Page 46 of The Christmas Trap

“Why do you look so tired?”

I look away, then back at him. “I’ve been staying up nights reviewing the information for the board meeting. I’ve been prepping the slides, working through the numbers, and putting the finishing touches on the pitch.”

“But it’s nothing you can’t handle.”

The certainty in his voice gives me pause. “You have that much confidence in me?”

“I wouldn’t have asked you to run it in my place if I didn’t.”

My heart blooms in my chest. A flush of happiness unfurls under my skin. Praise from him means so much to me. It feels so good to be acknowledged and appreciated by him. And that he believes in me means everything.

“But that’s not what’s bothering you.”

I gape at him. How did he guess? Has he gotten to know me so well in such little time?

“Is it the dress?” He slips his hand inside the pocket of his pants.

I strive hard not to notice how his gesture tightens the fabric of his pants around his powerful thighs. Not that I haven’t sneaked a look in the past. There’s only so much I can resist when I’m faced with his hotness on a daily basis.

I’m so distracted, I don’t reply right away.

“I mean, the wedding dress,” he prompts me.

I frown. How does he know I’ve been eyeing the gorgeous wedding dresses on the site of one of the foremost designers in the country.

“The screen of your device was open on the website of Karma West Sovrano’s atelier,” he replies in answer to my unspoken question.

He must have noticed it during one of our meetings when I placed my device on the desk between us.

“I’m not searching for my dress on company time, if that’s what you’re implying.” I cross my arms across my chest.

He sighs. “I wasn’t implying that.”

I flush at the sincerity in his words. “Of course, not. And I can’t afford a Karma West Sovrano dress anyway.”

“But you would have liked to have worn one of them to your wedding?”

“Who wouldn’t?” I wave a hand in the air. “But I’ve found a dress at an alternate High Street Label.”Not as good, but it’ll have to do.

“So, what is it then? What’s bothering you?”

He narrows his gaze, and it’s as if he can see right through to the knot of worries in my chest.

I instinctively realize that I can’t lie to him. He’ll spot it right away. I blow out a breath. “Do you really want to hear this?”

“I assure you, I do.” His body settles into a waiting stance to punctuate the patience behind his words.

He can be an annoying jerkface. But as our working relationship has developed, he’s beginning to trust me more. Otherwise, he wouldn't have delegated so much of his workload to me. Maybe, it's time for me to trust him.

I rub at my forehead. “It’s the wedding planning." I sigh. "It’s been stressful.”

“And isn’t your…fiancé”—he bites off the word like it’s a hunk of plastic clogging his mouth—“helping you?”

I start to laugh, then realize, he's serious. “He’s, ah… He’s busy traveling for work.”

His nostrils flare. A look of anger flashes across his features, followed by something like steely resolve.

He lowers his voice. “If you were mine, I would be with you, planning our wedding every step of the way.”