That Kind of Special Read Free Page A

moment.” She faced him again and stuck her chin in the air, narrowing her eyes. “How I dress or the fact that there are dirty clothes in my hallway does not in any way reflect my professional career, just so you know.”
    Match? He sipped the wine, buying more time to think about what she was saying. If it wasn’t about him catching her without clothes, then…
    “Ah…” He nodded, looking around the room. “I don’t need you to change the inside of my house, so I’m not worried about your talents matching drapes with pillows.”
    “I’m under a lot of stress. You’re not helping matters.” She glared and muttered, “Not another word.”
    “Absolutely not.” He grinned.
    He loved it. When most women shied away from showing their bodies, she wasn’t concerned about how much flesh she flashed his way.
    Her concern over her bra and underwear not matching was the last thing he was thinking about when he saw her. Even before she’d made an appearance, her apartment, though stylish and clean, had an array of clothes, books, piles of fabric, and bags littering the main room. On first impression, he’d guessed she was laid-back and threw herself into whatever interest caught her eye.
    An interior designer? He rubbed his hand over the soft, plush leather of her couch. He never would’ve guessed.
    “I wish you’d go away.” She crossed her legs. “I’ve lived here for a year, and I’ve always felt 100 percent safe, and I don’t appreciate you forcing yourself on me.”
    “You need a dead bolt,” he said.
    “Maybe so, but you have no right to make sure I get one. You also don’t have the right to ask someone to install one for me.”
    “Humor me.”
    She fascinated him. Her looks had grabbed his attention when he’d punched her admirer for not respecting her wishes. Her lack of awareness over her safety demanded he take her under his protection, but this…this odd request to keep her secret begged him to find out more about her.
    “The wine is good.” He held the red ambrosia under his nose and inhaled. “Have you tried Torbreck Bothie?”
    “You’re changing the subject.”
    “Yes.” He smiled. “So?”
    “So, what?”
    “Have you tried the wine named Torbreck Bothie?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ve only recently started attending wine-tasting events with my friend Doreen. This one, I bought last weekend. I liked it, because it’s sweeter than most I’ve tried.”
    “Next weekend, I’ll have Tim, my driver, pick you up and bring you to my place. I’d like you to try some Bothie… I think you’ll enjoy it. Say, eight o’clock, Saturday?”
    “No”—she shook her head—”you can’t push me around and make all these decisions for me. You’re sitting in my room without an invitation, drinking my wine, and making yourself at home. If you hadn’t called your secretary and verified who you were, I’d call security on you for breaking into my apartment.”
    “I told you. You need a better, more secure dead bolt. I’m getting you one, and I’ll stay here while it’s installed to make sure everything goes all right,” he said. “Besides, you left out how I punched your boyfriend for you.”
    “Ex-boyfriend.” She let her head fall back and looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t deal with you.”
    “I’m not asking you to. I believe I asked you over to drink my wine with me.” Damn, she was cute when she was flustered.
    “I don’t know you, despite your attempt at making yourself my best friend.” She straightened, finally meeting his gaze and held it while finishing the rest of her wine. “Your name obviously means something, going by the way you order everyone around, but I repeat, I don’t know you.”
    “I own Bauer Enterprise.” He paused, and when she shrugged, he continued. “The largest security firm with the best teams on the West Coast.”
    Her brows rose. “Security guards?”
    “Not quite.” He chuckled. “On a bigger level.