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  Butterflies migrated in her stomach, and she fought to keep her breathing even. She had no idea why she was nervous. Except, okay, she did. She stood, caught between being afraid Gideon wanted more with her, a hope she’d been too afraid to cling to, and the possibility that he was doing all this—the “dates,” the getting to know her, the popping by her office—for some left-field need to fulfill a one-night stand.

  “We just received the closing documents for Napa,” she said and handed him the papers. “And I plan to have Kamari’s firm go out and do the surveys.”

  “Perfect.” He took the papers but didn’t look at them. “I wonder if we should fly out to California ourselves and walk the land.”

  “Not a bad idea,” she agreed without thinking through his words.

  Damn. That wasn’t her plan. Oh how easily she agreed to his brilliant ideas. Sabrina was not going to tell him that.

  “I have another invitation for tomorrow night,” Gideon said, neatly ignoring the papers she’d handed him.

  How often had he done that and she hadn’t noticed? Sabrina narrowed her eyes.

  “It’s a wine tasting,” he continued, “at the Oak Room. Thought it might be fun. You game?”

  This was it, then. Sabrina stood a little straighter and carefully held the folder in front of her. For only a moment she let the silence stretch between them. Gideon’s gaze never left hers, so dark and direct, as if they knew her every secret.

  Her heart sped up, and the heat she now associated with a single look from him burned through her, hot and fast, and Sabrina knew her cheeks flushed.

  “Actually, Gideon,” she said in an even voice. Oh, thank goodness it sounded calm. Blood rushed in her ears, drowning out all other sounds as she spoke her lie and waited for his reaction. “I can’t make it. But if you want, I’m sure I can set you up with a friendly date.”

  Sabrina had never seen him blanch like that. His deep brown eyes stood starkly out on his pale face, and she swore he looked ill. His hands clenched around the papers on his desk, and he half stood from his chair. It took barely a moment, and Sabrina wondered if she would’ve noticed if she hadn’t been so intently studying him.

  Oh my God. They were right. Eliza and Audrey had been right. How blind was she?

  Gideon composed himself and slowly rose from the chair. He rounded his massive desk until he stood before her. His arms folded over his chest, he leaned against the desk and studied her. Now his face gave nothing away, entirely impassive with just a hint of interest. Sabrina had to wonder if she would’ve seen through him even last week.

  “No,” he said quietly. “It’s not that important. So what are you up to tomorrow night?”

  Sabrina wondered if he practiced that cool nonchalance. She supposed he’d have had to, growing up in his father’s company then taking it over. Still, it’d never been turned on her.

  She found it unbelievably sexy.

  She let herself smile slowly. Knowledge and power and, oh boy, she couldn’t believe any of this, but it made her grin with it all. “I have a date. A real date.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw, and his body tensed. Acutely aware of his every move, she’d begun to learn all his tells. Now, she made a note of them—the jaw clenching, the slight deepening of his tone when he wasn’t pleased. She’d known that from business but now saw both of them in an entirely different light.

  Unclenching his jaw he asked, harder than before, “With who?”

  His cool nonchalance had disappeared. And his brown eyes blazed into hers, and damn if that look didn’t steal her breath. Her heart did a slow flip in her chest, and she had to control her smile before it widened too much and gave her lie away.

  “Oh.” She waved a hand. “You don’t know him. I met him in line at the coffee shop. But he has the most mesmerizing baby blues.”

  Gideon’s gorgeous dark, Latin eyes narrowed, and she smiled innocently up at him.

  “Anyway,” she said brightly, pleasure bubbling through her. Pleasure tinged with nerves. But his look had been unmistakable, and it warmed parts of her Sabrina had thought long dead. “I need to make sure Kamari gets these plans.”

  Sabrina turned to leave but had made it no more than half a step.

  “Why were you in the coffee shop?” Gideon demanded. “You don’t go to coffee shops. You make your coffee at home, and I know damn well you have a coffeemaker with a built-in grinder in your office.”

