Taming Her Billionaire Boss(24)
He didn’t seem to find that funny. “Yes, so take note.”
“I would, only you won’t let me work,” she quipped.
“Funny,” he muttered, then went back to his paperwork. She sighed. He was taking it all so seriously, and while that was sweet of him, it wasn’t necessary.
After that, Samantha was itching to get up and move around but knew it was best she take things easy. For something to do while she was waiting for Blake to finish working, she popped a movie in the DVD and began watching it with earphones so that she didn’t disturb him. It was a romantic comedy she hadn’t seen before and it made her giggle. She didn’t realize she’d been laughing loudly until suddenly she became aware of Blake standing near the couch.
She paused the movie and looked up at him as she pulled out her earbuds. “I’m sorry. Is this interrupting your work?”
“No.” He went still. “It’s good to hear you laugh. You don’t do it often enough.”
Her pulse was skipping beats. “The job isn’t exactly a laugh a minute,” she joked. Then realized how that might sound. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant,” he said easily enough as he leaned over and pulled the earplug cord out of the television. Picking up the remote, he turned the movie back on, only instead of going back to his work he sat down on the other chair.
She blinked in mild surprise, then tried to concentrate as he began watching the movie with her. He’d only missed about fifteen minutes of the story, so they both watched it together. It was amusing enough that she could feel herself relax, and when it was finished even Blake looked relaxed. She was glad about that. He worked too hard at times, and took his responsibilities too seriously.
Later, in spite of him telling her to stay on the couch, she followed him into the kitchen where he was going to prepare dinner. “I need to walk. My legs are getting numb.”
His brows immediately drew together on full medical alert. “They feel numb? Are you getting any pins and needles? Is it hard to walk or are—”
“Blake, I was merely trying to say I wanted to move around,” she cut across him, somewhat bemused by his agitation.
He grimaced. “Okay, so that was a mild over-reaction.”
“Mild?” she teased.#p#分页标题#e#
He gave a self-deprecating smile, then jerked his head toward the bench. “Go sit over there and take it easy.”
She ignored that and turned toward the cupboard. “I’ll put out the place mats and cutlery first. We can eat in here.”
He must have known it was a waste of time to argue because he nodded, then went back to preparing the omelet. It was a strange feeling watching him cook for her. It would be another memory to take away when she left.
Soon they were sitting down on the tall stools to eat and the next hour flew by as they chatted. As if they both didn’t want to ruin the moment, neither of them spoke about her leaving.
Then he mentioned Donald Jarrod in passing, and that made her think. Blake had never spoken about his father while they were in Vegas, but now they were in Aspen she’d managed to put two and two together. “Your dad was pretty hard on you, wasn’t he?”
He tensed even as he gave a light shrug. “After my mother died, he was hard on all his children.”
She considered him. “But harder on you.”
A flash of surprise crossed his face. “Yes. How did you know?”
“You were the eldest. He seems to have been a man who had set ideas about the order of things and didn’t give an inch.”
“He was. Very much so.”
“Tell me more.”
He paused and for a moment she didn’t think he would tell her. Then, “Guy was only younger by a few minutes but it could have been years in my father’s eyes. I was the oldest, so it was up to me to make sure I took responsibility for everything. None of us ever really got to play while growing up, but I suppose I got even less time than the rest.”
The thought upset her. “That’s sad.”
He shrugged. “My father actually did us a favor. We grew up being very independent. We don’t need anyone.”
She could see that. And that was even sadder, but she didn’t say so. She tilted her head. “It still would’ve been hard losing your mother like that when you were just a small boy. And then having your father distance himself would have made it far worse. Children don’t understand why love has been withdrawn. They just know.”
His expression suddenly bordered on mockery and she knew she’d touched a nerve. “And you understand the way a child’s mind works when he loses a parent, do you?”