Page 8 of Nothing to Deny

“Sunderland is always pissed,” Baer said and switched on the dazzling smile she’d first seen downstairs. “You haven’tintroduced our guest, Conrad… Allow me…” Moving away, Baer went around the couch and extended a hand to her cousin. “Holly, I assume.”

“Yes, Mr. Baer,” Holly said, accepting his hand and laughing when he bowed to kiss her knuckles.

“Just Baer.”

“And are you?” Holly purred. Though Baer’s back was to her, the angle still allowed Freya to drink in her cousin and Baer fixating on each other. Oh, and there was the nausea. Holly’s eyes glittered with excitement. “A bear?”

“If that’s what you need me to be, sweetheart.”

Holly laughed again. “I’ll have to think about what I need from you, Baer.”

Conrad interrupted the couple’s mooning. “Now that we’ve found your cousin, we can go through our introductory meeting,” he said. “Find out what you ladies need and if Baer is in your price range…”

Holly laughed, but it was Baer who spoke. “Conrad, you’ve lost that gentle touch… You’ve been spending too much time with Ilsa.”

“And I’ve got the scars to prove it, buddy.”

“Haven’t we all?”

There was a lightness to the way the men spoke to each other. It wasn’t as measured as Baer had been with Holly or as seductive either. These men were friends. Familiar, maybe even close… maybe they trusted each other… they could’ve worked together a long time.

Conrad would know the answers to all her wonderings about Baer. She’d bet he knew Baer’s background, his marital status, his family and friendships… Attraction was one thing, but as she adjusted to this bizarre set up, the more truth she grasped.

Baer was an employee. His job was to make women feel the way he’d made her feel. It was his job to soothe and seduce,to kiss and coddle. It was a sales pitch. The pathetic thing was how well, and how quickly, it worked. She’d fallen for it so fast, it was embarrassing. Was she so starved of affection?

One thing she’d never been with men was easy. From her father’s protection to her grandfather’s, contact with men had never been straightforward. Relationships were never simple. That was part of the reason she’d given up hope of ever finding a happy one.

In saying that, getting a date had never been a problem.

Finding a man she could trust, that had proved impossible. No, that wasn’t fair, there were men she trusted, just none who bewitched her hormones and her heart.

“If you ladies aren’t in a rush,” Baer said, skimming a hand onto Holly’s shoulder as he turned to look at her. “I have twenty minutes if you want to get a drink downstairs.”

“No drinks for you,” Conrad said. “These ladies have an appointment, we’re going to the office. You have to sign something out of the garage.”

“I’ve got time,” Baer said.

Though she could feel his eyes on her, she didn’t meet them, unwilling to be drawn in again.

Conrad stepped back and opened the door. “Please, ladies,” he said. “Come with me before this man does my job for me. He already does the work of ten guys around here.”

“Don’t ever say I don’t pull my weight,” Baer said.

“Never do,” Conrad said. “Ladies?”

Holly seemed loathed to step out of Baer’s grip. No judgment, not so long ago, she’d felt the same way. Crossing the room, she made a point of averting her attention from the man who’d been kissing her just minutes before.

Conrad was in the hallway, Holly followed in his wake. As Freya was about to step out, Baer’s voice rose behind her.

“Little Skit,” he said. Turn around, say nothing, be calm. Good advice. She still had to breathe a second before looking at him. “It was a pleasure.”

Nodding once, she kept her expression passive. “Likewise.”

Her heart pounded so hard that her tongue throbbed. Holding on to her composure, she went to join Conrad and Holly in the hallway.

“If you’ll follow me to my office,” Conrad said, walking away with the women falling into step behind him.

Holly linked their arms to pull her closer. “Wow. I want that one,” she whispered on a giggle, a renewed spring in her step.

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