Conflict of Interest

He was startled when Isabelle suddenly climbed onto his lap and rested her head on his chest. “I’m kind of tired,” she murmured with a little sigh.

Awkwardly patting her back, he wasn’t surprised that she was worn-out. She’d had a long, eventful day.

He was beginning to feel rather drained himself.

Chapter Four

Her swollen and bruised foot propped on a pillow on a footstool in front of her chair, Adrienne sat in Gideon’s den that evening with a cup of hot tea in her hands and a white stuffed owl in her lap. Gideon and Isabelle had been taking care of her, in their unique ways, which explained the tea and the toy.

She still felt like a fool.

Poor Gideon, she thought, listening to the clatter of dishes in the kitchen as he cleared away the remains of the broiled steak and baked potato dinner he had prepared for them. All he seemed to want was to be left alone to write in peace, and now he found himself responsible for his baby sister and his injured agent.

Gideon wandered into the den a few moments later. “You need anything?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you. I was just thinking that I should try calling the airline, see if I can get a flight out early tomorrow. I’ll have to arrange transportation to the airport, of course, since I’m not sure I could make an hour-long drive with my right foot in a brace, but I—”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re in no shape to travel tomorrow. The doctor ordered you to take it easy for a few days and that’s what you’ll do. Stay here and recuperate, and you can go back to New York later in the week. Friday, probably.”

Though she appreciated his generous, if bluntly offered, invitation, especially knowing how badly he wanted his privacy back, she shook her head. “Thank you, but I won’t impose on you any longer. I’m not injured that badly, and I can get assistance boarding the plane.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. You’re going to be sore tomorrow, both from the impact in the car and from the fall. There’s no reason for you to leave in that condition—and don’t say again that you don’t want to impose on me. I would tell you if I found your presence bothersome.”

“I should never have shown up on your doorstep without giving you prior notice.”

Her guiltfest only seemed to annoy him further. “You didn’t have a hell of a lot of choice, considering I wouldn’t take your calls or read my mail.”

Now he was making excuses for her. She sighed and shook her head. “I’m really sorry about all of this.”

“If anyone should be apologizing, I should, for making your job so difficult. I haven’t even made time to discuss the business that brought you here. But it would be a waste of time for us to sit here apologizing to each other.”

She smiled ruefully. “I suppose you’re right. And I know how you feel about wasting time.”

The smile he gave her in return was a bit lopsided, but still charming in its own way. For an instant she was taken back to the moment when she had stepped out of the examining room and found Gideon waiting for her with Isabelle curled in his lap. He had looked more than a bit uncomfortable, but his hand had been gentle as he’d patted Isabelle’s back. She had been startled to find herself wondering how it might feel to have his hands on her.

“You seem to be getting to know me pretty well,” he said.

It took her a beat to realize that he was responding to her last statement and not to her errant thoughts. She cleared her throat. “In some ways, perhaps.”