Engaging the Boss (Heirs of Damon) Read Online Free PDF

wondering why he’d been so idiotic
as to think this ridiculous scheme would ever work.
    She
looked at him in surprise. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
    He
lowered his brows. “Are you all right?” Her eyes looked bluer than they ever
had before, maybe because of the sunlight rather than the artificial light of
the lab. But her eyes also looked like she was close to tears.
    He
didn’t like that at all. She’d always been happy and agreeable. He didn’t like
that she was upset. He needed to fix it.
    “What’s
wrong?” he asked, when she didn’t respond.
    She
gave a huff, almost poignant amusement. “Nothing.”
    He
frowned. She was obviously lying. “Tell me.”
    She
cleared her throat and slid her eyes away from him. “It’s nothing really,” she
admitted, almost self-consciously. “I just spent a lot of time and effort today,
trying to look nice.”
    “You
do look nice,” he said in surprise. “Who said you didn’t?” He felt a sudden
flash of defensive resentment at the thought of someone putting her down. He
had no idea where the feeling came from, but Sarah was his —his assistant,
his help and companion—and he was irrationally angry at the thought of anyone
not appreciating her appropriately.
    After
a long moment, to his absolute astonishment, Sarah started to laugh. Freely.
Uninhibitedly. Her amusement was so infectious and so pretty he couldn’t look
away, even though he had no idea what was causing it.
    “What’s
so funny?” he asked at last.
    “Nothing,”
she gasped, wiping away a couple of stray tears. “Sorry. It’s really nothing.”
    She
was acting confusing, something she’d never been before. He wasn’t quite sure
why this was happening.
    He
was relieved when she changed the subject.
    “What
are your cousins like?”
    “They’re
okay. I’m not very close to them.”
    “You
grew up with them?”
    He
gave a half-shrug. “Not really. My parents died in the same plane crash as
Andrew and Harrison’s parents, so my uncle became the guardian of all of us at
the same time. But I was at school most of the time, and they had each other.”
    “Were
they nice to you?”
    “They
made an effort, but we didn’t have a lot of in common. I don’t mind them. We’re
just not close.”
    “Did
you fight a lot?”
    He
shrugged again. “Not that much. One year at Christmas, we went skiing, and they
were so mad because I could ski better than them. They were used to being
better at sports than me.”
    “You’re
a good skier?” She looked surprised.
    He
wondered if she thought he wasn’t good at anything active. She’d been surprised
he was running on the treadmill earlier that week. He didn’t like that idea either.
Surely she realized he was a man capable of physical activity outside of a
research lab. “I went to school in Switzerland. We skied a lot.”
    “What
about Benjamin? That’s your other cousin, right?”
    “Yeah.
He lived in the States with his mother, so I never spent much time with him.”
    “Is
he coming to the wedding?”
    “I
don’t know. He was asked, but I doubt he’ll come. He hasn’t said a word to my
uncle in years.”
    “That’s
too bad. So you didn’t get closer to your cousins after you grew up?”
    “We
have different lives. It’s not like they were my brothers.”
    The
truth was, there had been a time when he would have liked to be close to them,
but nothing he’d ever done had impressed them. He figured they’d always just
written him off as a science nerd.
    For
some reason, the thought made him remember something. Reluctantly, he reached
into his pocket and pulled out a little velvet pouch.
    “Before
I forget, you better wear this, since we’re supposed to be engaged.” He dumped
a ring out onto his palm and handed it to her.
    He’d
spent a ludicrous amount of time that morning picking out an engagement ring.
He’d gone to a smallish jewelry store, which he thought might expedite the
process. He’d assumed it would be a