CEO's Expectant Secretary(31)

He got out of the car and led her to the front porch, where a wooden swing hung from the roof. Two rocking chairs and a table echoed the cozy, laid-back ambience. She followed him through the front door to a foyer that was two stories high. Light spilled in through the tall windows onto the tile floors dotted with soft rugs. The natural flow of the house led her to a large room filled with brown leather couches and chairs, golden wood tables and an HDTV that bore a strong resemblance to the one she’d chosen for the den in Brock’s home.

She met his gaze and laughed. “It’s the same size as the one I got, isn’t it?”

He smiled and took her hand. “You must know my taste,” he said, lifting her hand to his mouth.

Her heart skittered at his charming maneuver. She knew he had plenty of charm, but he’d displayed little of it toward her during the last few weeks. Understandably so.

“Come outside,” he said. “The view will take your breath away.”

He led her out glass doors to a two-story deck that revealed peaks and valleys as far as the eye could see. “It’s amazing. It’s so wonderful, I’m surprised you’re not up here nearly every weekend.”

“There’ve been too many demands at work,” he said, staring at the view. “Especially over the last several months.”

Elle felt a stab and twist of guilt. “Because of me,” she said.

His gaze flickered, but he didn’t look at her. “It’s water under the bridge,” he said. “I have to focus on repairing damage and making sure the company is secure and ready for the future.”

More than ever, she hated that she had made Brock’s job even more demanding and difficult than it should have been. She put her hand on his arm. “I really am sorry,” she said.

He shrugged away. “Like I said, we can’t focus on that. We have to move on. Speaking of which, let me show you the rest of the house.”

She slipped her hand inside his, wishing she could get beneath the surface of Brock’s veneer. Although she’d suspected he’d let her closer than most, she still sensed that he kept a protective wall around his heart. For example, she knew nothing about his failed engagement. She hesitated to talk about it, but she was growing impatient with the secrets between them. Plunging into uncharted territory, she glanced up at him. “Did you ever bring your ex-fiancée here?” she asked softly.

He glanced at her in surprise and shook his head. “No. I thought about it, but there was never time. Claire didn’t understand the demands of my position. She wanted a man who could take off and travel whenever she felt the urge. I couldn’t be that man. It wasn’t all her fault, though. Toward the end, I could tell things weren’t going to work out between us and I buried myself in my job even more.”

“Was the breakup difficult for you?”

He gave a wry smile. “I don’t like to fail,” he said. “At anything. I’d had a crush on her during college, but she was always in a relationship with someone else. We bumped into each other when she was finally single and I decided I’d finally gotten my chance.”

Elle’s heart twisted at the idea of Brock waiting so long for a woman. He hadn’t had to wait any time at all for Elle. She’d tumbled head over heels for him right away. “If you had loved her so long, how could you let her go?”

“She wasn’t happy. Besides, I’m not sure I would call it love back in college. It was more a case of unrequited lust then. The dream and reality didn’t match up. We weren’t well suited.”

Digesting his explanation, she smiled cautiously in return. “And you think you and I are well suited?” she asked.

“Things are only going to get better for you and me. Trust me,” he said.

Walking into the large master bedroom with the same beautiful view as the deck downstairs, she watched him meet her gaze with pride. “Not bad, is it? I put money down on this place after I’d been working for my father for three years and had won a new account. He was pissed that I hadn’t consulted him first.”

“I don’t think you needed to consult with anyone about this,” she said. “It’s your secret baby, isn’t it?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting way of putting it,” he said, glancing out the window.

“Well, it is. How many people have you told about this place?” she asked.

“Not many. My brother knows about it.”

“Your one act of rebellion,” she said.

“Oh, I rebelled more than once. This was just my most productive act of rebellion,” he said.