The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe Page B

thighs. This was possible because her skirt was twisted up to her hips, exposing the tops of her stay-ups.
    Somehow several buttons had come undone on her once crisp white blouse and Simon’s hand was inside, resting against her silk-clad breast. Her hand was underneath his untucked T-shirt, pressing against his well-defined abs.
    If he woke up right now, she would have a heart attack and die of humiliation.
    With all the caution of a thief leaving the scene of a crime, she gently withdrew her hand from under his shirt. His body shuddered in sleep as her fingertips brushed along his skin and she was terrified he’d waken. He didn’t.
    He was sleeping too deeply.
    Thank you, God .
    She’d been right that his muscles would relax in sleep. Moving slow centimeter by centimeter, she withdrew from his embrace until her body was no longer touching his at any point. Heaving a sigh of relief, she rolled onto her back and only registered her nearness to the edge of the bed a second before landing on the floor with a solid thump.
    â€œNot a real graceful way to get out of bed, if you don’t mind my saying so, Ms. Zachary.”
    Jacob? Jacob was here? How much had he seen?
    She scooted to her feet in a flurry of movement, yanking her crumpled skirt down over her exposed legs.
    â€œThought you were going to use the guest room.”
    She could feel heat scorching into her cheeks. “I am. This was a mistake. He . . . I . . .” How did she explain the events that had led up to her sleeping in Simon’s arms?
    â€œI don’t pry into the boss’s private affairs.”
    â€œFor goodness sake, we are not having an affair. I was trying to help him to bed. He fell asleep with me under him. I mean. He fell. We fell. I couldn’t get away. I guess I fell asleep waiting for him to relax.”
    A lot of falling had gone on.
    â€œWhatever you say, Ms. Zachary. I came to see if you wanted dinner.”
    â€œUm, that would be great.” She surreptitiously did up several buttons on her blouse, keeping her body angled away from Jacob’s too knowing gaze. “I’ll just go change my clothes.”
    She was a wrinkled mess and maybe a return to her usual put-together appearance would harbinger a return to sanity as well.
    One could only hope.
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    Eric Brant called after dinner. As soon as Amanda heard his voice, her stomach cramped with worry over his reaction to her coming to stay with his cousin.
    â€œHe let you move in? Just like that?” Eric sounded stunned.
    â€œIt was Jacob’s idea,” she defended herself.
    â€œBut Simon hardly ever has company and now he’s letting a complete stranger live in his house. I have to tell you, Amanda, this is the strangest business deal I’ve ever been involved in.”
    â€œSimon doesn’t do things like normal people,” she said, throwing his own words from before back at Eric.
    â€œBut he doesn’t do stuff like this either.”
    â€œIt was the only way I could think of to catch him often enough to convince him of the merits of the merger.”
    Eric’s laughter jangled against her already stretched nerves. “Well, I’ve got to hand it you, Amanda. You’ve got real dedication to getting the job done. I only wish my junior executives were half as ambitious and creative.”
    She warmed under the praise. “Thank you.” She only hoped her boss, Daniel, agreed with Eric.
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    Amanda popped the green stem out of the strawberry and tossed it in the waste bin to her left on the deck. She dropped the berry in the ceramic bowl and picked up another one. She’d eaten breakfast an hour ago, but the juicy berries were still tempting. The only thing that stopped her popping one in her mouth was the certainty that Jacob would walk out on the deck at that exact moment and catch her.
    She wouldn’t put it past him to be watching her from the kitchen just so he could do