“That’s true enough,” Brandon told her with a gentleness and sensitivity Jason wouldn’t have believed his grandfather capable of. Apparently the old man had detected Dana’s insecurities and intended to rid her of them.
He went on, “I have a few years on you, young lady, and I’m here to tell you, a relationship works a whole lot better if you can pack a little fun and a lot of sparks into it. Now, you two get back to whatever it was you were—” he hesitated, a twinkle in his eyes “—discussing. Oh, and Jason, I’d like to see you in my office whenever you’re free…No rush,” he added slyly as he closed the door firmly behind him.
Dana immediately spun out of Jason’s arms. “Now, see what you’ve done! He’s going to think because he caught us…”
“Kissing,” Jason supplied.
“He’s going to think he’s winning.”
Jason drew her to him. “Well, we’ll have the last laugh, won’t we?”
She jerked away from him. He sat on the edge of his desk and watched her pace, her agitation mounting with each step. She stopped in front of him.
“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”
“Believe me, when it comes to my future, I take everything seriously.”
“Well then?” she demanded. “How are you going to convince him he can’t manipulate us?”
“Would you suggest I take him out and give him a stern talking to?”
“It wouldn’t hurt,” she grumbled.
“It wouldn’t help, believe me. Granddad’s as stubborn as they come.”
Her fingers plowed nervously through her hair, setting it on end as she began pacing again. “You’re awfully calm about this.”
“Dana, he can’t make us do anything we don’t want to do.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Well, I am. Relax.”
Apparently Dana did not appreciate his matter-of-fact attitude about his grandfather. She looked as if she’d like to strangle the pair of them.
“Jason, what happened just now…”
“And earlier and last night,” he reminded her.
She scowled at him. “It is not going to happen again. Ever! We are working together, that’s all. If you can’t accept that, then I’ll arrange to have someone else assigned to your account.” She grabbed her jacket and purse from the sofa where she’d dropped them and stormed through the door.
Jason figured it would take about ten seconds for her to realize that she was stranded unless she asked him to arrange for a ride back to her office. He counted on another sixty seconds for her to cool down enough to ask for a lift.
When three minutes had passed without her return, he realized she had every intention of getting back to the print shop on her own. He snatched his coat off the coatrack and took off after her.
“Mr. Halloran,” Harriet called after him, “where are you going?”
“I’ll be back in an hour.”
“But…”
“Take messages, Harriet.”
“Your grandfather…”
“He’ll understand.”
He found Dana halfway to the bus stop. He pulled his car alongside of her. She didn’t even look his way. He used the power button to roll down the window.
“Get in.”
“Go to hell.” She tripped over a mound of icy slush and nearly fell facedown. She grabbed the hood of the car to steady herself.
Teeth clenched, Jason said again, “Get in. I’ll take you back to work.”
Stubbornly, Dana marched on. There were half a dozen people at the bus stop. Jason wedged his car into the curb, cut the engine and got out.
“Dana, for heaven’s sake, don’t be an idiot. Let me give you a lift.”
She stood behind the other riders and stoically ignored him. He clambered through the slush until he stood face-to-face with her—Italian loafer toe-to-toe with her motorcycle boot.
“Are you more upset over the kiss, or my grandfather catching us or over the fact that you didn’t want to be interrupted any more than I did?”
Six faces turned toward the two of them. It was impossible to mistake the amused interest. With the wind whipping down the street, Jason was sure their intimate conversation provided some much-needed heat. How the hell did he wind up in the middle of some scene every time he was with this woman?
“Jason,” Dana protested weakly.
“Well, which is it?”
“Do we have to discuss this here?” she demanded in an undertone.
He shook his head. “No. We could discuss it in my car.”
She sighed. “Okay, you win.” She slogged through the slush and got into the car, leaving the observers thoroughly disappointed. One of the men gave Jason a thumbs-up sign.
“Hey, man, good luck. I have a hunch you’re going to need it.”
Jason grinned. “I have a hunch you’re right,” he said, just as a handful of filthy snow landed squarely in the middle of his face. Stunned by her daring, he slowly wiped it away as he rounded the car to the driver’s side. As he slid in, he shot Dana a meaningful look.
“You will pay for that, sweetheart,” he said quietly.
“Hey, it was your grandfather who said you needed me to bring a little fun into your life. I see what he means. You can’t take a joke.”
As the remnants of the snowball melted and dripped down his face, Jason found himself chuckling. “I’m not sure this was exactly the fun he had in mind.”
“Oh?” she said innocently. “Trust me, sweetheart, it’s the only kind you and I are likely to have.”
“I guess we’ll see about that, won’t we?” Actually he had discovered in the past twenty-four hours that he could hardly wait for the games to begin.
Dear Lord, he really was losing his mind.
Chapter Seven
Jason pulled his car into the first space he could find along the crowded street near the print shop. Before he could cut the engine, Dana had the door open. She swung her long legs out, stepped onto the curb and practically raced down the sidewalk without a backward glance. Jason sat for about sixty seconds admiring the sway of those slender hips, then slowly climbed out to follow. As if she sensed him behind her
