The Pint-Sized Secret by Sherryl Woods Page B

lovely.”
    “But they’re not going anywhere. Is that what you’re telling me?”
    “Yes. No.” She stared back at him in frustration. “Jeb, we can’t have this conversation in a parking lot when I have a flight to catch.”
    “Fine,” he said, stepping from the car. “Then we can have it on the plane. We’ll have lots of time.”
    She seemed about to argue, but then with a little huff of apparent resignation, she joined him for the walk into the terminal. She didn’t say much else until they were in the air, and even then, most of her remarks were addressed to the flight attendant. Jeb began to get the message that she was royally ticked off at him. What he’d hoped would be a pleasant surprise had seriously offended her.
    “Brianna?”
    She glanced up from the report she’d been studying intently since takeoff.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “For?”
    “Overstepping. Assuming that you would want this time as much as I do.”
    The tension in her face eased just a little. “I do,” she said softly. “I think maybe that’s what made me so angry. I don’t want to want you so much.” A smile flickered. “And you were awfully pushy and presumptuous.”
    Sensing victory, Jeb grinned. “I’m a Delacourt. What can I say? We’re a pushy bunch.”
    “It’s not something to be proud of.”
    “Pushy has its rewards,” he pointed out. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
    “On a business trip,” she reminded him.
    “I’ll stay out of your way when you’re working. I promise.”
    Her gaze narrowed. “I assume you have your own room.”
    “I’m pushy, darlin’, not crude. Of course I do.” His gaze settled on her face. “Unless you’d like me to cancel it.”
    “I don’t think that will be necessary,” she retorted with the first real smile she’d given him since they’d arrived at the Houston airport. “Then, again, you have four days to change my mind.”
    “It will be my pleasure,” Jeb assured her, relieved that the mood had shifted.

    Watching Brianna in action was an eye-opener for Jeb. She worked the international crowd at the European oil industry conference like a pro, as comfortable in that role as she no doubt was with collecting her rock and soil samples. Jeb lingered in the background, amused and often green-eyed with jealousy as she charmed man after man.
    As low-key as he tried to remain, there were those who recognized him and wondered if he was there as backup in case Brianna faltered in some way.
    He was as deeply offended by the question as she would have been. “Absolutely not. The company has complete faith in her. I’m just here as an observer.”
    “And what is it you are observing,” one sly gentleman had the nerve to ask. “Our meetings or Mrs. O’Ryan?”
    “If you had a choice, which would you pick?” Jeb retorted lightly, preferring not to slug the man and cause an incident likely to get reported back home.
    As if she sensed trouble, Brianna picked that precise moment to slip into place beside him. She beamed at both of them. “Do you mind if I steal Jeb away for a moment? We have business to discuss.”
    “Of course not,” the man responded. He then muttered something that sounded like, “Lucky man.”
    Brianna’s smile remained frozen in place until they were alone in an elevator. “Are you beginning to see why I didn’t want you along? People are speculating.”
    Jeb shrugged. “Let them.”
    “Even if it leaves my professional reputation in tatters?”
    “Brianna, your professional reputation is the last thing on their minds,” he grumbled. Only after the words were out did he realize his mistake.
    “What are you saying?”
    “That every man down there was envying me, not worrying about how brilliant you are.”
    “Wasn’t that my point? I’m supposed to dazzle them with my intelligence.”
    “Then you’ll have to tone down the beauty,” he said. “Which I doubt you could do if you wore the dowdiest dress ever made.” He stood facing