She put her tissue in a side pocket of her bag without looking at him. “Here comes the food.”
Natalie confused him. He kept silent while the server set the table, but he needed to talk to her more, to get to know her for Peter’s sake. It had nothing to do with how his skin felt alive and aware of her every move. Good girls were always trouble and Natalie could be the cheer captain of the good girl team. Alison had taught him well.
Natalie stared into the dark brown eyes of Galen Morgan and couldn’t stop. Sure, she’d always had a crush, but he’d been far out of her reach. His voice made her insides quiver, added to that sexy, hot and muscular body, well he fueled her dreams late at night. Now he was across the dinner table and her heart ached for his touch, his scent, hisanything,as long as he stayed near.
She turned toward the candle which helped focus her mind and lowered her lashes. “Galen, thank you for helping with my mother’s medical bills.”
He sipped his wine and smiled like he’d just won his latest real estate deal. “I’m glad that you are allowing me to be of assistance.”
Her shoulders lifted with relief. Without worrying over the bills, she could focus on her dad’s mental health. As an only child, both parents were her responsibility now. “I can’t afford to say no, honestly. It’s generous.”
She clutched her gold cross and met his gaze. Galen Morgan was a decent and good human being underneath that sexy exterior. She’d known that for months, but it hit home now.
She brushed the back of his hand with her fingertip.
His face froze. She’d guess stricken was the right way to interpret his expression.
Would he take her hand? Realize that she wanted him to kiss her? She waited for his response. Finally he said, “Natalie, you’re my employee.”
Right, but the way her pulse zipped, there was no way she thought of him as her boss like she did at work. He’d always been this far away dream, but now candlelight sparkled in his dark hues. She ignored the rise of heat in her face. “Not right now. We’re off the clock.”
“I can’t forget the line.”
He’d invited her to dinner—she’d watched him bank his attraction to her. Her heart pounded in her chest. Maybe it was the wine or that he’d just been the most generous man she’d ever talked to, but her lips tingled as she confessed to the burning candle. “I’d like for our relationship to grow. You’re kinder than I expected and I know from this past year that I already get along with you.”
He scoffed and picked up a fork. “Kind is not a word used to describe me. My ex would probably say jerk as one of the nicer terms.”
No. She stilled, but he wasn’t a jerk. She saw him every day.
They ate their appetizer, a creamy bisque soup, but her hunger pains weren’t for the food they shared. Once the waiter brought their main dish—coq au vin, which was basically chicken and mushroom made in red wine—and left, Natalie asked the question that had bothered her for a year about her boss that she’d never dared ask. “When did you get married? I’ve always wondered how that ever fit into your busy schedule.”
He shrugged and rearranged the napkin on his lap. “I was twenty-one and thought I was in love with that redhead.”
Alison Evermore was a redhead then. After too much wine a few months ago, Nataliemighthave online stalked the woman touring Tibet on her social media and wondered if the mountain climber was the ex. Natalie picked up her fork to try the meat. “That’s awfully young, considering you finished college at twenty-two.” Her heart sped up and she hoped he didn’t catch her slip. She added quickly, “I read your resume.” Her leg trembled. She looked at her dinner and asked, “When did you get divorced?”
“When I was twenty-six.” He bit into a roasted carrot.
Right. She took a few deep breaths, picked up her fork but said in a quiet tone, “The same year you made your first billion-dollar building deal.”
He coughed and wiped his mouth before he nodded. “Youhavestudied me.”
“Of course. I wanted to work for you last year and your resume is out there.” Natalie concentrated on finishing her dinner and once she’d had enough, she covered the rest with her napkin and picked up her wine. Hopefully he believed her interest had only been about business. She held his gaze. “But I could never figure out when you had time to get married and divorced. Why did you get married so young?”
He leaned forward like they were sharing a secret. “Because my father disapproved of Alison, or at least of me marrying someone with money and connection.”
“With money and connections? Not without?”
“I was born on the wrong side of the blanket. My mother wasn’t good enough to marry my dad so I wasn’t supposed to even look at certain women in society where their parents might mingle with the legitimate House of Morgan members.”
Wow. She’d heard rumors about the elder father in the House of Morgan, but she never paid it much attention. Natalie pressed her lips together. “And what would your father say about me?”
Galen gave a bitter laugh. “He’d have had your entire history on his desk before he made that call.”
“We were never rich. My parents are still married, own a house together and raised me. I don’t think we have many connections.”
“Without money and connections, he might have approved of you for me. When I was twenty, that alone would have sent me running in the other direction.”
Not much to see. Natalie was the only daughter of working-class parents. Her father owned a grocery store. Her mother was a police officer. She’d gone to college and studied business, but had no real ambitions beyond that and then her mom became sick. She could sum up her entire life just that fast. However, none of that was newsworthy.
