Scorned by the Boss / The Texan's Secret Past: Scorned by the Boss. Maureen Child

man looked at Jefferson. “She didn’t say anything about a husband, man.”

      “Well, we did have an argument earlier. She’s probably still upset with me. Isn’t that right, darling?” He pulled her in for a quick kiss, and while her lips burned with a fire that seemed to keep right on sizzling, Caitlyn’s voice dried up.

      “I didn’t mean to come on to her—”

      “I understand.” Benevolent now, Jefferson nodded and flicked his fingers at the man looking for a quick escape. “My wife is a beautiful woman. Hardly surprising you’d try to make a move. Now, though, if you’ll excuse us…”

      Chad disappeared so fast Caitlyn half expected to see sparks shooting up from the heels of his shoes. Then she was alone with Jefferson. “Why are you doing this?”

      He gave her shoulders another squeeze and smiled down at her. “Rescuing you from boredom, you mean? Well, because I’m a great humanitarian.”

      “How do you know I was bored?” she countered. “Chad was fascinating. Seriously. I was hanging on his every word.”

      “Your eyes were glazed over and your body language indicated imminent unconsciousness.”

      Caitlyn sighed, slipped out from under Jefferson’s arm and picked up her drink. Draining it, she held the empty glass up to him, and once again he signaled for the waiter. What was the point in pretending? She was too grateful that Jefferson had arrived like the cavalry. If he hadn’t, she might have been stuck for hours listening to tales of pork bellies and futures trading. “Fine. I admit it. I’ve never been so bored in my life.”

      “What did you expect?” he asked, grinning. “The man’s name is Chad. Is that even a name? Isn’t it really just a hanging piece of paper?”

      Caitlyn chuckled. “Stop it. He seemed nice enough on the beach.”

      “Aah, well. You met on the beach. Of course you’d expect him to be fascinating. Probably heatstroke.”