  She grinned. Widely. Frantically composing her features before she turned around, Sabrina felt her heart skip a beat.

  “And I have that special dark roast you like so much delivered every week to your office.”

  Forget skipping a beat. Her heart galloped in her chest. Sabrina managed a small smile. “Yes,” she said softly. “Thank you. It’s delicious.”

  “Well?” Gideon demanded. He’d dropped his arms and now stood within touching distance. He didn’t touch her, and Sabrina was no longer surprised by how very much she wanted him to.

  “Well what?” she asked softly.

  He let out an exasperated breath. “Why were you in the coffee shop?”

  “I wanted a buttery croissant,” Sabrina said as innocently as she could manage. “A buttery chocolate croissant.”

  She couldn’t tear her gaze from his and wondered if she closed the distance between them and kissed him, if his lips would taste as soft as they looked. She had a sudden—or not-so-sudden—desire to suck on that full bottom lip.

  “I’m jealous.” Those two words were spoken in such a soft and honest voice that Sabrina felt bad for the subterfuge.

  She took a step back, not to put distance between them, but so she could see him better. She needed to see him, to watch his reactions, to know his expression and his words matched. Because clearly she was terrible at reading this man. That changed today.

  “Why are you jealous?” she asked, still soft. Still wondering.

  “I thought after these last few weeks we were growing closer, you and me.” Gideon stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked up at the ceiling then back to her.

  Her breath caught at the raw honesty in his voice.

  “I don’t have a date tomorrow night,” she said in a rush. “I wanted to know what the hell was going on. Now,” she said in a stunned voice at the confirmation, the sheer scope of what she’d been blind to, “apparently I know.”

  “It’s not like I can come out and ask my VP to go on a romantic date with me,” Gideon said. He didn’t raise his voice in the face of her louder, more strident tone. “It wasn’t that easy. But I thought you’d have gotten the hints by now.”

  His hands had come out of his pockets. The tips of his fingers ran down her arms and briefly clasped her hands. “I want you very much, Sabrina McKenna.”

  “No.” But her voice lacked the strength she’d meant it to have. “We can’t do this, Gideon. We can’t ruin what we already have. We work together.” Somehow she found the strength to slip her hands from his and step back. “And we’re damn good at what we do. Sex will just ruin everything.”

  “Why do you say that? Why do you think that?” Gideon stood very still. He made no move to take her hands again, no move closer to her. Nor did his hands make their way back into his pockets.

  “Because that’s what happens to me,” Sabrina said. This she knew. Her conviction in this was unshakable. And she did not want to ruin what she had with Gideon. Which was apparently more than friendship. But she valued his friendship so very much.

  “I get into a relationship, and it crashes and burns. You can set your watch by it.” Her voice caught.

  “You have to give us a chance. You have to give this a chance.” He took her hand again. “I know you feel it.”

  “I don’t have to give this a chance.” But again her voice lacked conviction. She subtly cleared her throat and pulled her hand from his. Stronger, she said, “And I don’t think we should risk it. We’re friends. Good friends. And I don’t want to go out with you and then sud
denly it’s over and my career is at risk because you don’t want to see me around the office.”

  “Your job will never be at risk.” The words were staccato, snapped with anger and conviction and something so Gideon, she believed him. “That should not even be part of this discussion. You’re as much Gideon Hotels as I am.”

  Sabrina nodded. She believed him. Oh, she believed him. But—and there was always a but. She licked her lips. “It’s still not a good idea,” she protested softly. “I’m really not interested in hurting our friendship.”

  “How do you know this wouldn’t deepen it?” he asked.

  When had he moved closer?

  “How do you know this isn’t it?” he added in that same seductively soft voice.

  “I don’t,” she admitted. Her heart wanted to believe. Sabrina stepped back. She needed to, needed the distance. “But I’m scared that it’s not and what that would mean.”

  “If you don’t take a chance,” he said, “then we’ll never know.”

