I Do! I Do!. Pamela Toth

I’m glad you’re still here,” Mitch exclaimed, startling her out of her daydream. “I wanted to ask…about DJ’s wedding…would you go with me?”

      Chapter Three

      Liz stared up at Mitch, who had appeared beside her desk while she was daydreaming. “You want me to go with you to DJ and Allaire’s wedding?” she echoed.

      “I’d like that very much,” he replied quietly. “Please say yes.”

      His steady gaze and half-smile were somehow much more appealing to Liz than his brother Marshall’s easy charm had ever been. When she looked at Mitch, it was hard to remember what she’d ever seen in his brother, even though he was a great guy.

      For a moment, she was tempted to accept, but then she remembered her resolution. Reluctantly she shook her head.

      “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go out,” she said reluctantly. “I hope you understand.”

      He folded his arms across his chest. “Mind if I ask why?”

      Oh, darn. She might have guessed that a man as successful as Mitch wouldn’t easily take no for an answer. Part of his formula for success must be persistence.

      Liz tended to have a difficult time standing her ground when it came to persistence. She had a tough time—at least to a certain extent—saying no to people. She was always afraid of hurting their feelings, which was why she’d gone out with a number of men she hadn’t found at all attractive.

      With a burst of insight, she suddenly realized that her difficulty in saying no was exactly why she had ended up engaged to Dax. Not because she’d really been in love with him.

      Lesson learned.

      Despite the injection of fresh determination, she was still hesitant. What if Mitch didn’t understand?

      “I’ve decided to focus my energy on doing a good job here,” she explained gently, hands clasped tightly on her lap beneath her desk. She could see that saying no without guilt was going to take some practice. “I just think dating my boss could complicate that, don’t you?”

      Mitch’s golden brown eyes narrowed, giving her a glimpse of the strength behind his success as he studied her as though she were some new kind of mechanical gizmo he’d never seen before. Then his expression cleared.

      “Oh, I get it.” He chuckled lightly. “You thought I was asking you on a date.”

      Oops. “Weren’t you?” she squeaked, sudden embarrassment nearly choking her.

      He held out his hands, palms up. “My fault entirely. I know you’re probably still getting over what happened with Dax, but I should have explained myself better.”