The Seduction Request. Michelle Celmer

      He nodded thoughtfully and gestured toward the sickly plant. “Maybe this one is hard of hearing.”

      She had to stifle a smile. He always did have a good sense of humor, and the ability to make her laugh. He’d been the brightest point in her life. Her life had grown dim since then, but she was used to it. She liked it that way. It was tough for people to hurt you, to disappoint you, if you kept them at arms’ length.

      “What do you want, Conway?” she asked. “I thought we agreed to stay out of each other’s way.”

      “You have my binder with the restaurant specs and I need it for tomorrow. The decorator has my only other copy.”

      He’d only wanted his folder. Why would she even think he would want to see her for any other reason than business? Why would he be interested in someone like her when he could have a thousand other women? Beautiful, feminine women.

      And why did she feel disappointment instead of relief?

      “I get it for you and you’ll leave?” she asked.

      “Scout’s honor.”

      “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” She brushed past him, far too aware of the energy vibrating from his body, and headed toward the front of the building. The man was a walking powerhouse, and even worse, he knew it. Stepping into her miniscule office, she grabbed the binder off her desk, but as she spun around to leave she slammed hard into Matt’s chest. The heat radiating from his skin scorched her and she jerked away, bumping the backs of her thighs against her cluttered desk. “What are you doing in here?”

      He reached behind him and closed the door. “Giving us some privacy.”

      “You said you would leave. You did the Scout’s honor thing.”

      He gave her a wide, toothy grin, looking just like the old Matt. “I was never a Scout.”

      That was exactly the kind of stunt the old Matt would have pulled. He looked like the old Matt, and he was acting like the old Matt—

      No. No way she would let herself even consider that. She didn’t want to like him. If she started to like him a little, that might grow into liking him a lot. Then he would leave and she would never hear from him again. No thanks. “What do you want from me, Conway?”

      “I just want to talk to you. I’ve…missed you.”

      “You missed me? That would explain why you stopped calling. Never once visited. Yeah, you sure seemed broken up about it.”

      “Your parents came out to visit me. You could have come with them.”

      She’d wanted to. It had torn her to pieces to watch her parents leave, knowing they would see Matt. Knowing how badly she’d wanted to see him, too. And knowing it just wasn’t an option. Not if her heart was ever going to heal. “I don’t remember getting an invitation.”

      “You were always welcome.”

      “Oh, was it one of those mind-reading things us women are supposed to be able to do? I probably should have told you, I was absent the day they taught that in home economics.”

      Matt gave her a scrutinizing look. “I don’t remember you being this cynical.”

      “I’m being realistic.” The phone on her desk rang and she turned to snatch it up. Her mood plummeted even lower when she answered the phone and recognized the voice on the other end.

      “Emily, dear,” Alex’s mother said sharply. “I need to speak with my son.”

      “I’m sorry, Mrs. Marlette, but Alex stepped out for the afternoon.” And tomorrow afternoon, and the one after that.

      “This is the third time I’ve called this week. Haven’t you been giving him my messages?”

      Emily hated this. She hated lying to save Alex’s rear end time and time again. “He’s been so busy, he probably just forgot to get back to you.”

      Busy slathering on the suntan oil and sipping exotic fruit drinks, she wanted to add. He hadn’t answered his cell phone or responded to the dozens of pages she’d sent the past three days. She was no stranger to the pressures of a demanding, critical family and understood his need to escape. But without his participation, she wouldn’t be able to hold his life together for him much longer.

      “Could you please let my son know that the accountant will be out next Wednesday at nine sharp for the quarterly audit and I expect him to be there.” The woman’s tone was so bitterly cold, Emily was sure she could feel icicles forming on her ear.

      “I’ll pass the message along, Mrs.—”

      There was a click, then the line went dead.

      “Nice to talk to you, too,” she mumbled as she dropped the phone back in the cradle. If she didn’t know the woman better, she might have taken the harsh treatment personally. But Alex’s mother regarded everyone, including her own family, with equal contempt.

      Emily turned to find Matt leaning against the door, hands tucked loosely in his jeans pockets, watching her.

      She gave him her best exasperated look. “Are you still here?”

      His grin widened until the hint of a dimple dented his left cheek, raising the boyish-charm-level tenfold. “I haven’t asked you out to dinner yet.”

      “Dinner? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

      “It’s the least I can do.”

      She handed Matt the binder. “Goodbye, Conway.”

      He took it, and something warm in his expression, a glint in his eyes, had shivers crawling up her spine.

      He opened the door. “When can I expect an estimate?”

      “Give me a week.” Maybe by then she would have shaken off this nagging attraction.

      “I have one more question,” he said.

      “I won’t go out to lunch with you either.”

      He grinned and her insides flipped. “How certain can I be that Marlette will complete the job if I accept your bid?”

      His question threw her for a moment, then she recognized, like any good businessman, he’d done some digging. Not that he’d have to dig very deep. Marlette’s financial difficulties were common knowledge among competing nurseries, several of whom had lowballed them out of many a contract this season. She hadn’t yet figured out how, but as low as Marlette kept their bids, there was always someone lower. Though she hoped she was wrong, she was beginning to suspect they had a rogue employee on the loose.

      One more thing she didn’t have time to worry about.

      “This could be the account to save our butts,” she said. “If we win the bid, we’ll come through for you. You have my word.”

      “That’s good enough for me.” Emily’s honesty impressed Matt. And what he hadn’t mentioned was that Marlette was the only company bidding. He didn’t often let sentimentality edge its way into his business dealings, especially with his investors so shaky about the venture, but in this case he was making an exception. Emily was obviously working hard to pull the company into the black. He admired her determination.

      Not to mention that this was about the only way she’d let him within a hundred yards of her.

      “I look forward to doing business with you.” He held out a hand for her to shake. She hesitated a second, then gripped his hand firmly.

      Nothing fluffy about that handshake. She was all business, and it was over so quickly he barely had time to relish her soft skin against his fingers.

      The phone rang again. She turned to pick it up, and after a pause snapped, “Where in the hell have you been, Alex? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. Mildred has been all over my back.”

      The