  “Gideon,” Sabrina said then stopped. She took another step back and shook her head. It hurt to breathe, and she had trouble swallowing past the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to discuss this now. I can’t.”

  Turning sharply on her heel, she left his office. She saw Gideon’s assistant hastily hang up the phone as she rushed by. So intent on getting back to her office before she broke, Sabrina ignored Cynthia’s worried call from her desk and shut the door firmly behind her.

  Had she just made a huge mistake? Had she missed her chance? What if he really did begin dating someone else?

  Her heart clenched at the thought of another on his arm, at the image of that tall, slender woman with that winning smile and curves in all the right places. Laughing at something Gideon said.

  Sabrina stopped in front of her desk and leaned down, pressing her hands hard to the surface. She needed to control herself. She wasn’t a schoolgirl who could indulge in a good cry wherever she wanted. She was a professional and needed to act as such.

  Even if her heart broke.

  Odds:

  0-14 days—100:1

  15-30 days—50:1

  31-40 days—20:1

  41-50 days—15:1

  51-55 days—10:1

  56-60 days—8:1

  61-63 days—7:1

  64-69 days—6:1

  70-80 days—5:1

  81-90 days—4:1

  91-100 days—2:1

  100+ days—1:1

  Chapter Seven

  Sabrina pushed off her desk and paced. She wasn’t a hand-wringer, but then she’d never been in this position, either. So she paced, her hands clenched tightly together. She tried to order her thoughts. To convince herself this move was the right one. The smart one.

  But her mind was a whirl, and the only thought Sabrina grasped with any clarity was the one where she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life and had lost Gideon. Forever.

  Part of her wanted to change her mind. Wanted to tell him she’d made a mistake and maybe it would work out. Just because she’d never had a relationship end on even a remotely friendly note didn’t mean this particular one would follow the same crash-and-burn pattern.

  But she couldn’t. Gideon’s friendship meant so much to her. She cherished it so deeply, Sabrina was terrified to move onto a deeper level. Because those relationships crashed and burned because of her. She inevitably messed them up. Except with Ray; that was her one smart choice, to kick him to the curb.

  Messing things up, destroying her relationship with Gideon, terrified her.

  Her door burst open. Sabrina jumped and turned for her door. Gideon stood there, his brown eyes blazing, his mouth set hard and firm. Damn it, why did she still want to kiss that bottom lip of his? She should not be thinking things like that.

  With measured moves, he closed her office door and flicked the lock.

  “We have to discuss this now.” He stalked forward. “Enough time has been spent not confronting it.”

  “I didn’t realize there was anything to confront!” Sabrina shot back. “Until just a couple days ago.”

  And, oh, didn’t that make her look like an oblivious fool. She’d deal with that later. She could only handle one emotional roller coaster at a time, and Gideon seemed to be it.

  “Then it looks like I’m not the only one who needs time to plan things out.”

  Sabrina straightened. He hadn’t moved closer, but the office seemed smaller. “I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I needed to know if you were really serious about dating.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes hot and steady on hers. “Now you know.”

  Slowly she nodded. “Yes. I know. And I gave you my answer.”

  “No.” He did take a step forward now. “You walked out of my office.”

  She’d run, but why quibble over semantics?

  “After telling me,” he continued, “you were afraid dating me would ruin our working relationship. Maybe,” he said, “I was unclear.” He took another step closer. Then another. Sabrina tried to move, tried to get out of his path, but he was a bulldozer intent on her.

  She swallowed and tried to ignore the thrill at being his sole focus.

  “This isn’t going to ruin anything,” he said slowly and smoothly and oh so softly. “It’s only going to make it better.” His hand cupped her cheek. “And definitely sexier.”

  How had she managed to live her entire life up until now without the feel of his hand on her face? Flustered, she stumbled back. Her mouth was dry, but her arousal flushed her entire body—hot and wet and making her reckless.

