From Boss to Bridegroom by Karen Kirst Page A

weekend.
    Dropping the case key in her apron pocket, she said, “Why don’t you come with me? There will be food. Games. Music. It’s a nice change from the routine.”
    He hesitated before popping the treat in his mouth, brow creasing as he considered. “I’d like that...if you’re certain you wouldn’t mind spending your day off with me.”
    An image of prior town-wide celebrations popped into her head, of enamored couples sharing picnics beneath the shade trees and strolling arm in arm. She shook off the unsettling image of her and Quinn engaging in such behavior. They shared a professional relationship. Nothing more.
    Unlike other girls her age, she didn’t pine for a clinging beau, didn’t dream about marriage proposals. Romance was the furthest thing from her mind. So the fact that she’d contemplated—even for a second—such behavior with her boss bothered her no small amount.
    â€œI’m certain.”
    He followed her into the office, bracing an arm on the door frame. Nicole didn’t particularly like sharing this confined space with him because his presence made her twitchy. She became acutely aware of commonplace events—the pull of air into his lungs and subsequent exhale, the way his throat worked with each swallow, the movement of his lips as he spoke.
    â€œWill your sisters be there?”
    â€œYou’re a bit too old for them, don’t you think? Jessica and Jane are only sixteen.”
    His brows shot up. Dropping his arm, he edged closer and propped his hip on the desk. A baffled smile mocked her. “While the twins are loveliness personified, I had not planned on offering for either of them. It was an innocent question.”
    Cheeks burning, she feigned interest in one of the many ledgers laid out on the desk, absently skimming the nearest one. He thought they were lovely, did he? Of course he did.
Please tell me you’re not jealous,
an inner voice pleaded.
Quinn Darling can woo whomever he pleases.
    â€œI know I’m risking getting raked over the coals again for putting my nose where it doesn’t belong,” he said quietly, “but it’s obvious there is tension between you and your sisters. I cannot help but wonder why.”
    If there had been any hint of lightheartedness in his manner, she would’ve refused to answer. But he was serious...even concerned. “How would you like it if you were constantly compared to your siblings? If your entire life, you’d been judged and pegged as the odd one in your family?”
    A frown cut a groove in his cheek. “Why would you think that about yourself?”
    Worrying the edge of her sleeve, Nicole hesitated. Baring her soul to him was a bad idea. The worst. “You wouldn’t understand.”
    â€œYou think I haven’t had my share of problems?” he said softly.
    â€œYou’re the Darling heir. Don’t tell me Boston’s elite didn’t worship the ground you walked on.”
    A dry half laugh escaped him. “Solely because of the fortune attached to my last name. My winning personality and natural charm wouldn’t have gotten me very far if my last name had been Smith or Jones and I’d worked on the docks.”
    The glimpse of uncertainty in him stunned Nicole. Where was her suave, confident, infuriatingly-sure-of-himself boss? “I imagine it would be difficult to wonder if every person in my life was there because of me or because of the benefits of being my friend.”
    â€œYou have no idea.”
    Shadows passed across his face, shadows she felt certain not many people were allowed to see. She’d misjudged him, had taken one look at his well-tailored clothes, slick appearance and cool confidence and assumed he’d led a privileged, problem-free life. But money and status didn’t solve the world’s problems, did they?
    She took a steadying breath. “When I was a kid, my cousins and