The Boss and Her Billionaire by Michelel de Winton Read Free Book Online Page B

certainly going to hurt her all over again, so he’d bitten his tongue.

    Following Michaela to their table, he wanted to put his arm around her, show the captain what he’d
    missed out on.

    Calm down. Too much too soon, and she’ll run scared or get the wrong idea.

    “So where did you learn to dance like that?” she asked as he sat, interrupting his musing.

    This wasn’t what he’d been planning. He wanted more of her story, not to be grilled on the half truths he’d told to get onboard. Dylan paused and checked her eyes before continuing. “I’ve had an old Russian teacher for years. He gives me private lessons.”

    Hoping to divert her, he asked, “Where are you from originally? Your accent is a bit mixed.”

    Michaela nodded. “I was born in Wellington, in New Zealand, but my family moved to Canada when I
    was a teenager. I went back and forth for a while until this job, where I’m back and forth even more.”

    “Must have been a bit hard.”

    “Not really. I got the best of both worlds. The small-town freedom of New Zealand and the opportunities of education and work in Canada.”

    Better. “I guess that’s true.” Through a mouthful of cheesy pasta, he smiled. “You miss anything from home? Wind through the trees perhaps? Wellington’s good for that.”

    She smiled. “I’m not sure I’d say I missed it, but the big greenbelt up behind where we lived when I was a kid did have a magical quality when the wind whistled through it.” Forking up some more pasta, she
    paused. “My sister and I used to make hideouts and tracks through the macrocarpa pines when we were
    growing up. We hid secret messages for each other—oh, and for the birds. That’s probably the bit I miss most, spending time with my sister.”

    A sister. Dylan added to his mental list of Michaela’s qualities: smart, independent, driven, and values family.

    She fixed him with a careful stare. “So you know Wellington, then?” She set her fork down.

    “Oh, yes. I…” He stopped himself. He didn’t want her getting too close to the truth of his background.
    “I’ve done quite a lot of work there. I was living in Sydney most recently. I do sometimes miss the sound of the Wellington wind in the trees, though.”

    “You’ll get used to not hearing the wind in the trees. The music the ocean makes will replace it. You might even like it better. It’s a pretty beautiful soundtrack with the slap of the water against the side of the ship, the pull and ping of the rigging on the lifeboats, and the sea birds as we come into port.”

    Her eyes glazed, as if seeing what she described. There really was something about her that was
    enticing. Dylan found himself wanting to drag her to bed so he could have her all to himself for a lot longer than dinner.

    Soon.

    He smiled. Thank goodness she hadn’t seemed to notice how he’d fudged where he grew up, or his
    reluctance to talk about his dance training. Old Mr. Grevorgian had been elated when Dylan told him he was taking a break from work so he could dance for three months. The private lessons from his Russian neighbor over the last ten years had been Dylan’s secret release.

    Thank goodness Mr. Grevorgian was a masterful teacher—so much so that Dylan had been able to fake
    his way through the cruise audition.

    Dylan searched for other topics to keep Michaela’s attention away from his background. “What are the
    ports like?”

    “Some of them are really beautiful. Everyone is always excited about New Caledonia and Fiji, but I love Vanuatu. Oh, and Norfolk Island, too.”Really?” Everything he’d read about Norfolk Island, the small
    subsidiary of Australia, had made it seem a bit dowdy. Certainly not the sort of glamorous location he’d umed a cruise director would be attracted to.

    “There are wonderful forest walks and loads of birds. And it’s easier to get away from the crowds. I’m not such a fan of all the organized tours. I prefer to go off on my