Propositioned By The Tycoon: Mr Strictly Business / Bought: His Temporary Fiancée / A Win-Win Proposition. Yvonne Lindsay

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СКАЧАТЬ I’ll ever let you go again. I made the mistake of letting you run last time. This time I will follow you to the ends of the earth. I will follow you to hell and back, if that’s what it takes.”

      She buried her head against his shoulder. “You’re wrong, Gabe. You just don’t know it yet. Next time, you won’t just let me go. You’ll throw me out.”

      Gabe couldn’t help but notice that the tenor of their relationship changed after that. There’d always been barriers between them, but now they were so high and clear that he found himself stumbling over them at every turn. Despite that, two things gave him hope.

      For one, Catherine continued with their impromptu dates, constantly surprising him with tickets to a play or dinners out or a picnic in their bedroom. Some occasions were brief, barely an hour, slipped into a narrow window in their schedules. Others were longer, partial days where they’d escape from work and spend endless hours enjoying each other’s company. It made him realize that they could change. They could work around two diverse and demanding schedules.

      The other thing that gave him hope was the nights they shared. For some reason, when they slid into bed and then into each other, all their differences, all their conflicts, faded from existence. There they joined and melded. There they found a true meeting of mind and body and spirit.

      Later that week, he surprised her by showing up at one of her events, a charity fund-raiser for pediatric cancer patients. He’d expected to find her in her usual position, quietly in the background directing and coordinating the smooth progress of the affair. Instead, he found her sprawled on the floor, reading to a crowd of children from a Mrs. Pennywinkle picture book.

      Tendrils of her hair had escaped its orderly knot and a succession of curls danced around her forehead and cheeks and at the vulnerable nape of her neck. Her eyes as she read were golden warm and sweetened with a soft generosity. There weren’t any barriers here. Here he found her at her most open and natural. He’d seen her like this other times, almost invariably around children, and he shook his head in amusement. How could she claim to never want a child of her own when he could almost taste her longing, and could see the sheer joy she experienced light up the room?

      She must have sensed him on some level because her head jerked up, like a doe sensing danger. Her gaze shot unerringly to his and for a brief second she shared that same openness with him that she’d shared with the children. And then the barriers slammed into place. He stood for a long moment, staring at her. It just about killed him that she felt the need to protect herself from him, and a fierce determination filled him.

      Somehow, someway, he’d break through those defenses. He’d win back her trust, and this time he’d do everything in his power to keep it. He approached, keeping his demeanor open and casual. Leaning down, he gave her a light, easy kiss, one that elicited giggles from their audience.

      Catherine handed the book over to one of her assistants and excused herself. Not that the children let her go without a fight. She was swamped with hugs before they reluctantly allowed her to leave.

      He helped her up, drawing her close long enough to murmur in her ear, “Have I told you recently how beautiful you are?”

      Vivid roses bloomed in her cheeks. “Don’t exaggerate, Gabe.”

      He tilted his head to one side. “You don’t believe me, do you?” The idea intrigued him.

      “I’m attractive. Interesting looking, perhaps.” She stepped back. “But I’m not beautiful.”

      “You are to me,” he stated simply.

      To his amusement she changed the subject. “I didn’t expect to see you here. You never mentioned that you might attend.”

      “I’ve been on the board of this particular charity for a number of years, but I wasn’t sure I could get away.” He cut her off before she could ask the question hovering on her lips. “And no, I had nothing to do with hiring you. That’s handled by a subcommittee. I did discover, however, that you’ve waived your usual fee and donated your services.”

      She shrugged. “It’s for a good cause.”

      “Thank you.” He could see her slipping back into professional mode and didn’t want to distract her. “I’ll let you get on with your duties. One quick question. What’s your calendar for tomorrow look like?”

      “I thought I might need a day off after the fundraiser, so I kept it clear.”

      That suited him perfectly. After a few days of allowing Catherine to take the lead with their romantic outings, Gabe was intent on trying his hand at it. “Keep it that way, if you would.”

      She brightened. “You want me to plan something? Or shall we wing it?”

      “I’ll take care of everything. You just show up.”

      He gave her another swift kiss and then left her to focus on her event, though periodically through the afternoon he caught her glancing his way with a speculative look. Since they’d started in with the dates, he’d discovered that she preferred to keep their outings moving, no doubt so they wouldn’t have another incident like the one at Milano’s.

      Come tomorrow, he intended to change all that.

      All Gabe told Catherine in advance was to wear a swimsuit underneath her shorts and cotton tee and prepare for a day in the sun. When he pulled into Sunset Marina the next morning, she turned to him, her eyes glowing with pleasure.

      “We’re going for a cruise?”

      “I thought we’d take a ride through the Chittenden locks and onto Lake Washington. Or we can wander around the Sound, if you prefer.”

      “It’s been ages since I’ve gone through the locks. Let’s do that.”

      The day became magical. In those precious hours, Gabe didn’t care about the secrets that divided them, or the past or the future. The now occupied his full attention. It turned into one of those rare Seattle days where the Olympics stood out in sharp relief to the west and the Cascades held up their end to the east, with Mt. Rainier dominating the skyline in between. But as far as he was concerned the best view was the pint-sized woman who lazed across his foredeck. A hot golden sun blazed overhead, causing Catherine to strip down to her swimsuit, while a warm summer breeze stirred her hair into delightful disarray.

      Eventually, she joined him on the bridge, handing him a soft drink and curling up in the seat next to him. She examined her surroundings with unmistakable pleasure. “I gather this is one of the custom-designed yachts your company manufactures.”

      “One of the smaller ones, yes.” He shot her a swift grin. “It’s not a Piretti engine…at least, not yet. I’m hoping to pin Jack LaRue down soon. Then maybe I’ll have time to dig into your bookkeeping records and give them the attention they deserve.”

      She shrugged. “I’ll leave that to you. It’s definitely not my area of expertise, although it sure is Dina’s.”

      “Mom has a talent for it,” he agreed.

      “I guess that’s why it surprised me that she didn’t catch on to…What was the name of that guy who proposed to her a few months after your dad died?” She snapped her fingers. “Stanley something, wasn’t it?”

      The question hit like a body blow. “Are СКАЧАТЬ