Fire & Ice ~ The Drake Legacy: Book One Read Online Free PDF Page B

were spinning around once again in my head, ringing loud as a bell: Otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here with you!
    Thank God I’d stopped myself just in time.  
    I took in a deep breath and stared myself hard in the eyes.  
    You need to keep this silly crush under control, I told myself. Otherwise you might lose your job; the fantastic, once-in-a-life-time new job that it took you so long to find. Don’t you go screwing it up now, over some silly schoolgirl crush, alright? Because then where will you be? That’s right. You’ll be right back where you started, having to swallow your pride and beg your mom for another month’s rent money …
    But then, why has he asked you here for lunch? another voice countered. Surely this isn’t standard business procedure? Don’t you suspect that maybe Xander Drake has a crush on you too? You’ve seen the way he looks at you. Those big black eyes burning right through you. And you saw the way all the other members of staff watched you with contempt as you both left the office for lunch … They knew what was up. The cold hard truth of it is that you’re probably just the latest little girl in a long line that Xander Drake has hired in order to seduce and have his way with. And then once he’s had his fill of you, he’ll be onto the next one, and you’ll be cast out on the street, back to looking for a job, just like you were before …
    This gloomy perspective took me by surprise.  
    Was that really what was going on?  
    My heart sank.  
    Suddenly it seemed so obvious.  
    He was just gonna try it on with me.  
    I felt like such a fool, thinking that perhaps there was something more between us.  
    I took another deep breath, looked myself deep in the eyes, then turned and headed back out through the door and into the restaurant.  
    As I was returning to my table, I passed by an older looking couple - a man and woman, both silver-haired, with little wrinkles on their cheeks as they smiled lovingly at each other - and I felt a surprising pang of sadness, or maybe it was just melancholy.  
    You see, they looked like my mom and pop, before my pop died, so unexpectedly, the day after his sixtieth birthday. This kindly old couple looked so happy and perfectly in love with each other. And I wished and hoped that one day I might feel something approaching that; something warm and true and real. ‘Cause so far in my life, I never had, at least not in terms of relationships. As far as love was concerned, I was still a virgin.  
    I weaved past their table and over to the dimly lit far corner of the restaurant, where Xander was sitting, waiting.  
    I realized as I approached that our food was waiting for us, too, and he was holding off from eating his until I returned. As I neared the table, he stood up, smiling at me, then sat down again as I sat. The perfect gentleman, I thought, trying to push the negative thoughts out of my brain.  
    “Wow, this looks great!” I blurted out, looking down at my cheeseburger and fries. It was true — it looked like something in a burger commercial. I’d never seen such perfectly presented food before.  
    “Just wait till you try it,” Xander whispered, before taking the first bite of his chicken dish, then closing his eyes in pleasure. “Believe me, I didn’t take you here for the ambience,” he added. “The chef is an absolute, bona fide genius.”  
    I lifted the cheeseburger to my mouth and took my first bite, and it was true: the taste was incredible. Juicy and meaty and perfectly rendered - the strong yet subtle flavors of the meat all mingling and combining with the delicious sweetness of the bun and the richness of the cheese.  
    It was the best burger I’d ever had, and I had to stop myself from just outright groaning with pleasure, the heady taste of it filling my mouth and even making my head spin a little. It’d been so long since I’d eaten anything other than cheap sandwiches and microwave pasta meals, that I