  Straightening, she shook her head. She needed control of this situation. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, Gideon. I don’t know if this is some challenge for you. Or if you simply want a taste of what’s in your orbit all day.”

  “How can you come up with every conceivable excuse for wanting you except for what it truly is?” he growled the words, low and hard. “I simply want you.”

  He followed her steps and backed her up to her desk.

  “Because I’m not 5’10” blonde, and disappear when I turn sideways!” she shouted.

  Sabrina didn’t care that Cynthia was right outside. Probably half the staff had noticed her exit from Gideon’s office and his slamming into hers.

  “I know what your type is, Gideon,” she said in a calmer voice. Slightly calmer. “It may have been a while since you brought a girlfriend to the office, but I’ve seen them. And clearly your type.” She poked him in the chest. He was close again. Too close. “Looks nothing like me.”

  She circled a finger around her face in case he missed her point.

  “You’re wrong.” Another step. “My type looks exactly like you. Because I know…” He cupped her face again, lowering his head so he looked directly at her. “You’re the only one I want.”

  “For now.” But her voice broke. Sabrina tried to clear her throat but couldn’t take a deep enough breath. Not with him so close. Touching her. “I don’t want this, Gideon, because…I don’t want what’s going to happen after. You can move on to whomever. But you’re going to leave me in a burnt wreck with a broken heart.”

  Oh God, that was honest. Very honest. Too honest. What made her say that? What made her all but confess her feelings? Sabrina licked her lips but didn’t miss how Gideon’s eyes followed the movement. The blatant arousal in his gaze made her want to feel that arousal if she kissed him. Which she would not.

  “And I can’t afford that.” Apparently the honesty kept on going. “I don’t want that.”

  “Neither do I,” he said. He hadn’t moved, and Sabrina couldn’t find the strength to pull away.

  “It’s not the same for you.”

  “Why not?” he demanded. “Because I’m a guy? Believe it or not, men’s hearts break, too.”

  “I don’t believe you,” she said in a laughing sob. “That’s an urban legend.”

  His smile warmed her heart an
d made her so desperately want to believe him. In him. In them.

  Gideon lowered his forehead to hers and just stayed there for long, long heartbeats. “It’s not an urban legend. If you push me away, my heart will break.”

  “Great way to corner a lady, Gideon.” Sabrina needed to break this moment. But her response was weak despite the sharp words. She wanted to step back and watch his eyes, but didn’t want to move away from this touch.

  “What is this about, Sabrina?” he asked. “Really?”

  “Because I don’t want to.” The words were barely a whisper. “Because—”

  “Because you’re afraid.”

  He knew her too well. Without pulling back, Sabrina nodded.

  “Please. Trust me.”

  She did. Oh, she did. Sabrina nodded and reached up, her hands on his shoulders. She pulled him closer and kissed him.

  How many times had she wondered what he tasted like? How his lips felt against hers? Sabrina had pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind with the knowledge she’d never know. Now she did and knew she’d never get enough.

  His other hand came up to frame her face, and he deepened the kiss. Sabrina wanted to savor the taste, wanted to catalog and remember the flavor of Gideon’s kisses. But somewhere between that initial touch of lips and this, everything snapped.

  From the dates and her constant arousal, to the need she’d long tried to bury and the desperation to feel him. All of him pressed against her.

  He walked her back one final step until her desk bit into her back, but all Sabrina could do was tangle her fingers in his hair and moan against those lips.

  Gideon hiked her up onto the desk. His hands left her face, but before she could moan at the loss of his skin on hers, his fingers danced lightly up her thighs, pushing up her skirt as they went. She opened her legs for him, her own hands skimming down his back to press against his hips until he stood between her legs.

  Sabrina felt him hard against her and broke the kiss on a whimper. It may have been his name. She arched against him, her fingers tugging at his suit jacket so they could slide beneath his shirt. Skin felt hot to her touch, and it was only then she realized his own fingers circled the waistband of her stockings and panties.