Four Weeks by Melissa Ford Read Free Book Online

by conversation and compliments leading up to a full disclosure of information was getting more and more tense by the minute. When had he suddenly turned into a tongue-tied idiot?
    At the far corner of the room, a trio of musicians clad in matching black jackets started setting up on a tiny platform. They quickly got settled and soon jazzy ballroom music filled the dining room. The man seated at the next table tossed his starched napkin down and winked at his companion. A smile lit her face and they rose together to weave their way through the tables to the parquet dance floor. Trent watched the man wrap his arm around the woman with practiced ease. The couple was about the age his parents would've been if they were alive.
    He'd never really known either of them. His father, sure he'd been alive, but he'd never really been there. His mother had died in a car accident when he was very young. The few pictures he had of her didn't mean much because he didn't have any memories to go with them.
    The ache that had become too familiar and too frequent since his father's passing threatened to settle around him yet again. He struggled against the unwelcome sensation and anxiously searched for something else to focus on.
    Trent moved his gaze purposefully over Louise. Information. Wasn't that what he was after? He'd get what he needed from her then leave the island. He'd make arrangements with a real estate agent to handle the sale of the stable.
    He placed his hand over Louise's. “Dance with me."
    Without waiting for her response, he stood.
    * * * *
    EVEN THOUGH TRENT barely touched her, the heat of his fingers made Louise's hand tingle and every muscle in her body became alive for him. She stared stupidly at him for so long, he moved to her side to help her up.
    Within the space of a minute Louise found herself wrapped in his arms and moving around the small dance floor. Trent held her lightly and at a respectable distance, but his touch seemed to be everywhere. Her body swayed willingly for his, as though she'd been made especially for him.
    It seemed impossible that she'd only met him that morning. He guided her around the dance floor as though she'd always known him.
    "Did you enjoy your dinner?” he asked.
    Louise looked up to find his face a breath away. She gazed at the sandy brown flecks in his eyes.
    "I suppose this sort of thing is typical for you,” he said.
    Did he mean the heat melting her limbs? Or the liquid fire settling in her belly?
    "What sort of thing?"
    "Eating in top notch restaurants.” She heard the humor in his voice.
    Louise shifted her gaze to the couple lost in each other at the opposite corner of the floor. How happy and in love they were. She and Trent weren't anything like them. Instead of being two people in love they were on a business date and, no matter how easy it was to forget, she had to keep her attention on her task at hand.
    Stick to the plan. She looked back to the man holding her. “The fish was wonderful."
    "You didn't eat much."
    She lifted her lips into her sweetest, most charming smile. “I was distracted."
    Trent smirked. “You looked bored."
    "I did?” She tried to laugh, but her dry throat tightened. She could hardly admit to her true feelings ... he made her come alive in ways no man ever had. “I doubt any girl would be bored with you,” she teased.
    "Do you mean that as a compliment?"
    "If I do?"
    "That would please me."
    She continued with their banter. “I do want you to be pleased."
    He pulled her a bit closer. “Because I'm your boss?"
    Was he serious? With him so close, she didn't dare lift her face to search his expression. He might see the mixture of fear and excitement churning within her.
    The soft, sultry music swirled around them while Trent guided her around the floor. After a time he stopped by an open doorway, placed his hand on the small of her back and led her out onto the porch.
    He moved her along, passing others out enjoying the unusually warm evening.