Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 53764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
The other woman preened like a cat that had gotten the cream. "Yes, I know. He's either at that stupid bank of his, or he's in my bed, getting his brains screwed out." Her face became shadowed and she frowned at Natalie as if something had just occurred to her. "How long did you say you've been working for him?"
"Two weeks."
The frown intensified. "Just so you know, he's mine. We've been dating for two years, and we're getting married soon."
Natalie felt a small stab of something she couldn't identify. "Congratulations."
"Yes, well, don't congratulate me yet. I haven't gotten him to commit completely. But he will."
"That's great." Yes, just peachy.
"Call me Tanya. And I'll call you Natalie?"
Natalie smiled and tried not to make it brittle. "Yes, of course."
"Good. We'll be seeing each other a lot because I'm here all the time. We'll get along fine, just as long as you don't try to take him. Not that you could. You're not at all his type. Marco likes tall, beautiful women. And you aren't that, are you?"
"Nope, no one could ever call me tall. Or beautiful, for that matter." As soon as the words shot from her mouth, Natalie remembered what Marco had said earlier in the day--and the way he said it. A small shred of guilt crawled up her throat, even though she hadn't done anything wrong. She didn't know if he really believed what he'd said, or if he was trying to make some kind of point, but he'd certainly sounded as if he believed it. But the fact was, Natalie had never thought of herself as beautiful. Her mother was beautiful; she wasn't.
"Well, you're not so bad, you know. Okay, see you later. You'll give him the box, right?"
"Yes, of course. It was nice to meet you." Not.
"You too."
****
Natalie was in the kitchen when she heard Marco come home that night. So far, this had been the most eventful day since the day they had wrecked. First, getting lost and the GPS incident, and then meeting Tanya Wallace.
Marco had been displeased when he'd left earlier in the day, displeased and scary, and now her nerves were a bit stretched as she waited to see if he would fall into his usual routine. He hadn't requested a meal, and so she had prepared herself a salad earlier and was now straightening up before she slipped to her bedroom.
She heard his footsteps on the porcelain tile of the entry, and then the more subdued tread as he crossed the carpet. Within seconds she knew he stood in the doorway to the kitchen, even though her back was to him. She was aware of her heart beating loudly in her ears, and she closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath before turning to face him.
Gripping the counter behind her, she saw him studying her in silence. She knew she needed to speak, before the tension became even thicker. "Hi."
He looked her over, top to bottom, and took his time before asking, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, why?"
"I don't know. All alone--lost in Houston," he said, referring to the incident earlier in the day.
He made it sound as if she were a ten-year-old, but she smiled weakly and stuck to the script screaming through her brain--not the one banging through her bloodstream demanding to know why he was keeping such close tabs on her. "It was broad daylight and I'm not a child."
All softness left his expression and his eyes dropped to her chest. Flecks of red highlighted his cheekbones and his nostrils flared. An obdurate glimmer heated the eyes that lifted to hers.
If Natalie hadn't been hanging on to the countertop, the flash of lust on his face would have probably brought her to her knees. It was by no means the first time she'd caught a sexual look on his face, but it was the first time it had been so completely unguarded, so intense it made her heart skip a beat before taking up a cadence in her chest that made breathing in a normal rhythm an impossible feat.
She licked her dry lips and attempted to take the edge off the situation. "Tanya came by today. She left a box for you."
His eyes narrowed. "Tanya came here?" his voice was deep and hard, displeasure lacing his tone.
"Yes, she--"
Ropes of tension made deep lines around his mouth as he cut her off. "Did she say anything to upset you?"
She told me y'all were getting married. "We talked a bit--introduced ourselves. She left a box for you," Natalie reiterated.
"You're sure? She didn't upset you?"
She asked me if I was fucking you. "No, of course not. She had a hard time believing you had a housekeeper now. I didn't tell her anything about--about the wreck. I just told her that you'd hired me and that I'd been here for two weeks. I hope that was okay."