the Duke of Halencia.”
The news that Annabelle was an aristocrat dampened Zoe’s excitement over having an ally behind the palace walls. For some reason she’d been thinking her newfound friend was just like her—a commoner.
“I’m surprised she’d want to work here.” Zoe uttered her thoughts without realizing how it might sound.
Demetrius cleared his throat. “It’s an arrangement between the duke and my father.”
An arrangement? Could it be a marriage arrangement? Jealousy swift and sharp stabbed at Zoe’s heart making the breath catch in her throat. Not that she had any right to feel anything about Demetrius moving on with his life. Now that their marriage had been annulled—erased—wiped clean—he was free to do as he pleased. This is what she wanted, wasn’t it?
Forcing herself to act as though this bit of news didn’t bother her, Zoe said, “I look forward to working with her.”
“Good.” He walked over to the larger of the two desks. When he noticed that she’d followed him, he stopped and turned. “Um. This is my desk. Yours is over there.”
“You mean we’re sharing an office?”
His dark brows rose. “Is that going to be a problem?”
The professional part of her knew the answer was supposed to be no, but her scarred heart said otherwise. It sounded like she had a frog in her throat when she choked out, “No. No problem at all.”
A puzzled expression came over his face. “We ran out of offices. And with you being the newest member of the team, it was either fit you in here or move you to another wing by yourself.”
She swallowed hard. “If I’m in your way, I don’t mind working elsewhere.”
He shook his head. “I’m hardly ever in here, so it won’t be a problem.”
She supposed his frequent absence was some small consolation.
Zoe moved to the other side of the room and settled her laptop and day planner on the desk where she noticed a vase of fresh cut flowers. Red, white and purple blossoms beckoned to her. She leaned forward and inhaled their perfumed scent.
All the while she could feel Demetrius’s gaze following her every movement. She needed to show him—show herself—that she was over him. She could be just as professional as him—even if his mere presence could still make her stomach shiver.
She stepped around the desk and crossed the great divide. She stopped in front of his massive carved cherry desk and laced her fingers together.
He glanced up from his computer monitor. “Did you need something?”
“I wanted to thank you for this opportunity. I won’t let you down.” His eyes reflected a mixed reaction. Perhaps she could have worded it better. “I also wanted to tell you that I won’t let the past come between us.”
His dark brows drew together as he shushed her. With long, swift strides, he moved to the door. He noiselessly pushed it closed before turning back to her. “If I didn’t think you could be professional, you wouldn’t be here.”
She didn’t know whether to be complimented or insulted. “Grazie.”
“As for the other matter, we do need to talk. We have some unresolved business to address. But I don’t want to get into it here. It’d be too easy to be overheard. And I don’t want rumors to start.”
“Neither do I.” But obviously for different reasons than him. “You don’t have to worry, Annabelle won’t hear anything about the past from me.”
“I hope not. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting with the contractor.” And with that he swung open the door and set off down the hallway, leaving her to wonder what his cryptic comment had meant.
What unresolved business?
“HOW’S IT COMING?”
Demetrius strolled into the office late the next afternoon. He couldn’t help but notice how Zoe jumped. He hadn’t meant to startle her.
“Good.” Her voice said otherwise. “Well, as good as can be expected at this stage.”
“I just visited the work site and the construction of the residential rooms on the backside of the mansion is moving ahead of schedule. Soon you’ll be able to get in there and do your thing.”
A frown pulled at her full, lush lips, but she didn’t say anything. Things definitely weren’t going as well as she’d like him to believe. Maybe she wasn’t up to the task, after all. There were still those dark smudges beneath her eyes. Something was most definitely keeping her up at night. But what?
His immediate instinct was to go to her—to rectify whatever was troubling her. He took a step forward, then hesitated. What was he thinking? Obviously he wasn’t—at least not clearly. Her problems were no longer any of his concern. And that had been her choice. Not his.
She glanced up at him, peering over her laptop. “Did you need something else?”
He cleared his throat. “I’d like to see what direction you’re taking the project.”
Her mouth gaped, but nothing came out. He couldn’t help but notice the pink gloss shimmering on her lips. His thoughts rolled back in time, remembering how her kisses were always sweeter than berries. His body stiffened. With determined effort he focused his mind back on the only thing that mattered—the only thing he could count on—work.
“Perhaps I could see what you’ve been able to do so far on the computer.” His words eased the awkward silence.
“I...I don’t have anything but some rough outlines.”
“That’s okay. It’s just with all of my meetings, we haven’t been able to talk much.”
There was a rebuttal reflected in her eyes, but in a blink it was gone. With a shrug, she stood up. “Be my guest.”
He wasn’t sure by the stilted tone of her voice whether she would be open to his feedback or if she’d just give him lip service and then disregard his input. He wanted to believe they could set aside their differences in order to make this important project a success. They were, after all, both professionals.
He took a seat, surprised that she was doing all of her work on the small laptop when he’d provided her with a computer and a large-screen monitor, which was much easier on the eyes. Then he noticed that she had specialized software. He should have expected that, but he’d noticed how his thoughts became severely distracted around her.
She stood off to the side. “You have to realize that what you’re looking at are some rough sketches. There are no details. I haven’t had a chance to refine them.”
“I understand.”
She showed him how to navigate the software. As she
