The New Year's Wish Read Online Free PDF Page A

that depends on how you define experience.” A mischievous smile illuminated her eyes, making the blue shimmer.
    â€œThat doesn’t sound promising.” He couldn’t help but smile.
    â€œYeah, well, why would she ask me to plan a party anyway? I haven’t even started working here yet, really. Isn’t that kind of weird?”
    He shrugged. “Everyone else was smart enough to hide when they saw her coming.” He laughed at the frustration in her scowl when she glared at him.
    â€œAnyway.” She perched on the edge of the seat in front of his desk with her bag in her lap. “What was she talking about, a Halloween party? Tonight?”
    â€œYes, it’s at the Garden Room at eight sharp. Do yourself a favor and don’t be late. She’ll be watching for you.”
    Her gaze locked onto his. For just a moment, a little bit of the insecurity that had attracted him to her last week returned.
    He lowered his gaze and started to shuffle papers randomly around his desk, with no idea what he was even looking at. He cleared his throat. “Jill planned tonight’s party. Maybe she could give you a few pointers.”
    â€œSure.”
    He looked back to her.
    She sat staring at her hands, folded primly on top of her bag.
    â€œSo . . . why don’t I show you what you’ll need to do when you come in each morning?” He massaged the back of his neck, hoping to relieve some of the tension that had settled there. “This is your desk.” He led her to a small desk at the opposite side of the room. He pulled out the chair for her to sit. “First thing each morning, you’ll go through all of the messages and sort out what needs immediate attention and what can wait.”
    â€œHow will I know what’s important?” She placed her bag on the floor beside her and squinted at the screen.
    â€œYou’ll get to know in time. For now, I’ll go through them every day, too, just to make sure nothing gets overlooked.”
    Some of the tension left her shoulders, and she visibly relaxed.
    Garrett leaned over her shoulder as he pointed out the icon that would allow her to check the incoming e-mail each morning. The scent of lavender and vanilla invaded his senses and enveloped him in her essence. He quickly stood and looked away. What was it about her that called to him on such a deep level? He hadn’t been this attracted to a woman since Stephanie walked out and left him with Gracie.
    Well, in all fairness, she had offered to take Gracie with her, had said she’d hire the best nanny in the world until she was ready to ship Gracie off to boarding school. He shoved the thoughts away. It was a sore subject. He hadn’t wanted Gracie to grow up into the same shallow woman his ex-wife had become. Raised in an unloving home with a tremendous amount of money, she’d never learned how to deal with her problems. When Garrett lost his high-paying job and was forced to move to New York, Stephanie had run off to “find herself” in Paris.
    â€œOh, shi—ugar.”
    He forced his attention away from the past to find a blush creeping up Olivia’s cheeks as she stared at the blank computer screen.
    â€œWhat happened?” He squinted at the screen as if that would bring something into focus.
    â€œI don’t know, I was scrolling through the messages and everything just disappeared.”
    Garrett glanced over his shoulder to find his desktop displayed on his computer, as usual. “What do you mean, disappeared?”
    â€œIt was just gone. One minute it was there, the next . . . nothing.”
    â€œWell, it couldn’t have just gone blank. Did you touch anything?”
    â€œI don’t think so.” Her lower lip began to quiver, and she bit down.
    Great. He tried to turn the computer back on . . . nothing. He glanced at his watch. Gracie. The kindergarten Halloween parade at school was