Read Online Desire by Design by Paula Altenburg - Free Book Online Page A

act. He wanted to send her a message, and he knew she’d never been good at his games.
    The upstairs was empty, just as she’d expected. She went back to her room, dragged a brush through her snarled hair and, showering wood chips onto the floor, re-fashioned her long, curly ponytail, then changed into shorts and a T-shirt she’d grabbed off the floor. Clicking the bedroom door firmly shut behind her, she pattered down the stairs in her bare feet.
    Matt lounged on the flowered sofa right where she’d left him, his massive male presence looking ridiculously comfortable amidst the damask cabbage roses. He was flipping through the pages of a scrapbook that contained clippings of past projects Eve had consulted on—none of which were likely to impress a brilliant architect of his caliber.
    Uneasy prickles chased up her spine. Eve quickly was reminded that she knew enough brilliant men to last her a lifetime. Matt seemed harmless enough, but so did they all, at least at first.
    “How would you like your coffee?” she asked.
    He didn’t lift his head from his reading. “Black, please.”
    She carried two steaming mugs back to the living room and placed them on the low pine coffee table, nudging aside a glass trifle dish piled high with more of the family photos her mother kept sending her. Eve then chose an easy chair to sit in—the one farthest away from the sofa.
    Matt snapped the scrapbook shut and held it up. His thick-lashed blue eyes met hers, warm and sincere. “Your work is good.”
    Eve would have to be flatlining not to appreciate a compliment of her work, especially from Matt Brison. It was the warmth of his gaze, however, that made her want to burst into tears.
    Her home had just been trashed, and she’d like nothing better than to throw herself into a friendly pair of arms and let someone else deal with the mess. But Eve was stronger than that.
    “Thank you,” she said, amazed by how calm she sounded.
    “There’s no reason why we can’t work together on the City Hall project,” Matt continued, tapping the scrapbook thoughtfully. “Maybe even brainstorm a little. I told you, I’m always open to suggestions.”
    She lifted her coffee cup to her unsteady lips and concentrated on business. She couldn’t resist poking him a little, just to see if he’d laugh. She could use one herself.
    “You don’t have any ideas of your own?” she said.
    He slumped deeper into the sofa and clasped his fingers behind his head, his gaze stroking her from head to toe. A lick of heat leaped into his eyes. “I’ve got plenty of ideas.”
    She focused on her coffee and tried not to take his words out of context. Matt was a rich, handsome man, famous in his field, and flirting came naturally to him. It had nothing to do with her.
    And no way was she finessing the budget, if that was his game.
    “Why don’t you just come right out and tell Bob that this project isn’t your style and be done with it?” she suggested. “Then you wouldn’t have to worry about new ideas.”
    “I don’t know,” Matt said slowly, smoothing his chin with the pad of his thumb. He had a nice chin, strong and solid—it went well with the rest of him. The navy running gear showed off a far different frame than the one she’d expected based on his business suits. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had ideas like this,” he added. “They might be well worth exploring.”
    Eve took a long, flustered swig of coffee and choked on it, burning the inside of her nose. Matt jumped to his feet and thumped her on the back until she feared for a few of her ribs. Then he switched to a gentler rub between her shoulders. Bending forward, he brought his face within inches of hers and dropped his free hand to her bare knee.
    “Better?” he asked.
    Not really. Now she couldn’t breathe at all.
    The phone rang.
    “Let me grab that for you,” Matt said, reaching for the cordless handset since he was closest to it.
    Eve couldn’t read the caller