Promoted to Wife? by Paula Roe Read Free Book Online Page B

lines and quiet elegance sent a shot of confidence and calm into her bones.
    But when Zac spotted her from the window table he’d secured and smiled, her body tensed up.
    He pulled out her chair, seated her with effortless aplomb. She murmured her thanks as her heart thumped, making her skin twitch uncomfortably under her suit.
    â€œStill in your work clothes?” He asked, reseating himself. “Yes.” I’d rather be out of them. With you. She swallowed quickly, glancing from his broad, jacketless shoulders to the spectacular harbor view outside. That one brief summary was enough for her to note his loosened collar with tie still in place.
    â€œGreat view,” she murmured as the sun’s low golden beams spread wide across the sparkling water, dousing the Opera House’s white sails in a similar glow.
    â€œAlways is.” From the corner of her eye she saw his gaze barely leave her before he picked up the menu.
    Discomforted, Emily did the same, noting over the stiff gilt-paper the way his shirt cuffs skimmed perfectly tanned hands, hands that bore the scars of hard labor yet still looked clean and touchable.
    She’d always liked a pair of strong hands.
    Aaaaand…she was staring. Great.
    She hauled her gaze up to his face before quickly glancing away. Well, that was such a tempting distraction she refused to look any more than absolutely necessary.
    â€œI never knew you’d been married.”
    That dragged her attention back. “It’s not something I talk about.”
    â€œSo what do you talk about?” He casually unfolded his menu as she frowned. “Come on, Emily. You know practically everything about me, especially after today.”
    â€œThat’s not true.”
    â€œWell, what do you want to know?”
    Oh, do not go there. “I know enough.” She tipped her menu up, but Zac was having none of it. With one finger he gently lowered the barrier, forcing her to look at him.
    â€œYou organize me, feed me, ensure I have what I need, when I need it. You’re also privy to the inner workings of my private life and now, my family. You’re my work wife.”
    â€œYour what?”
    He grinned at her alarm. “My work wife—a work-based partnership between a man and a woman. You haven’t heard that expression before?” She shook her head and fixated on restraightening her perfectly straight cutlery as he continued. “I’d thought that, after working together for so long, I was a friend of sorts. Someone you can trust.”
    Her head snapped up. “Someone who took charge of my life and paid off my debts without asking?”
    Was that a flash of hurt flickering behind his eyes? Contrite, she bit the inside of her bottom lip, embarrassment flooding her cheeks. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”
    The corner of his mouth tugged up. “I guess I deserved it. For not asking you first.”
    Zac watched her war with that, the struggle from his apology showing in those dark blue eyes, in her luscious mouth now thin and firm.
    Man, it was like getting blood from a stone! He tried a different tack. “I overstepped, and I apologize.”
    â€œOkay.”
    He studied her, trying to get a handle on that closed expression. “Friends?”
    As he watched, her lashes began to blink out a rapid beat. “Okay,” she repeated, her voice soft and low, before she quickly took a sip of water.
    Zac rested his arms on the table, locking his fingers thoughtfully as the waiter approached.
    After they’d ordered, he watched her straighten the cutlery—again—then reposition her water glass.
    He’d seen her glide through countless business meals, unruffled and professional. But now…things had changed. He’d changed them by violating her privacy, crossing the line by, oh, about a thousand miles.
    Yet the inexplicable urge to dig deeper, to find out who Emily Reynolds really was beneath that