Texas Takedown. Heather Woodhaven

I think I’m okay for now. Thank you.” Her face transformed at the sight of the mug. “Whipped cream and...” She tilted her head. “Cinnamon stick?”

      He nodded. “It’s a recipe one of our restaurant chefs passed on. You make the cocoa from a dark chocolate bar with cinnamon and sugar to taste.”

      “Oh? You have close friends within the hotel?”

      The way she said friends made him smile. Was she trying to sniff out if he had a girlfriend? “Yes, I suppose. But I don’t blur the employer-employee relationship.”

      Her eyebrows furrowed. “No, of course not. I wasn’t implying—” She leaned forward to pick up the mug.

      “But I don’t judge people who do.” He shook his head slightly. Why did that have to slip out?

      Her hands froze in midair. She regarded him with a curious look on her face. “I guess it’s different for me. The institute has practically turned into a family business.” She pulled the mug up to her lips and took a tentative sip. “Oh, Matt, this is delicious.” She leaned back into the cushion.

      “Family as in future husband, then?” He clamped his jaw shut. Why couldn’t he let this go?

      She laughed, and a puff of whipped cream floated to the coffee table. “Sorry.” She leaned forward and used a napkin to wipe it up. “No. Hank is my uncle. I’d do anything for him. I try to separate the family from the business, so I don’t call him uncle, but he’s made the place feel like home.” She twisted to look at him directly. “You know, I’ve always dreamed of getting to settle down in one place without having to move.”

      Matt did know. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, the answer would always be, “I don’t care as long as I don’t have to move.” Apparently she found the career to match her brilliance, and he couldn’t help but be happy for her.

      She took another long sip. “Hank even invited me to spend Christmas with his extended family. It’s been so nice.” Whipped cream lined the top of her lips. He reached over and brushed it off gently with his thumb. He yanked his arm back at the realization of what he’d done. Her eyes widened and her lips parted, but she said nothing.

      “Sorry.” He tried to form a joke about good customer service but decided it was best to move on. He bent forward and grabbed one of the napkins. “Here you go.”

      She blotted her lips with it. “I guess when you’ve spent as much time as we have together...”

      She never finished her sentence. Matt really wanted to know the rest of her thought, but he didn’t want to focus anymore on his faux pas. He took his own drink of the cocoa, taking care to make sure the whipped cream didn’t leave a mark on him. “Let’s talk about tomorrow.” He needed to change the subject before the heat in his chest made its way to his cheeks. “Can you access the conference schedule online?”

      “Yes. Why?”

      “Let’s figure out where you might be vulnerable. To avoid moments like today.”

      “You’ve done enough, and—”

      “Isabelle, humor me.”

      Her blue eyes hit him. The intensity in her gaze disarmed him, and he felt sure for half a second that she could see his very thoughts. She smiled, and he fought the urge to ask her a million questions about their years apart, to experience the same connection they’d once shared. Isabelle stood and brought over the laptop, typed an address into the browser and pointed at the screen.

      Their shoulders touched as she settled back into the couch cushions. The ends of her hair brushed against him, and he remembered how she used to lean her head on his shoulder and tell him all about her day at school.

      This Isabelle sat rigid, though. “So, as you can see, I’ll be inside the conference center for the entirety of the day.”

      “Except for lunch.”

      “Well, yes, but I wasn’t planning to leave the building.”

      Matt pictured the conference area in his mind’s eye. Attendees would likely flock to Rosario’s or the Amaya Deli, but Isabelle had no wallet, so she wouldn’t be joining them. If he offered room service for breakfast and a sack lunch from the restaurant for lunch, he felt sure Isabelle would refuse. But he couldn’t let her starve. Matt made a mental note of what time the conference started to ensure his staff would deliver both before she left.

      Transportation was another problem. Taxis were expensive. While he could afford a few out of his personal funds, he kept to a tight budget so he could pay off his student loans faster. But what he didn’t have in cash, he could access through his network of connections. Both times, Isabelle was attacked on foot. So if she had the advantage of wheels, maybe that would be enough, especially if he knew the drivers. He’d start making phone calls as soon as he said good-night.

      “So, aside from the employer-employee relationship, do you have friends here?”