Wanted by the Boss: Sleeping with the Boss / Cowboy Boss / Billionaire Boss. Maureen Child

      He waited until she hung up. ‘‘Paula?’’

      ‘‘She’s the manager of my flower shop.’’

      Rick didn’t give a good damn who Paula was, but at least Eileen was talking to him. ‘‘Problem?’’

      ‘‘No,’’ she said, and turned away, rummaging through her desk aimlessly. Finally she grabbed another of the chocolates Margo had left behind and quickly unwrapped it. Popping it into her mouth, she bit down hard and said, ‘‘Actually, it’s good news. We landed a big wedding.’’

      ‘‘Congratulations.’’

      ‘‘Thanks.’’ Her fingers twisted the scrap of silver foil candy wrapper.

      She wouldn’t even look at him and the tether on Rick’s temper strained to the breaking point. ‘‘I’m the boss here,’’ he said. ‘‘You can’t ignore me.’’

      She glanced at him, then away again. ‘‘I’m not ignoring you, I’m overlooking you. There’s a difference.’’

      ‘‘Funny, feels the same.’’

      ‘‘Yeah, I guess it would.’’

      He came away from the doorway, walked up behind her and gave her chair a spin hard enough to turn her around.

      ‘‘Talk to me,’’ he said.

      She nodded and stood up to face him. She was close, really close. Trapped between the chair and his body. Typical Eileen, she didn’t try to run, just stood her ground. She reached up, and for a split second he thought she was going to touch his face and his heart stopped. But all she did was tuck her hair behind her ears, displaying her simple silver hoop earrings. They winked at him in the sunlight. ‘‘You’re crowding me,’’ she said, then reached out and casually pushed against his chest until he stepped back out of her way. ‘‘I appreciate you not pushing me this week, Rick.’’

      ‘‘It wasn’t easy.’’

      ‘‘I can see that,’’ she said, and lifted one hand to briefly touch his cheek. ‘‘You look like you’re ready to implode.’’

      He blew out a breath, pushed his suit jacket back and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. ‘‘Close.’’

      ‘‘Well, don’t. Everything’s fine. Or—’’ she thought about it for a moment ‘‘—will be fine. I’m keeping the baby.’’

      Rick’s heart started beating again. Now that he knew that, the rest would fall into place. It would be all right. ‘‘So you’ll marry me.’’

      Nine

      Eileen blinked at him. In the past few days, she’d thought about little else but the baby inside her and the panicked proposal he’d made. She was positive it had been nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to a situation neither of them had been prepared for. In those first few hours, she’d actually considered what it might have been like if he’d meant that proposal. If he’d really loved her. If they’d met, and fallen in love and then slept together and then got married and then got pregnant.

      Briefly she’d entertained the image of she and Rick and baby made three, all living happily ever after in her tiny cottage in Laguna. But reality had reared its ugly head in time to splinter that vision and remind her that a temporary affair wasn’t exactly the best basis for a marriage even if Rick had meant the proposal.

      And of course he hadn’t. It was a knee-jerk reaction. Which said a lot, she guessed, about his character. But she didn’t want to be the good deed he was forcing himself to do.

      ‘‘You have to stop saying that,’’ she said.

      ‘‘I want to help.’’

      ‘‘Helping is doing the dishes, not proposing.’’