Page 28 of A Christmas Negotiation

A sad smile crossed her lips. “You know, I thought about it, but I don’t think Sam would have dealt very well with it. I think it would have made him feel helpless, and I didn’t see any good in that. So I dusted myself off and I went back to work and I tried to forget.”

She was so tough. So resilient. No wonder she made such an excellent attorney. “Back to being a shark?”

“That’s the last thing I am.” Isabel waved it off.

“A beautiful shark, of course.”

Her eyes flashed in the soft light from the fireplace. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“I’m no dummy.”

“And I’m serious when I say I’m not a shark. It’s an act. Acting is how you win. You can’t tell me you aren’t the same way.”

“I’m not acting right now.”

Cocking her head to one side, a dark strand of her hair fell across her cheek. The way she narrowed her sights on him made him feel as vulnerable as he’d felt in a very long time. “I believe that. But when you’re working, you have on your armor. You’re ready for battle. And if I’m being completely honest, I think you were playing an act the night we met.”

Jeremy reached for the wine bottle and poured more into her glass before topping off his own. “Isn’t everyone on their best behavior when they first meet? Trying to impress the other person?”

“Yes, and that’s why I didn’t want to talk about work. I wanted us to just be a man and a woman having a conversation.”

“And you think I was faking my way through it? I guarantee you, I didn’t fake a damn thing up in your room. That was all legit.”

Isabel grinned, her cheeks flushing pink. “I believe that. I do. It’s the first part of the night when you were acting. Playing the part of the fun-loving guy.”

“Hey. I love fun. I just don’t have a lot of it.”

“But you’re not as cavalier as you try to make yourself seem. You act like nothing bothers you, but you aren’t like that. You’re thoughtful and serious.” She took another sip of her wine, then scooted closer on the couch. “And now that you’ve told me the story about your marriage, I know why. You’re trying to hide your pain from everyone.”

Jeremy swallowed back the emotion of having her see right through him. “I just don’t want to feel hurt anymore. That’s all that is. So I pretend like it’s not there and I figure it’ll eventually go away.”

Slowly and evenly, she nodded, gazing up at him with her sweet and tenderhearted eyes. He loved that she had so many sides, that she was a woman of many facets. She could be determined one minute and gentle the next. “I know. I just want you to know that you don’t have to pretend with me.” She ran her finger around the rim of her wineglass. “We’re nearly off the clock.”

“Just a man and a woman having a conversation.”

“No hiding.”

Two simple words from Isabel and a wave of heat rose in Jeremy, starting in his thighs and rolling upward, taking hold in his hips, stomach and chest. He fixed his gaze on her, on the rise and fall of her breaths, the flush in her cheeks, the brilliant flash of life in her eyes. Electricity was arcing between them. A current. A jolt. One minute they were talking work and life and pain and now...well, he would have had to be a complete idiot to not notice that this was all leading somewhere he hadn’t quite planned on.

What was it about Isabel that didn’t merely tug at his heartstrings, but unraveled them? It was more than attraction, although that was its own powerful force. There was a connection between them, one that went beyond working together.

“I was hiding from you this week.” The words rolled out of his mouth as if he’d planned to say them all along, which he hadn’t at all, but it still felt good to own up to it. So good that he wanted to keep going. “That night at dinner, all I wanted to do was kiss you. But the pressure is on with this case and I worried I would end up sabotaging myself if I spent any time with you.”

“So you invited me here because you didn’t have a choice.”

He shook his head. “No. I invited you because I had a reason. I finally had a legitimate reason to do what I’d wanted to do all along.”

“I have an admission of my own.” She sat forward, angling her body toward his.

Jeremy’s pulse picked up, running along at a clip. “I’m listening.”

“I thought about kissing you way before dinner. I thought about it that day in your office.”

All he wanted was for her to bend at the waist and plant her soft lips on his. He wanted to feel her body pressed against his. He wanted to get lost in her and never be found. “And since then?”

“There’s been a lot of inner conflict over it.” She licked her lower lip and placed her wineglass on the coffee table, which felt like an ultimatum—kiss me, or don’t.

Jeremy didn’t want to leave any challenge from Isabel unaccepted.