LITMIR.BIZ

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him to look out the window at the snow lightly falling from the sky.

      “I do know,” he retorted without hesitation. Then felt the need to own up to planning this. His gut served him well in business. He would think of this arrangement with her like business. “If I’d made the reservations for later in the week, you would have come up with excuses.”

      “That’s my right.”

      “Yes, it is.” SUV idling at a stoplight, he waited, knowing she would come to the obvious conclusion.

      “All right, but if I decline, then I don’t get the inside scoop on my family. Fine.” She huffed in exasperation. “So how about from now on, you give me the opportunity to say yes or no and see what happens.”

      “Fair enough. I will take that under consideration.”

      Mouth twitching into a satisfied smile, he approached the one-story brown cottage, which had been turned into a restaurant, more eager for her approval than he wanted to admit.

      The historic brown building with cream trim seemed bright against the gray backdrop of February skies. Guiding the SUV into the parking lot, he readied himself for this next encounter.

      A favorite place of his. Simple from the outside, like a small home, but the restaurant boasted top-notch Alaskan seafood cuisine, the menu changing weekly. With only a dozen tables, it offered an intimate setting. He’d booked the place for the entire night to avoid prying eyes as they became comfortable with other.

      He passed the keys to the valet and joined Brea under the covered walk leading to the front door. He clasped her elbow to make sure she didn’t slip, even though the path had been shoveled and salted. The simple touch launched a wave of heat through him. Her quiet gasp told him she wasn’t immune either. The pace of her breathing increased, puffing tiny clouds of air into the night.

      He paused outside the door, turning to face her, her eyes locking with his. He lifted a curl of her hair and stroked the length of it, testing the silky texture between his fingers. Her eyes went wide with awareness. He understood the draw well.

      More than this ruse, than her family, it was that draw that had brought them both here tonight.

      The door swung wide, a host greeting them with a smile as the warmth gusted out. “Welcome to Chez Louis, Mr. Benally. Most of your party has arrived. They’re enjoying drinks in the lounge. Ma’am, if I could take your coat?”

      The small crowd of Steeles and Mikkelsons already filled the dining area, most of them standing beneath vintage antler chandeliers. Conversation wafted over in murmurs.

      No sooner had Ward and Brea passed off their coats than his date bolted away, under the guise of talking to Felicity and Delaney. The duo stood by a crackling fire, sipping wine. Waitstaff walked from person to person, offering roasted-eggplant pâté on pita bread and gnocchi with cambozola and red crab. Another waiter flourished a tray with Alaskan oysters and Neapolitan seafood mousse.

      But Ward’s attention was still on Brea. His smile faded. He didn’t want to frighten her. When he’d roped her into this pretend relationship, he’d been so focused on protecting the company, he hadn’t thought much about what she’d been through, losing her family, for all intents and purposes kidnapped. He needed to weigh his next move carefully to protect the business. And yes, to protect this woman too, if she was somehow as vulnerable as she’d looked in that flash before she’d retreated.

      A tap on the shoulder had him looking away to turn and find Broderick Steele, Brea’s oldest brother. “We need to have a talk. Are you actually dating my sister?”

      “Why is that a question? I already announced that we are, and we came here together.” Had Brea said something to tip off her brother? Ward studied the man in front of him—the eldest Steele was a carbon copy of his father.

      “You barely know her,” Broderick said. “She’s hardly speaking to our family. We don’t know if we can trust her. Shall I keep listing the reasons why this seems like the strangest relationship ever?”

      Broderick was sharp from years in the boardroom.

      But so was Ward.

      “She’s an attractive woman.” His gaze landed on her all over again, enjoying the way she looked in her red sheath dress with long sleeves and a low back. “Circumstances drew us together. We have chemistry. It’s nothing serious at this point, but we’re giving it a go. How’s that for a list?”

      “She’s fragile.” Broderick’s shoulders braced protectively as he tightened his grip on his lowball glass.

      “You clearly don’t know Brea—the woman she is now—as well as you think.” Even considering that moment of fear in her face, he knew how brave she must be to face all of them after what she’d been through.

      But brave didn’t necessarily equate with honest.

      “That could be true,” Broderick conceded, tipping his drink from one side to the other, making the ice cubes clink against cut crystal. “I’m not sure anyone does know who she is now, since she’s playing things so close to the vest. What if your relationship explodes in your face?”

      Ward glanced across the room to where Brea stood with the other women by the thick cream-colored curtains. Her dark features schooled into practiced neutrality. “Then that would be a damn shame, but I don’t see what it has to do with my contract with the company.”

      Broderick’s eyebrows raised as his face became tight, foreboding as a winter storm. “It could make things awkward for you with the family if you two are tangled up with each other.”

      “Could. But it won’t. I’m a professional.” And if Brea really was intent on harming the company in some way, he was the only one likely to push hard enough to figure it out. Her family seemed to just want her back, no matter what she’d done.

      He understood that feeling well after losing his stepdaughter. But he couldn’t let it jeopardize what he was building here at Alaska Oil Barons, Inc. He had big plans for the company, working with Royce Miller to implement his inventions for the safer transportation of fuel and alternative energy sources. Delaney Steele was also an advocate with strong connections. He had a chance to make a difference.

      Broderick eyed him skeptically. “Do you actually think life is that simple?”

      “Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t,” he answered as honestly as possible, given the circumstance.

      “Okay then, I’ll make this clear and simple for you.” Broderick’s voice dropped an octave as he leaned closer. “Be careful with my sister. Because even if I don’t know exactly who she has become, she is—and always will be—my sister. If you hurt her, there won’t be a place in Alaska remote enough for you to hide.”

      “Message heard.” Ward met Broderick’s icy gaze with all the warmth of a tropical island. With a boardroom smile, he inclined his head. “Now I have a date. With your sister.”

      And despite all the warnings—from Broderick, and from his own wary nature—Ward very much looked forward to kissing her good-night on her doorstep.

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