Midnight Under the Mistletoe Read Free Page B

letters, though.”
    “C’mon. You’ll like Rosie’s cooking and she’ll be disappointed
if you don’t come eat. Those letters aren’t urgent.”
    “Very well. You’re the boss and I don’t want to hurt her
feelings.” Glancing at her watch, Emma was surprised it was half past twelve. “I
didn’t realize the time.”
    “Time flies when you’re having fun,” he said, grinning at her.
Creases appeared on either side of his mouth in an enticing smile that caused
her to smile in return.
    “So, Emma, tell me about yourself since we’ll be working
together for the next month or so.”
    Satisfaction flared because he must mean she would get to stay.
“There’s not much to tell. I’ve been at Z.A.D. for two years now. I have an
apartment in Dallas and have two sisters and two brothers. My sisters, Sierra
and Mary Kate, and Connor, my older brother, are married. Bobby and I are
single. What about you?”
    “I have two brothers, it was three, one is deceased. My older
brother became guardian of our little niece, Caroline.”
    “That’s sad. Is your niece’s mother deceased, too?”
    “No, her mother walked out when Caroline was a baby. She didn’t
want to be tied down with responsibilities, although she had a nanny and someone
to cook and clean.”
    “I can’t imagine,” Emma said, staring at him.
    He shrugged. “One more thing to sour me on marriage. My older
brother felt the same way until this year. He just married in September.”
    “You don’t want to get married and have a family?”
    His mouth quirked in a crooked smile. “Not even remotely. The
weeks I’m spending here recuperating are probably the longest I’ve stayed home
in Texas in I don’t know when. I’m a traveler.”
    “I’ve heard you work all over the world and I know Z.A.D. has
offices worldwide. I have a vastly different life. I don’t want to miss a
weekend with my family.”
    “We’re poles apart there,” he remarked with a smile, directing
her into a large kitchen with an adjoining dining room that held a table and
chairs, a sofa, a fireplace, two wingback chairs and a bar.
    “What’s for lunch, Rosie? Something smells tempting,” he said,
raising a lid on a pot on the stove. A stocky woman in a uniform bustled around
the kitchen. Her graying hair was in a bun and glasses perched on her turned-up
nose.
    “Chicken soup there and I have quesadillas or turkey melt
sandwiches—your preference.”
    “How about soup, plus—” He paused and looked questioningly at
Emma. “Either of the choices have any appeal?”
    “Of course. Quesadillas, please.”
    “Good choice. Rosie’s are special. Soup and quesadillas it is.
We can help ourselves, Rosie.”
    Bowls and plates were on the counter. With that steady
awareness of him at her side, Emma helped herself to a small bowl of soup,
surprised when Zach set down his dishes and held her chair as she sat down. The
gesture made their lunch together seem far less like boss and secretary eating
together than a man and a woman on a date. Rosie appeared with a coffeepot,
which Emma declined and Zach accepted.
    When he sat, she said, “I’m sure everyone asks, what drew you
to demolition?”
    “A child’s love of tearing something down, probably. I have an
engineering degree and I almost went to architecture school. I have architects
working for me so we build where we tear down. We build sometimes where nothing
has stood. I find it fascinating work.”
    “I hear you go all over the world.” She didn’t add that she
knew he was wealthy enough he would never have to work a day if he didn’t want
to.
    The Delaney wealth was well publicized. She had never known
anyone like him before. His love of travel was foreign to her. His disregard for
family and marriage dismayed her even more than his apparent disregard for his
family history. He had a lifestyle she could not imagine, but the head of the
company was light-years from her clerical job, which provided an excellent way
to