Nina Singh - Captivated By The Millionaire

“Do you mind my asking what made you change your mind? About the diorama?” she asked. A disquieting thought had been nagging at her about the whole turnaround since he’d asked and she’d accepted the other day.

He shrugged. “It’s quite a simple answer, really.”

“Which is?”

“You were right. She did like it. Her reaction upon first entering the room was one of pure joy and awe.”

The thought of that made her heart tingle in her chest. Yes! That was exactly why she felt such a calling to do such things, for the joy it would bring to others. Particularly when it came to little children.

“I’m so glad to hear that. And a little relieved.”

“Relieved?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I thought maybe you were just trying to make amends. Like with the flowers.”

He laughed. “No, the flowers were an apology. This was more of a mea culpa . To admit that you were spot-on that day. Sonya did love it when she saw it, exactly as you said. Sonya will be thrilled to see the artwork has been extended.”

“She’s not here?”

He shook his head. “No, Elise took her out to do some shopping.”

Elise. So she’d been right. There was a girlfriend, after all. Maybe she was even more than that. For all she knew, he could actually be married. Hardly surprising given the man in question. Handsome, successful, charming. Men like Jordan weren’t often single. Not for long anyway.

Not that it was any of her business.

“In any case,” Jordan continued. “Thank you for giving up your Saturday to finish up. I know it has to be an inconvenience.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Jess responded, somewhat disheartened now that she knew another woman would be returning to the house soon. A woman that shared his house and his ward. And most likely, his bed. “I’m glad I got a chance to finish.” The best thing to do for her now would be to just finish up and then be on her way. Back to her ordinary, staid life where she had to pretend Jordan Paydan did not exist. She pulled her pencil back out. The sooner she made progress on the painting, the better. Then she could start the process of licking her proverbial wounds.

“You’ll have to tell me what Sonya thinks when she sees it,” she said as she went back to work.

“I’m sure she’ll love it. In fact, she’ll be thrilled. She’s a very exuberant little girl.”

Jess couldn’t help but laugh. That was certainly the impression she’d gotten of Sonya during their brief encounter the other day. “It definitely shows just by the sparkle she seems to have in her eyes.”

“I’d say that’s a perfect way to describe my sister. You’re very observant, Ms. Raffi.

“It’s why I thought to ask her about being in the school play.” Jess wanted to kick herself as soon as the words left her mouth. She wished she hadn’t brought the topic up again. Here they were finally enjoying some cordiality. Leave it to her to ruin it.

“Jess,” he began. The way he said her name sent a shiver through her she hoped he didn’t notice. “You have to understand why I’m against such an idea.”

“Perhaps you could let her make the decision.” She literally bit her tongue after the statement. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. There’s that impulsiveness again.”

“Don’t apologize. It appears we both seem to say things to each other that are perhaps better left unsaid.”

“Perhaps.”

He let out a deep sigh. “Well, I should get back to work. I won’t be able to get much done later today seeing as Elise has the night off.”

Jess blinked in surprise and turned back to face him. “She does?”

He laughed. “Don’t look so surprised. Contrary to the initial impression I’ve obviously given you, I do cut my employees some slack and give them time off once in a while.”

Employee.

She couldn’t help the thrill that seemed to suddenly lift her heart at those words. Sounded as if Elise was the little girl’s nanny. Not a girlfriend at all. And certainly not his wife.

Not that it made an iota of difference as far as she was concerned. She’d discovered the hard way that when it came to relationships, Jess still had a lot to learn about herself—between her spoiled engagement and her uncharacteristic fling. Something told her that when it came to Jordan Paydan, the third time would definitely not be the charm.

She gave him a small wave of goodbye as he walked out of the room. What he’d just revealed about this Elise didn’t necessarily even mean he was single. Still, the revelation made her giddier than she would care to admit.

* * *

The figures on his spreadsheet floated across his vision in a blurry mess of numbers. He’d never had this much trouble focusing. His mind kept wandering to the woman upstairs busily painting on his sister’s bedroom wall. He really should have planned this better. Every cell of his being vibrated with the awareness that they were alone in the house together. Elise and Sonya weren’t due back for several more hours.

There was no explainable reason he found himself so attracted to her. For all he knew, Jess was taken. Women like her weren’t typically found wanting of suitors. Though she was nothing like the women Jordan himself usually dated, not that he’d ever been terribly serious with anyone. Nor could he entertain such an idea now.

He’d just spent the better part of a year watching his father being utterly betrayed by his wife. She’d proven how disloyal she was when Jordan’s dad had gotten sick. His own most recent relationship had floundered as soon as the young lady had learned he’d become the guardian of a little girl. Though she’d used the term “saddled.” No, Jordan was in no place in his life right now to embark on any kind of relationship after the past several months.

Besides, his work and his little sister had to be the prime focus of all of his attention right now. With Sonya, there was too much at stake. He’d already done wrong by her on an astronomical level. He didn’t need any kind of distraction. Certainly not a distraction in the way of a perky, bohemian artist with olive skin and rich dark brown hair. He found himself wondering, not for the first time, how that thick luxurious hair would feel if he were to run his fingers through it. If he tugged it gently to bring her face closer to his, to finally reach for that kiss.

Whoa.

So not where he needed his thoughts to wander toward. Not when said artist was literally a floor above him. It would be so easy to come up with an excuse to go check on her again. And he was tempted. Oh, so very tempted. He forced himself to look back down at the spreadsheet, knowing full well he wasn’t going to be accomplishing much.

An hour later his assumption proved correct. He’d barely made a dent in his workload. A soft knock sounded from the other side of his office door.

Jess. No one else was home. He stood and opened the door for her.

She granted him a small smile. Saints above. How did a woman manage to look so tempting in paint-covered overalls and a do-rag bandanna wrapped around her head? Not that the rag was doing much to maintain any control of her unruly locks.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ve finished.”

Jordan hadn’t been expecting the feeling of disappointment that meandered through his gut at the announcement. Nor did he anticipate wondering when he would see her next.

“Oh. Well, thanks. Let me just grab my checkbook.”

But she stopped him with a hand to his chest before he could turn away. The contact sent a surge of heat through his core. As if reading his errant mind, she pulled away in haste.

“No, don’t do that.”