Billionaire Bachelors 7 ; The Billionaire's Final Stand(16)

She and George stared into each other's eyes, before Esther seemed to realize everyone in the room was watching them.

"I'm so happy to see you talking," she said as she quickly sat back, looking uncomfortable.

"Thanks for coming," George whispered, looking at Esther, then his eyes roamed across the room, including everyone in his heartfelt appreciation.

Kinsey stepped outside the doors so they could speak privately. What a beautiful family they made.

Chapter Four

An entire week and he'd been on his best behavior. In and out. Out and in. More in than out.

Torture!

Austin watched as Kinsey walked into the room for the fourth time that day, and felt his muscles tense. He'd tried talking to her several times, but she was great at giving him her most professional smile before turning her back to him. He was getting sick of playing Mr. Nice Guy.

"Kinsey, I need to discuss a few things about my father with you. I haven't had a chance to eat yet so let's do it over lunch," Austin said, knowing he was putting her on the spot.

Her supervisor was in the room and he knew Kinsey couldn't refuse without looking bad. He wasn't stupid. He'd timed his request well.

"I don't have a lunch break for another hour," she hedged, then went back to checking on George's vitals. She was smart, not giving him a refusal, but certainly dismissing him.

"You can go early if Mr. Anderson needs to discuss the patient with you," her boss offered. Austin gave Kinsey's boss his thousand-watt smile, feeling pretty smug when the older woman blushed.

"Thank you," Kinsey replied, but he could see she was seething.

Good, he thought. He liked her even more when her hackles were up. He shifted in his seat as his pants became a bit uncomfortable. His gaze never left her as she took her time finishing in the room.

Finally, with a glare in his direction, Kinsey exited the room, making him have to rush to catch up to her. She ignored him as they silently walked down the long hallway toward the cafeteria. Once inside, she took a tray and started grabbing food from the shelf. It didn't look like she was paying the least bit of attention to her choices. Seemed to him she was just trying to get the meal over with. Well, he'd have to eat extra slow then, because they were going to have it out, one way or another. He could think of one thing they could do to relieve the tension between them.

"What's so important we had to speak outside of the room?" Kinsey asked as soon as they were seated. He watched as she stirred her coffee, repeatedly swirling the spoon around repeatedly until he placed his hand over hers.

"I'm not as bad as you think. I don't know why you've been trying to make me a villain since our incredible night together. You were right there with me, and if I do recall correctly, quite satisfied," Austin said, ignoring her question.




 

 

Kinsey gasped as she tried to pull her hand from his. He gripped it tighter. She finally let go of the spoon and allowed their joined fingers to rest on the table. Finally, she looked up and met his eyes.

"Look, Austin, I understand how you may think I'm someone that I'm not. I don't do one night stands. I don't have affairs. I have a career to think about, a great family, and believe it or not, a reputation to uphold. I think it's best if you get over this idea you have of me, so we can both go on our merry ways."

"Sorry, but that doesn't work for me. First of all, I've never accused you of being the 'one-night-stand' kind of girl. Secondly, I wasn't asking you for a cheap affair. And thirdly, I'm not exactly chopped liver. My family is respected in this community, and contrary to what you might think, I care about my reputation as well."

"Hah!"

Her childish outburst made Austin grin. He looked at her as he fought the laughter wanting to spill out. She was the most intriguing woman he'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. He couldn't seem to stop chasing her. Maybe that was why he was so intrigued. He was usually the one being chased. It was nice to feel like a man  –  to hunt his prey. He felt like jumping on the table and pounding his chest. His grin grew bigger.

After a moment of silence, Kinsey's lips twitched as she looked at him. Maybe she was realizing how bull-headed she was acting.

"Okay, I can concede that you're not the devil. I'm still not interested in dating you, though."

"Since we're around each other night and day, how about we at least be friends? After all, your best friend is married to my brother. We're going to see each other often," he offered.

She had no way of knowing his legs were crossed. He had much bigger plans with Kinsey than just being friends. He had a few ideas about some of the empty hospital rooms. Damn, his body was in a state of half-arousal whenever she was in his vicinity.