why don’t you look at
the rooms? I think you’ll find them comfortable and private."
    Closing the door behind them, he strode across the spacious
living room, removing his business jacket casually, as if he were perfectly at
ease with the notion of sharing a hotel suite with a woman he’d just hired. His
dark hair