To Wear His Ring: Circle of Gold / Trophy Wives / Dakota Bride. Wendy Warren

told me,” he replied, his tone faintly acidic. “She told me everything, in fact, except why you don’t like the water.”

      She stared down into the fishpond, idly watching the small goldfish swim in and out of the vegetation. “When I was five, just before my parents were…killed,” she said, sickened by the memory, “one of my friends at the mission in Africa got swept into the river. I saw her drown.”

      “You’ve had a lot of tragedy in your young life,” he said softly. He moved a step closer to her, and another, stopping when he was close enough to lift a lean hand and smooth his fingers down her soft cheek. “I’ve had my own share of it. Suppose we forget the past few weeks, and start over. Can you?”

      Her eyes were troubled. “I don’t know if it’s wise,” she said after a minute. “Letting the girls get attached to me again, I mean.”

      His fingers traced her wide, soft mouth. “It’s too late to stop that from happening. They miss you terribly. So do I,” he added surprisingly. He tilted her chin up and bent, brushing his lips tenderly over her mouth. His heavy eyebrows drew together at the delight that shafted through him from the contact. “When I think of you, I think of butterflies and rainbows,” he whispered against her mouth. “I hated the world until you came to work for John. You brought the light in with you. You made me laugh. You made me believe in miracles. Don’t leave me, Kasie.”

      He was saying something, more than words. She drew back and searched his narrow, glittery eyes. “Leave…you?” she questioned the wording.

      “You don’t have an ego at all, do you?” he asked somberly. “Is it inconceivable that I want you back as much as my girls do?”

      Her heart jumped. She’d missed him beyond bearing. But if she went back, could she ever be just an employee again? She remembered the hard warmth of his mouth in passion, the feel of his arms holding her like a warm treasure. She hesitated.

      “I don’t seduce virgins,” he whispered wickedly. “If that wins me points.”

      She flushed. “I wasn’t thinking about that!”

      He smiled. “Yes, you were and that’s the main reason I won’t seduce you.”

      “Thanks a lot.”

      He cocked an eyebrow. “You might sound a little more grateful,” he told her. “Keeping my hands off you lately has been a world-class study in restraint.”

      Her eyes widened. “Really?”

      She was unworldly. He loved that about her. He loved the way she blushed when he teased her, the way she made his heart swell when she smiled. He’d been lonely without her.

      “But I’ll promise to keep my distance,” he added gently. “If you’ll just come back.”

      She bit her lower lip worriedly. She did need the job. She loved the girls. She was crazy about Gil. But there were so many complications…

      “Stop weighing the risks,” he murmured. “Say yes.”

      “I still think…”

      “Don’t think,” he whispered, placing a long forefinger over her lips. “Don’t argue. Don’t look ahead. We’re going to go home and you’re going to read the girls to sleep every night. They miss their stories.”

      “Don’t you read to them?” she asked, made curious by a certain note in his voice.

      “Sure, but they’re getting tired of Green Eggs and Ham.”

      “They have loads of other books besides Dr. Seuss,” she began.

      He glowered at her. “They hid all the other books, including Green Eggs and Ham, but at least I remember most of that story. So they get told it every night. Two weeks of that and I can’t even look at ham in the grocery story anymore without gagging…”

      She was laughing uproariously.

      “This is not funny,” he pointed out.

      “Oh, yes, it is,” she said, and laughed some more.

      He loved the sound. It reminded him of wind chimes. His heart ached for her. “Come home before I get sick of eggs, too.”

      “All right,” she said. “I guess I might as well. I can’t live here with Mama Luke forever.”

      “She’s a character,” he remarked with a smile. “A blunt and honest lady with a big heart. I like her.”

      “She must like you, too, or she wouldn’t have threatened to have you break down my bedroom door.”

      He pursed his lips. “Nice to have an ally with divine connections.”

      “She does, never doubt it,” she told him, laughing. “I’ll just go throw a few things into my suitcase.”

      He watched her go with joy shooting through his veins like fireworks. She was coming back. He’d convinced her.

      Now all he had to do was make her see him as something more than an intolerant, judgmental boss. That was not going to be the easiest job he’d ever tackled.

      Kasie kissed Mama Luke goodbye and waited while she hugged Gil impulsively.

      “Take care of Kasie,” her aunt told him.

      He nodded slowly. “This time, I’ll do better at that.”

      Mama Luke smiled.

      They got into his black Jaguar and drove away, with Kasie leaning out the window and waving until her aunt was out of sight.

      Gil watched her eyes close as she leaned back against the leather headrest. “Sleepy?”

      “Yes,” she murmured. “I haven’t slept well since I came back from Nassau.”

      “Neither have I, Kasie,” he said.

      Her head turned and she looked at him quietly. It made her tingle all over. He was really a striking man, all lean strength and authority. She’d never felt as safe with anyone as she did with him.

      He felt her eyes on him; warm, soft gray eyes that gave him pleasure when he met them. Kasie was unlike anyone he’d every known.

      “Did Pauline finish keying in the herd records to the computer before she left?” she asked, suddenly remembering the chore that had been left when they went to Nassau.

      “She hasn’t been around since we came home,” he said evasively. “I think she’s visiting an aunt in Vermont.”

      She traced a line down the seat belt that stretched across her torso. “I thought you were going to marry her.”

      He had a good idea where she’d heard that unfounded lie. “Never in this lifetime,” he murmured. “Pauline isn’t domestic.”

      “She’s crazy about you.”

      “The girls don’t like her.”

      She pursed her lips. “I see.”

      He chuckled, glancing at her while they stopped for a red light. “Besides, after they found out that I’d fired you, they made Pauline’s life hell. Their latest escapade was to leave her a nice present in her pocketbook.”

      “Oh, dear.”

      “It was a nonpoisonous snake,” he said reassuringly. “But she decided that she’d be better off not visiting when the girls were around. And since they were always around…”

      She shook her head. “Little terrors,” she said, but in a tone soft with affection.

      “Look who’s talking,” he said with a pointed glare.

      “I’ve never put snakes in anybody’s purse,” she pointed out. “Well, not yet, anyway.”

      He gave her an amused glance. “Don’t let the