The Shock Engagement. Ally Blake

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      ‘You’ll find it’s best to ignore him, Keely.’

      ‘It’s called charm,’ Harry murmured against her ear.

      ‘It’s called pathological. I know it’s not yet five, Keely, but can you cover for me if I take off a tad early?’

      Keely grinned and winked. ‘I’ll tell the Rabid Rottweiler you are out buying a new paintbrush or something. So go, take this man of yours home.’

      ‘You heard the lady, Em,’ Harry said. ‘Let’s blow this joint.’

      ‘See ya,’ Keely said and Emma looked up in time to see Harry throwing her a wink as she slipped out the door.

      ‘She’s engaged, lover boy.’

      ‘Meaning she’s not married,’ he said, his eyes bright and laughing.

      ‘Yet quite obviously with child.’ Emma reached around to pinch him on the arm, using the brief respite to slip out of his embrace. She backed Harry towards her desk so she could tidy up her gear for the day.

      Pens were in their holders. Papers were neat. Emails had all been answered. She still had to photocopy the Blondie files for the Flirt presentation but that could wait.

      ‘Em, I can come back later if you have to finish up here,’ Harry offered.

      She shook her head. For once she could put others on the back burner for a day. Especially since seeing Harry in the flesh was almost enough to fry her brain of all other information. Almost. Her seriously disturbing discoveries of that morning were still playing at the back of her mind. Her finger rolled over her mouse as she considered sending off a quick heads-up to Tahlia and Keely.

      But it was no use worrying her friends. Not until she had more information and not until she had done what she could to fix the situation first. She had long since proven to herself she could shoulder worry enough for everyone.

      ‘Earth to Emma!’

      She blinked and shook her head. ‘Sorry, Harry. I’m coming.’ She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up to find Harry leaning in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest, watching her with a funny little smile.

      With his scruffy sun-kissed brown hair and his crinkly hazel eyes that made a person smile just by looking at them, he was just so categorically gorgeous she had to fight back a sigh.

      She shut down her computer, grabbed her briefcase, slipping the pink folder inside, and wandered back to Harry’s side like a homing pigeon returning to its master. He wrapped an arm about her neck, all but strangling her as he dragged her from the office and through the hallway towards the lift.

      ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘All these walls are making me antsy.’

      ‘You’ve been inside ten minutes at most.’

      His grip loosened enough so that he could look down into her face. ‘Mmm,’ he said, his voice a distant rumble. ‘Too long.’

      Something in his tone made her wonder if he was talking about his drought of sunshine or his year away from her side. Either way, it was good to see him too.

      Emma hustled Harry to the lift. She knew by the disturbance of sighs following in her wake that Harry was bestowing grins all around.

      Gracious? Benevolent? Giving of his precious time? Yeah, right! She knew that he would be lapping up the fact that he was likely receiving those smiles back in kind from her many young female co-workers.

      Once at the lift, she pressed the down button and was surprised when the double doors gave way instantly. But when she saw Tahlia inside the lift hastily fixing her hair and smoothing out her clothes, she knew that her other best buddy had been summoned by Keely.

      Emma crossed her arms. ‘What a surprise to see you down here.’

      Tahlia looked up, her cheeks glowing pink. ‘Oh. Well, I borrowed Keely’s industrial sized stapler,’ she said, waving it in Emma’s face as proof, ‘and she emailed to say she needed it. Urgently.’

      Tahlia’s gaze skittered back and forth between Emma and the man behind her. Emma wondered whether she should punish Tahlia and simply not introduce Harry, but it would only cause more questions than it was worth.

      ‘Tahlia Moran, I would like you to meet my old friend, Harry Buchanan.’

      Tahlia practically curtsied. ‘Harry. Of course. Congratulations on the enormous success of Harold’s House. It is a supreme example that innovation can still be achieved with the medium. An Internet search engine aimed entirely at under-eighteens. Brilliant!’

      Emma couldn’t help but grin. Tahlia was such a sweetheart. Such a hard worker. So entrenched in the fabric of WWW Designs. In her capacity as Director of Sales, she was the public face of the company. Emma worried about what would happen if WWW Designs really did come under serious threat. Though she had been one person never to become embroiled in Raquel’s ‘special assignments’, her friend’s fall would be so public.

      Harry gave Tahlia a brief nod but said no more. Funny. For a guy who usually lapped up female attention as if it was drinking water, the bestowal of praise for his outstanding success seemed to be something he could not simply charm his way through. It was actually kind of adorable.

      ‘Later, T,’ Emma said, waving her friend away and stepping into the lift.

      ‘Have fun, Emma,’ Chrystal called out, leaning so far over the reception desk Emma could make out the colour of her bra. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!’

      Emma took Harry by the hand and dragged him into the lift with her. She did all she could to hide her blush. If she followed Chrystal’s advice she and her Harry would be in for a wild time.

      CHAPTER TWO

      GIRLS’ NIGHT IN WITH THE PRINCESS BRIDE

      ‘As she wishes? That princess has no idea how lucky she is,’ Keely said. ‘The most romantic thing my first boyfriend said to me was, “What would you like to watch on telly?”’

      ONCE Emma was finally able to extricate herself from the WWW Designs building she walked Harry quickly away from the riverside boardwalk, past the long run of funky restaurants and hip cafés, and around the corner into the maze of car parks and parklands behind the office building.

      The letter in her briefcase burned in her mind and she wondered if she should show Harry. But it was a private letter, one even she should not have seen, so she decided to let it simmer in her mind for a while longer before involving anyone else.

      ‘So where are we going in such a hurry?’ Harry asked. ‘Are you luring me into the bushes for a reason?’

      ‘You wish,’ she said, but she slowed only once she knew they were out of sight of the many beady eyes watching them through the tenth-storey windows. Spying a park bench, Emma led Harry to it and sat, dumping her briefcase on the ground at her feet.

      ‘Now let me have a look at you,’ Harry said, taking her by the hands as he gave her a steady once-over. ‘Let’s СКАЧАТЬ