Page 22 of Taken With You
Her shoulders stiffened. Of course she had. But she’d shrugged it off as irrelevant, because she wasn’t thinking of him in that way. He’d offered her a dream come true and she wasn’t going to screw it up.
Right?
“Wow.” Maggie dropped into the chair that Garrick had abandoned. “How the mighty have fallen.”
“I haven’t…fallen.” Amanda sucked in the first deep inhale she’d taken since Garrick had stolen that breath away. “I’m still collecting my wits.”
“Did he kiss you?”
“No.”Damn it.
“But he was about to?”
Yes.
“And I interrupted.” Maggie sighed. “Impeccable timing.”
Enough.
This was too much. Her mind was swimming. A huge amount of work awaited her at the lab counter. “I can’t think about this anymore. I need to take some Brix readings—”
“No, you need to work this out. How deep are you in?”
She glanced longingly at the lab bench. “In the crush? Or in the readings—”
“In Garrick,” Maggie said. “Are you falling for him?”
“No! How? We hardly know each other. This is new. Moments new.” A wave of exhaustion rolled over her so suddenly that she stumbled back.
“Amanda?”
“Just…tired.” Gripping the edge of the table, she dropped down onto a chair. “That’s what it is.” She rubbed her temples. “It’s just sleep deprivation.”Hallucinations.“We’ve been working closely. He’s gorgeous—”
“Understatement.”
“And I’m no nun.”
“Yeah, but you’re more than unfocused. When I came in, you were standing in that puddle.” Maggie pointed to a wet trail on the concrete floor where the wash water had trickled into the building from the hoses outside. Amanda’s own wet footsteps trailed out of it. “It’s the only puddle in the whole room, girl. And I come in to find you soaking your sneakers.”
“Okay. I’m unfocused. Yes.”
“Because of a man,” Maggie added, joining her at the table. “I’ve been trying to fix you up with every eligible guy I know since you came to Windsor, and nothing has lasted past a second date. And yet here we are.”
“And that’s…where, exactly?”
“You, wrapped up in that billionaire.” Maggie sighed. “Listen. I’m thrilled you want to wrap your legs around Garrick Kane. He leaves a trail of fire in his wake. I’d leap for joy…if he were anyone but your business partner.”
She grimaced. She didn’t need Maggie to give voice to the worries in her own head, becoming more clear with every second that passed by. “Mags, I can’t ruin this partnership by getting physically involved with Garrick Kane.”
“Now, there’s the Amanda I know.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking, letting him kiss me.”Or try.
“I know what you were thinking. That man has shoulders that block out the light.”
She swallowed hard. “Fortunately, nothing has happened yet—”
“Oh, don’t fool yourself. Something has most definitely happened. You can’t put that toothpaste back into the tube. The question is about just how tight he already has you in his playboy clutches.”
