Memo: Marry Me? by Jennie Adams Read Free Book Online

limitations. I can’t give a woman more than a token, fleeting interest.’
    Just for a moment, Lily almost felt that his eyes asked for understanding, that she saw regret in the hazel depths.
    ‘There are things in my life that just make it impossible for me to give more. To have — ’ He dropped his gaze abruptly to the table top. When he lifted it again, his face was a strong mask, etched in determination. ‘I wouldn’t change anything.’
    If anything, his expression became fiercer. ‘I’m not willing to find myself backed into a corner by a relationship with a woman again, that’s all!’
    Well, she didn’t want those feelings, either. She didn’t welcome them any more than he did.
    ‘You speak as though there’s a risk we might actually get entangled.’ They shared an awareness and interest. Strong, yes, but not impossible to overcome. ‘But we’re quite safe. Neither of us wants this. We certainly don’t have to act on it.’
    She forced a smile. ‘Those sparks in the air have been hanging around, it’s true, but, now we’ve talked about it, we can put it behind us and get on with a proper, uncomplicated working relationship until I leave — for as long as it’s needed.’
    With a determined toss of her head, she rose. ‘Shall we go back to work?’
    ‘Just like that, and it’s gone and we forget it was ever there?’ He gave a humourless laugh, put the photos away and got to his feet, too.
    ‘Yes. Just like that.’ She hurried through the bar and out onto the street, and hoped her words would prove to be true. If they didn’t, she was in big trouble.

CHAPTER FOUR

     
    N OTHING was ever easy. Lily twisted the straps of her 1968 hand-beaded bag — Australian eBay, $2.95 plus postage — in her lap and just knew this whole thing was a big mistake. It was Friday evening, the official end of her working week. She should have been at home resting up with a favourite DVD movie. Or out with the girls, having a bit of uncomplicated fun.
    She glanced at the man seated in the rear of the taxi beside her. Tonight, in evening clothes, Zach looked as though he could take on the whole world and win.
    Dark trousers hugged his strong thighs. A matching jacket rested casually over the crook of one arm. The formal shirt, pristine white, pleated, and such an exact fit that it was probably custom-made, accentuated the broad chest and shoulders.
    Against her will, she wanted to touch him. To feel whether his body was as firm and solid as it looked, wanted to embrace his power.
    Lily should never have agreed to this. It was the baklava. Anne Swift had led her into temptation with food for the gods at that Greek restaurant right near Zach’s office building. Then, when Lily’s guard was down — and she’d been on a nice sugar buzz and had taken her first sip of the best flat black ever —
bam
, Anne had gone in for the kill.
    Anne had had a persuasive way about her, but what did Lily know about families doing well-intentioned things to make each other happy? She should be focussing on not wanting Zach!
    The taxi turned a corner. Her thigh bumped against his leg. She drew a sharp breath.
    ‘He probably hates surprises,’ she mumbled towards the window.
    I do not want to say Happy Birthday and brush my lips against his cheek. I do not want to be here, at all!
    But Lily had agreed to schedule and attend this ‘business meeting’ tonight as a ruse to get Zach here for the surprise his mother had taken such trouble to plan.
    ‘Would you please face me, not the window, if you insist on muttering? At least give me the chance to try to lip read.’ Zach’s voice rumbled with something just dark enough to facilitate a fresh batch of shivers down the length of her spine.
    The same dark something she had seen when she’d emerged from their office cloakroom dressed for the evening. There hadn’t been time to go home to change. They had left straight from work, but not before he’d seared her with just the same