through her tangled hair. How was it possible that he was here already? Had he stayed up all night packing? Somehow, she couldn’t imagine a man like Danny being so excited about moving in that he couldn’t sleep through the night. No, only silly, infatuated, desperate women did that.
Jordan scrambled to get dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, with no time for underwear. As she slipped on a pair of loafers, she ran her hands through her tangled hair. Today she’d regain her footing with this man. She’d act professionally and she wouldn’t let anything he said or did tempt her. Time to get back to business. “Stay strong, be firm,” she murmured to herself.
Jordan grabbed her sweater, then raced down the stairs and ran though the entrance hall. Opening the plywood front door, she expected to find Danny waiting on the other side, but he wasn’t. She walked beneath the scaffolding and pushed the plastic aside to find him sitting on the tailgate of his Land Rover, staring up at the facade of the manor house as he chatted with Bartie the gardener.
The dogs saw her first and they came trotting up. “Hi, puppies,” she mumbled. What were their names? Mogue was one. “Finny,” she said. “Finny and Mogue.”
“They seem excited to move in,” Danny commented.
She glanced up at him, blinking against the morning light. “I’d prefer that they didn’t come in the main house,” she said.
“No problems,” he said. “They sleep with me.”
Another image of him flashed in her head, naked, lying in her bed, the covers tossed aside. What did he mean by that? Had he decided he wasn’t interested in sharing her bed? Jordan closed her eyes and banished the erotic fantasy from her head. “Morning, Bartie. You’re here early.” She glanced down to find the old man holding what looked like a metal detector. “What’s that?”
“Special thing it is. Got it from a gardener friend of mine. Supposed to measure the ferrous metals in the soil. Ferrous metals. Very bad for roses, I’m afraid.”
“Yes, well. Good luck with that. You’re not paying rental for it, are you?”
“No, no. ’Tis a loan.” Bartie nodded at them both, then strode off around the side of the manor house, his pace sprightly for a man of his years.
“Ferrous metals?” Danny asked. “What are those?”
Jordan shrugged. “I have no idea. Something Irish I suspect. According to Bartie, it’s a wonder anything grows in Ireland.”
“My mother has a beautiful rose garden at our family cottage,” Danny said. “I never heard her complain about…”
“Ferrous metals,” Jordan said. She held her hand up to the sun, squinting at him. “I was just going to make a pot of coffee. Would you like some?”
He pushed up from his seat on the tailgate. “Actually, I’m going to start unpacking my things. My brother Riley is going to bring my anvil and tools. And I’ve set up a coal delivery for today. Steel is coming in tomorrow. Can I drive around to the back?”
“Of course,” she said. “Well, it seems as if you have things under control.”
He chuckled softly, shoving his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “Appearances can be deceiving. Right now, all I can think about is kissing you again. I’d say control is the last thing on my mind.”
“The hours from eight until five are considered work hours,” she said. “With an hour for lunch.” But though her warning effectively shut him up, Jordan was secretly pleased he was still thinking of her as a woman rather than a boss. Maybe they could stretch the rules a bit. A kiss here and there couldn’t hurt, could it?
“After I get some coffee, I’ll come and help you unload.” She groaned inwardly at her choice of words. Everything she said to him sounded sexual now.
“Bring me a cup and I’ll meet you there,” he said.
She nodded. “Fine. I’ll come in just a-” This was ridiculous! “I’ll be just a moment.” Jordan turned on her heel and walked back inside the manor. When she reached the safety of the kitchen, she clapped her hands to her warm cheeks. “Get a grip,” she muttered to herself. At this rate, they’d be in bed by lunchtime and exploring their deepest sexual fantasies by dinner.
If this was the way it was going to be every day that he was here, she wondered how she’d survive. Her heart was beating double-time and her nerves were so jangled she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.
The coffeemaker had been set up the night before and Jordan simply pushed a button and waited as the glass pot began to fill. Sitting at the huge worktable in the center of the kitchen, she cupped her chin in her palm and considered the men she’d allowed into her life-and into her bed.
Though she’d had a number of lovers in the past, none of them had really moved her. The relationships had always been enjoyable, the sex interesting, but she’d always held something back. And Jordan was self-aware enough to put the blame for this on her relationship with her father.
Though she’d struggled to win his approval, she sometimes resented the control he held over her life. Andrew Kennally could snap his fingers any time of the day or night and she’d come running, ready to do his bidding. But she had refused to do the same for any man in her life. And in the end, they’d never wanted to compete with a man as powerful as Andrew Kennally.
Jordan wondered what it would be like to let go of all the baggage she carried around. Just to set it down and feel completely at ease for once. What harm could a little romantic fling do? There were few people around to witness any dalliance, just a workman here and there. Bartie and Daisy were too preoccupied with the garden to pay any notice. And everyone left at five, giving her all evening alone with Danny on this remote seaside estate.
The coffeemaker clicked off, startling her back to reality. It was a risk, pure and simple. If her father found out, he’d be furious. Sex with an employee was forbidden by company policy. She could be sued for sexual harassment, putting her entire professional future at Kencor in jeopardy.
Jordan grabbed a pair of mugs from a nearby cupboard and filled them, then put sugar and creamer in one and left the other black. After this morning, she’d know exactly how he liked his coffee. And by the end of the day, Jordan was certain she’d know a lot of other things about Danny.
Anticipation mixed with fear as she walked out the kitchen door and toward the caretaker’s cottage. The dogs were romping along the garden path and joined her, trotting along behind. “I don’t want the two of you digging up any of the new plantings in the garden,” she ordered. “And if you have to poop, run out along the cliff to do it.”
Finny and Mogue looked up at her as if they understood everything she was saying. But she made a mental note to repeat the rules to their owner as well.
When she reached the cottage, she found Danny inside, his belongings tossed in the middle of the living area. He emerged a few moments later from the kitchen, his canvas jacket gone. He wore a faded T-shirt that hugged the muscles of his chest and dangled loosely around his waist.
“There’s beer in the fridge,” he said.
“I stocked the refrigerator last night.” She frowned. “Do you drink your beer warm?”
He crossed the room to stand in front of her. “No. Cold is fine. And I drink my coffee hot and black.” She handed him the proper mug. “That was nice of you. Very thoughtful…for a boss.”
She knew immediately that he was teasing. There was a definitely a twinkle in his eye and a devilish smile playing across his lips. “I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable,” Jordan said.
“I have drink. What about food?”
“You’re on your own there,” she said. “I set up the account for you at the market. They’ll have everything you need to make meals.”
“You’re not going to cook for me?” He put on a pout. “I thought that was part of the deal.”
“No, I think I made it quite clear yesterday that I don’t cook.”
“Ah, but I do,” he said. “Good thing.”
Jordan had been surviving on sandwiches and cereal for most of her stay. A few nights a week, she went into town and had a decent dinner at one of the pubs there. But she’d longed to explore a bit further. She just needed a dinner partner. “I’ll pay for dinners out whenever you care to go,” she said.
“If you come along, it’s a deal.”
Danny rested his hand on her hip. Jordan’s breath caught in her throat. Were they at that point already, that he could touch her without even having a good reason?
“It’s a deal,” she repeated.
