Tangled in Tulle: Tulle and Tulips, Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

been sidetracked by a panicky phone call and the need to send an emergency email. Closed in the privacy of his office he only bothered wrapping a towel around his waist.
    Now sidetracked again, he waited to see who Gina was speaking to and how she’d handle it. He only waited a couple beats.
    “Then he shouldn’t have insisted on a partnership with me.”
    He grinned, easily picturing the scene in his office waiting area. Judging by the shift of their voices, Gina had positioned herself between Lori and his door. And if Lori’s tone was a clear indicator, she was rediscovering her fire. She certainly didn’t sound like the uncertain, nearly defeated shell of herself she’d been the last times he’d seen her.
    “I’m sorry,” Gina said. “You will have to come back later.”
    “No.”
    After hitting “send” on the email, he tightened the towel at his waist and moved around the desk, eyeing the door, half hoping Lori listened to Gina and half hoping she bulldozed inside. Something about her gave him the impression Gina would never know how she’d been bested and why he thought that was one of the many mysteries of Lori he wanted to solve.
    “Ms. Mullins.”
    “Gina,” Lori stated, mirroring Gina’s calmly modulated tone.
    “I have my orders.”
    “And still I suggest you move. Or I will move you. Either way I am going in.” She paused for a long moment between each statement, giving Gina a chance to respond.
    Trevor glanced between the main door and the door to the bathroom which led to his private apartment. Lori was one of few people privy to the set up. Mostly naked, there would be no escaping her if she got past Gina.
    Assuming he was interested in escape, which he wasn’t.
    Again calculating the distance he knew well, he considered darting to the bathroom and dropping the towel. If she was going to disturb him she may as well be disturbed.
    “I’ll tell him you put up a good fight,” Lori said from just beyond the door. Silent and slow, the knob turned.
    Glancing down at the towel, he shrugged and leaned against the nearest chair. If she had issues seeing him without his clothes she’d learn to listen to Gina. He’d have to consider how such an issue played into his plans. His bride-to-be couldn’t take issue with his nudity.
    “Trevor.” She addressed him before she was even in the office. “I need—”
    Her words died as she flung the door wide. Her mouth dropped. She stumbled to a halt. For the first time since her return she failed to hide her reaction. Instant arousal, judging by her eyes.
    Gina silently closed the door, essentially imprisoning him and Lori together. He restrained himself. Instead of reaching out to her and answering her desire, he crossed his arms over his chest. Instead of listening to the wails of his body calling out to her, he sought her gaze as directly as he would any opponent.
    “How can I make your day better, Lori?”
    Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. Closed again. She stuck her hands in her pockets where she fisted and unfisted them judging from the shifting of her pants.
    Trevor said nothing. Only waited, more pleased than a wolf scenting his life mate. Like a wolf, his body quivered until each hair follicle became a sensory receiver in the chilled breeze from the air conditioner. Lavender and mint. As if she’d just stepped from a garden or kitchen, her sweet scent sauntered around him, brushed teasing caresses over him until goose bumps took over his skin.
    “You need to stop.” She sounded far from strong in her conviction. Whatever her conviction was about.
    “Stop what?” Dreaming of you? Wanting you more than before?
    “Stop whatever it is you’re up to. You sent me balloons.” The last was a verbal foot stomp.
    “Ah.” He’d confused her. “I can’t do that.”
    The woman who’d testified against her former bosses and tormentors before slipping into darkness—he’d coaxed a few more details out of Breck—deserved to find joy