Read Online Outrageously Yours by Susanna Carr - Free Book Online

that.
    The kiss had given him hope, but hope, he reminded himself, was a dangerous thing. It made him forget that he needed Claire in a professional capacity. But he was willing to forget about all that at this moment if it meant one more kiss. One more touch. Just more.
    Jason forced his attention back to the whiteboard. “Why do you need to work like this? You don’t have to do everything step-by-step in chronological order. I’m sure we could knock off a few steps.”
    Claire rushed over to the board, her arms outstretched to block him. “Don’t touch a thing, Jason. This is a system that I’ve perfected over the years.”
    It was tempting to tease her and pretend to erase the board with the sweep of his arm but it was obvious how protective she was of her work. “You don’t always need a system. Take last night. We improvised and it worked out fine.”
    “Just because it worked once doesn’t mean it’s going to work every time.”
    “Claire, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not as studious as you are.”
    Claire’s mouth fell open. “Studious?”
    When he bumped into her occasionally at the coffee shop, she was reading one business book after another. She was always taking notes when they had meetings and had fully thought-out presentations. He remembered she had been like that when they were younger, spending every spare moment on school projects.
    She blinked and jerked her head back. “You think I’m
studious
?”
    Jason gave her a curious look. “It’s not a bad thing.”
    She moved her head as if she was giving herself a mental shake. “No, I know...I just haven’t seen myself that way.”
    Considering her family, she probably assumed it was normal to study all day, every day. “I’m more hands-on. I need to figure things out as I go along.” He noticed Claire’s expression of horror at the prospect. “That’s why I decided you should go to the tasting room with me tonight and do a practice run.”
    She gave him a skeptical look. “What kind of practice run?”
    He spread his arms out wide. “Tonight I’m going to get you in the spotlight.”
    Claire’s eyes widened and she hunched her shoulders. “No.”
    He knew she would reject the idea out of hand. “This party is a small charity event. Lots of tech millionaires and philanthropists. No one from our group, unfortunately.”
    “You’re putting me in a room with strangers? Who are going to talk about stuff I don’t know about?” Her voice went high. “What’s next? Are you going to make me give a speech in front of them?”
    “No, you just have to stand next to me and smile. There are times when I will have to step away to work, but I won’t leave you if you feel out of your depth.” Jason curled his arm around her tense shoulders. “Trust me, Claire. I will take care of you.”
    She stared at him with a blank expression but the tension in her shoulders eased. “Okay, Jason. I’m holding you to that promise.”
    He tightened his grasp for a moment before he dropped his hand. He knew how much it cost Claire to give him her trust. To give him the control. He wasn’t going to blow it.
    * * *
    T HE CHARITY EVENT was a big success, Jason decided as he walked back into the tasting room. He didn’t like leaving Claire from time to time in order to handle a few glitches, but she understood he was still working. When he heard her lilting laugh, Jason turned and found her in the middle of the room surrounded by several men.
    She was finally relaxing, Jason thought. At first she had drifted automatically to the corners of the tasting room, her back defensively against the wall. He also noticed she had researched the charity that was benefiting from the party. What kind of person studied for a party? Claire Miller, apparently.
    But now she was talking more and smiling. No one but him would notice her rigid shoulders or her nervous habit of rubbing her thumb against her wineglass. He wasn’t sure what it would take to make her