Billionaire Bosses Collection. Кэрол Мортимер

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      Was she a glutton for punishment to contemplate another short-term fling? Heck, yeah. But considering the road ahead—the uncertainty of her mum’s illness, her lifespan, and the ensuing pain when the inevitable happened—would it be so bad to take a little bit of happiness while she could?

      Logically, she’d be an idiot to contemplate it.

      Emotionally, her heart strained towards him, eager for affection, knowing how sensational they could be together even for a scant week.

      He kissed the top of her head and she sighed, appreciating his sensitivity in not pushing her to talk any more.

      Besides, she’d said enough. She hadn’t told any of her past dates about her mum—hadn’t let them get close enough. Yet in two days she’d let Archer march back into her life—and a little corner of her heart if she were completely honest—and trusted him enough to divulge the truth about her mum.

      At least she hadn’t told him all of it. Some things were best left unsaid.

      The memory of her genetic testing sent a shiver through her and he tightened his hold, conveying strength in silence.

      Yeah, she could do worse than have some fun for a change over the next week.

      In the lead-up to Christmas surely she’d been a good girl all year and Santa owed her big-time?

      * * *

      The next morning Callie had to admit spending the week in Torquay had been a stroke of genius on Archer’s part.

      She’d worked uninterrupted for the last three hours, perched on his balcony, enjoying the sea air and the view, inspired in a way she hadn’t been for a long time.

      She didn’t know if it was being away from the office for the first time in years that had sparked her creativity, but she’d added some amazing touches to the surf school website today. Ideas to build on when he gave her the grand tour this afternoon.

      It helped that he’d made himself scarce since dawn this morning. She hadn’t been looking forward to having him hover over her workspace after her confession last night.

      Sure, it had seemed as if telling him about her mum had been the right thing to do at the time, while they were relaxed and cosy at dusk, but in the harsh light of day, after a sleepless night spent second-guessing herself, she hadn’t wanted to face him.

      Shared confidences bred intimacy, and that was one thing she couldn’t afford with Archer. She’d been foolish enough in testing herself by being here this week. For while he’d demanded she come to Torquay to secure the campaign she probably could have weaselled her way out of it if she’d tried.

      But the moment he’d strutted into her office, spouting his terms, she’d wanted to prove to herself once and for all that she was over him, that he had no hold over her despite spending seven days in her company.

      She’d been doing a good job of it too—those kisses he’d sprung on her notwithstanding—until last night.

      Following their break-up, she’d tarred Archer with the same brush as her dad: selfish, self-absorbed, a man who followed his whims without regard to anyone else. It had been a coping mechanism, labelling him so harshly.

      Yet last night—the way he’d comforted her, the way he’d been attuned to her mood and content to sit in silence—had seriously undermined her lowly opinion of him and made her seem childish in lashing out in the past because she’d been foolish enough to feel more than he had.

      Laughter drifted up from the beach and she sheltered her eyes with her hand to focus on the group by the water’s edge.

      A bunch of teenagers surrounded Archer, their boards stuck vertically in the sand like sentinels. He stood in the centre, gesturing towards the ocean, demonstrating a few moves, while the teens jostled and elbowed for prime position in front of their idol.

      Embarrassment twanged her heart. A selfish guy wouldn’t give up his precious school-set-up time to hang with a bunch of kids. Just as a selfish guy wouldn’t have taken the time to comfort her last night.

      Feeling increasingly guilty, she shut down the webpage program she’d been tweaking, scooped up her paperwork and dumped the lot inside.

      Another bonus of working here. She could take a head-clearing walk along the beach any time. And right now, remorseful, she wanted to let Archer know he wasn’t so bad after all.

      Not that she had any intention of confessing such a thing to him, but she’d been pretty remote, deliberately maintaining an invisible distance between them. Considering how great he’d been with her last night, it wouldn’t hurt for her to lighten up a tad.

      She slipped off her sandals at the bottom of the steps, loving the gritty sand squelching between her toes as she strolled towards him.

      The closer she got, the more she could see the rapt expressions on the teens’ faces, and hear Archer giving a pep talk. The guy was usually a livewire, but she’d never seen him so animated. Which made her wonder why he’d been so reticent with his brothers when he was obviously a people person.

      The pep talk must have worked because the teens let out a rousing cheer before grabbing their boards and heading for the surf.

      Archer’s eyes glowed with pride and satisfaction as he waved her over.

      ‘Did you see that?’

      She smiled and nodded. ‘Those kids think you’re a surf god.’

      ‘I just gave them a few pointers. But the way they responded...’ He shook his head, staring at the wetsuited blobs bobbing in the ocean. ‘They were blown away to hear about the surf school and asked a million questions. They’re going to tell their mates.’

      He pumped his fist. ‘I’m stoked.’

      ‘You did good.’ She touched his arm, an impulsive gesture to convey her approval, but one she regretted when he snagged her hand and tugged her close.

      ‘Your approval means a lot.’

      ‘Why?’ She eased away, needing to put a little distance between them, overwhelmed by his closeness.

      ‘Because I hate to have you think badly of me.’

      Still wrestling with her recent revelation as to his true character, she aimed for levity. ‘Come this time next week it won’t matter what I think. You’ll be hanging loose in Hawaii or Bali, and I’ll be doing an amazing job maintaining your surf school website.’

      ‘You’re wrong.’

      She pretended to misunderstand. ‘No, really, I’ll be working like a maniac on your website—’

      ‘Your opinion matters.’

      She glanced away, unable to fathom his steady stare, almost daring her to—what? Argue? Agree? Analyse?

      ‘Aren’t you going to ask me why?’

      She bit down on her bottom lip. No, she didn’t want to hear any of the deep and meaningful reasons he’d concocted. СКАЧАТЬ