Sweet.
Innocent.
With an interesting streak of temper. Rather like her hair, a rich silky brown with hints of hidden fire—it was still long, caught back in an attractive French braid, though small tendrils had escaped and framed her face.
Neil shifted in the chair. He didn’t have any business thinking her temper was interesting or not. Libby was off-limits. Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the situation.
“Are you thinking about tying the knot, and are afraid my beliefs about marriage will be a problem?” he asked. “The company policy is clear—we’re a family-friendly business. So you have nothing to be concerned about, no matter what my personal feelings are on the issue.”
Libby stared in astonishment and he cursed his wayward tongue. He really hadn’t thought that much about her over the years, but now that she was going to be his vice president, all sorts of questions were banging around in his head.
Most of them were none of his concern.
And he certainly shouldn’t be wondering if the faint scent of vanilla drifting from her skin was a perfume, or some other bit of unique feminine chemistry. Hell, it wasn’t the least bit sophisticated, but on Libby the fragrance was fresh and light, without being cloying.
“No, I’m not thinking about ‘tying the knot’ as you put it,” she said. “I hate that phrase. It makes marriage sound like prison or some other type of captivity . Do you think Kane feels that way about being married to Beth?”
“Of course not.”
“Then let’s drop the subject. We’re supposed to be talking about the B and B proposal, remember?”
He remembered.
He rarely thought about anything but business, though his mother was doing her best to distract him with introductions to “nice young women.” Nice single women, of course. Having finally gotten two of her sons married, she wanted to see all her children taking a trip down the proverbial aisle, followed a few months later with the announcement that a baby was on the way.
Libby pulled a pen and pad of paper from a drawer. “How do you want to get started?”
“Give me a quick rundown on the project.”
She kept her spine straight, barely skimming the back of her chair. “The first active steps will be choosing sites and contacting historical societies for local history and background.”
“What?” Neil rocked forward in his chair. “We have to deal with hysterical societies?”
“That’s historical societies,” Libby corrected, the corners of her mouth twitching despite herself. Historical societies could be very passionate about their work, but she liked working with people who cared. “Of course we’ll have to talk with them, and consult with restoration experts and contractors. By the way, we should use local people as much as possible as part of the community development aspect of the project.”
He grimaced without looking particularly upset. “You mean we’ll be restoring old buildings that should have been demolished decades ago. I don’t suppose we could buy a bunch of existing bed-and-breakfast inns and slap our name on them?” he asked, a rueful humor in his voice.
She barely kept from rolling her eyes. Neil was so focused on the future, he couldn’t see the benefit to saving wonderful old survivors from the past.
Modern, that defined Neil O’Rourke.
Glitz, high finance, his world moving at lightning speed. If he went on vacation it was to five-star hotels in the most exotic and glamorous places, so bed-and-breakfast inns weren’t likely to interest him. He avoided ties that might slow him down—like a wife and children. The idea of spending a quiet evening at home would probably horrify him.
“I don’t suppose we can.” Libby handed him the file. “Why don’t you go over this on your own? I’ll come by your office at one this afternoon so we can discuss it.” Without waiting for acknowledgment, she headed for the door and stood by it, making it obvious she expected him to leave.
“Libby…”
She looked at his handsome face, and the same old shiver went through her tummy. Why did she have to be attracted to him? Wasn’t attraction supposed to be based on respect and liking, more than chemistry? She didn’t know Neil that well, but she didn’t like him, so it wasn’t logical the way her body responded whenever he walked into the room.
“Yes?”
“We should talk about what happened eleven years ago. Get everything said and out in the open.”
Her pulse surged. “That isn’t such a good idea.”
“Why not? Haven’t you wondered what would have happened if we hadn’t stopped that night?”
Only about a million times.
Not that it would have made any difference. According to the office gossip she couldn’t avoid, Neil’s idea of a long term relationship was a weekend in the Bahamas.
“There isn’t any point in discussing it,” she said.
“It’s getting in the way of us working together.”
“No, it isn’t,” Libby said.
It was true.
Their disastrous date, embarrassing as the memory might be, wasn’t the real reason they didn’t get along.
“Then what’s the problem?” Neil’s gray eyes had darkened, and his gaze moved deliberately over her. “Is it because I called you the virgin queen? I’ve never apologized for that, and I am sorry.”
He sounded sincere and Libby couldn’t control the flush rising in her cheeks…or the instinctive warmth sliding through her veins. “That has nothing to do with it. There are lots of reasons we don’t get along, but it’s mostly because we’re poles apart in the way we look at life.”
Because I’m a small town country girl and you’re a big city snob, she added silently. She didn’t like cities, fast nightlife, or the high-stakes gambles that Neil O’Rourke thrived upon. Dealing with Neil was like dealing with unstable dynamite—no matter how careful you were, in the end you got burned.
“Maybe. But there’s still an attraction between us.”
“I’m not attracted to you,” she denied instantly. “And if you’re attracted to me, it’s only because I said no. If we’d slept together I would have been old news before the week was out. You have the staying power of an amoeba.”
“Really? I’m told I have more stamina than most men.” His tone was so outrageously suggestive she wanted to scream.
“And like most men, all you ever think about is sex. If you ever had an honest-to-God tender emotion for a woman, I think you’d jump off a building just to get rid of it. Now get out.” Libby slammed the door behind him and stormed back to her desk.
Men.
They were the rottenest, most unreasonable creatures imaginable. She didn’t know why a woman would bother with them, except they were necessary to keep the human race going.
Chapter Two
Neil couldn’t keep a grin from splitting his face as he strode away.
Libby might be an innocent, but that unexpected temper was priceless. Of course, he shouldn’t have said he was still attracted to her. It just made things more complicated, but it was entertaining watching her blush and react so strongly.
No matter what she claimed, he wasn’t attracted to her just because she’d refused him. Absolutely not. He had his moments he wasn’t proud of, but he wasn’t that shallow and immature. He could keep things under control without