Balancing Act. Laura Browning

      “Mr.…Seth… The stairs.”

      Seth turned a cool look on her. “We’re going to use my father’s private elevator.”

      “But…”

      “Trust me.”

      Seth inserted the key at the side of the gold double doors at the end of the hall. Tessa stood next to him. Her heartbeat had already accelerated. She closed her eyes as she heard the doors slide open.

      “Open your eyes, Tessa,” Seth prompted. Was there just a trace of humor in his tone?

      “Oh.”

      Alexander Barlow-Barrett’s elevator was built into the outside wall of the building. The far wall looked right outside.

      “Try it.” Seth urged. “If it works, I’ll give you my key.”

      She stepped inside, fighting the slight unease as the doors shut. She kept her gaze fixed on the view beyond the glass wall. While her heart beat a little faster, her breathing stayed normal and she didn’t feel as though she was about to pass out.

      “How was that?” Seth asked as they reached the bottom.

      “Much better. Thank you.” She didn’t think she could handle it if Barrett were a high-rise, but such a quick ride might be okay.

      They were both quiet as he headed out of the district into Fairfax. The roads narrowed and emptied. The passing scenery switched from offices and strip malls to rolling fields and trees, until Seth turned down a long, oak-lined drive. It opened up to reveal a sprawling three-story house sitting atop a grass-covered hill.

      “This is it,” Seth said in a tone that did nothing to express any real pleasure. “The house where I grew up.”

      “It’s beautiful,” Tessa said.

      “Hmph.” Seth was back to grunting. “I should warn you, my mother can be more of a dragon sometimes than my father.”

      Tessa swallowed. Great. Seth was carnivorous enough without facing an entire family of meat eaters. The vision of his father and a no doubt equally intimidating matriarch picking their teeth with her bones was not in the least humorous, at least not at the moment.

      He helped her out of the SUV and then held her elbow as if he feared she might run. A uniformed butler opened the door as they approached. Tessa’s eyes widened slightly. A butler? Who on earth still had a butler? Good Lord, even her father’s family wasn’t that snobbish.

      “Tessa.” Seth growled the warning under his breath, somehow aware of her reaction and the likelihood she might voice it out loud, along with a pronouncement on how pretentious it was.

      “Mr. Seth,” the butler intoned in a crisp British accent. “How good to see you. Shall I announce you and the young lady?”

      Seth grimaced. “No, Forbes. I’ll take care of it.”

      As they walked down the hallway, Tessa whispered, “A butler?”

      Seth looked around to make sure they were alone before he stopped and turned her to face him. “What else did you expect, Tessa? You’ve met my father and Tallmadge. Did you think it would be any less stuffy at his home?”

      Tessa looked up at him. She’d always thought he resembled a dangerous, caged animal, but what she saw in those eyes at Barrett Newspapers was nothing compared to what she saw now. At the moment, he looked more hunted than caged.

      She remembered that feeling. It had been years since she’d experienced it, but she still vividly recalled it. Without thinking, she raised her hand to touch his chest. “I’m sorry.”

      Seth covered her slender fingers with his big hand and squeezed. Some of the hunted look left his expression.

      “It’s okay.” He leaned closer to her. “Look, my mother is trying to match me up with some horse-faced debutante from the club. I know it’s asking a lot, Tessa, but if you could make it seem…” He trailed off in what appeared to be embarrassment.

      “Like we’re romantically involved?” Tessa supplied, gaining confidence even as he seemed to lose it.

      Seth ran a finger around his collar. “Well, yes.”

      “Okay.”

      “Okay?”

      “That’s what I said.” As she heard someone approach the doorway they were standing outside, she stepped closer to Seth and slid her hand around his neck to pull his head down to her. She meant only to brush his lips with hers, but the difference in their heights, even with her heels, threw her off balance. Her body rested against his, her breasts crushed to his chest. As if by instinct, Seth brought his hands to her waist, but instead of just balancing her, he pulled her closer and slanted his firm mouth across hers. A delicate cough sent the two of them apart. Seth still maintained a casual arm around Tessa’s waist.

      “Good evening, Mother.” He greeted her as if they hadn’t been caught in the act of exchanging a heated kiss. “Allow me to present Miss Tessa Edwards.”

      Plucked brows arched with an inbred haughtiness, his mother eyed Tessa, who heard his soft groan. She realized the woman was about to pull out all the blueblood stops. No doubt she would try to freeze her to death with politeness.

      “Are you from the Loudoun Edwards family?” his mother asked with a tone that seemed to imply the utter impossibility of such a thing.

      Tessa smiled, deciding she was going to enjoy this. “Yes, ma’am, I am.” She ignored the warning squeeze she felt from Seth’s hand at her waist. It was obvious to Tessa that Mrs. Barlow-Barrett wanted a pedigree, so she would give her one. “My daddy was Robert Edwards of Mont Clair Park.”

      From the corner of her eyes, Tessa saw Seth’s open-mouthed amazement. Even better, she watched as his mother thawed completely and smiled, speculation now replacing the haughtiness. “Welcome, dear. You must call me Tricia.”

      “And I’m Tessa.”

      * * * *

      Seth watched in complete awe as Tessa worked everyone in the room. Gone was the ice queen of the office. In her place was a sparkling debutante to rival anything ever dangled in front of him before. Seth wasn’t sure what to think. The thought even crossed his mind that Tessa had gotten the job as his assistant through some nefarious plot on the part of his parents. As they drove to the country club, he glanced at her in confusion.

      “Did you make all that up back there?” he asked at last.

      Tessa looked at him. “Make what up?”

      “That bit about Robert Edwards?”

      Tessa stared at him. “No. He was my father. He died of cancer when I was five. I don’t remember him all that well.”

      “Hmph.”

      “Stop grunting, Seth.”

      “Do you have any other surprises for me?” he growled as they pulled into the club parking lot.

      Tessa brushed a speck of lint from her skirt. “Not that I know of.”

      He watched her through dinner. She charmed everyone, from Habitat do-gooders to the dilettantes who always seemed to be hanging around somewhere. Seth stayed close to her side, because he realized it wasn’t just the women she affected. He’d never given it much thought while they worked, but Tessa Edwards was a beautiful, intelligent woman who possessed a natural magnetism that drew people of both sexes to her.

      As they waited for the valet to bring up his SUV, Seth studied her. She was beginning to droop.

      “If you come from the Loudoun Edwards, why do you need to work to support Zach?”

      Tessa looked at him, her eyes shuttered. “My father had a pedigree, not money. It was something he had a hard time dealing with, according to my mother. I don’t care about either one. I want to earn