might not have said that the woman was beautiful, but she was definitely pretty. Her skin was porcelain smooth over high cheekbones, her eyes wide and expressive, the color of smooth whiskey. Her lips, parted in midsentence, turned up slightly at the corners.
“—a few questions,” she finished after a moment’s hesitation.
Though it was brief, Reid saw the unshielded surprise in the woman’s eyes, heard the breathless edge to her voice.
Just as quickly the moment was gone.
“I’m Tina Alexander.” She straightened her shoulders and held out her hand. “Thank you for coming.”
Tina’s heart lurched when the man’s large hand enclosed her own, and she struggled to hold on to her composure. She’d interviewed dozens of applicants before, but never one who looked quite like this.
And certainly none who’d made her brain cells turn to dust.
He was just over six foot, she assessed, and from what she could tell by the jeans, black crewneck sweater and denim jacket he wore, he was lean and muscular. Handsome was too easy a word to describe him, Tina thought. With his dark hair and good looks, he was more complicated than that simple word. Eyes so deep blue, so intense, that they had quite literally stolen her breath. Add to that a square jaw, a strong slash of brow and a firm mouth, and he had her pulse skipping.
Of course, the fact that her fingers were still enclosed in his wasn’t helping, either.
She pulled her hand away and gestured to a chair on the other side of the desk. Though she was absolutely certain she’d never met this man before, he looked strangely familiar.
She shook the thought off. No matter. She couldn’t possibly hire him, anyway. He would be too big a distraction for Sophia and, if she were going to be completely honest, for herself, as well.
But she could hardly tell him that, of course. Better to let him decide the position wouldn’t be right for him. She’d start with a few basic questions, then discourage him with a job description.
“So, Mr.—” She hesitated, realizing she hadn’t asked him his name.
“Reid Danforth,” he finished for her. “Reid will be fine.”
The name was familiar, too, she thought, but she couldn’t place it. She wrote his name on the top line of the application.
“Reid.” She pushed her glasses up with her index finger. “Do you have any problems getting to work on time or working early morning hours?”
Confusion furrowed his brow, and it took him a beat to answer. “Not usually.”
“Do you have any medical conditions that prohibit you from lifting or doing physical labor?”
He narrowed his eyes. “No.”
She made a note on the application that he was in good physical condition. As if she hadn’t already noticed. Darn it, though. She’d been hoping for an easy way out.
She moved on to the next question. “Do you have any experience working in sales or with a cash register?”
He stared at her for a long moment, then one corner of his mouth slowly turned upward. It was really quite annoying what that casual half smile did to her stomach.
“I have some experience in sales,” he said with a nod. “I’ve never worked a cash register, but I’m a fast learner.”
I’m sure you are, Tina nearly said out loud. She also had no doubt that he would be quite good at sales. Lord knew she’d certainly want to buy something from him.
They hadn’t talked about wages, she realized. Though the job was good pocket money for a teenager or college student, it was hardly enough for a more mature man to live on. “Is the hourly wage we advertised acceptable?”
To her discomfort, he leaned forward and leveled his gaze with hers. She caught the faint, spicy scent of his aftershave, and could hear her pulse beating in her ears.
“Let me just ask you this,” he said, his voice smooth and deep and edged with amusement, “if I said the wage was irrelevant, would you hire me?”
Her first instinct was to say yes, but Tina knew it would be wasting her time and his to give him false hope or continue this interview. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because—” she hesitated “—for one thing, you’re…a little older than most of our applicants.”
Irritation narrowed his eyes. “I’m too old for you?”
“Of course you’re not too old for me,” she said, then quickly tried to sidestep. “I mean, you’re not too old.” Oh, hell. She’d certainly gotten herself into a corner on this. There were laws against age discrimination. “It’s just that we mostly hire teenagers and college students, that’s all.”
“You wouldn’t hire me because I’m not a teenager or college student.” He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her. “So what else is wrong with me?”
“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with you.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Exactly.”
He lifted a brow. “Exactly?”
“Well, there’s also my sister, Sophia.”
“What about her?”
“She is easily—” Tina searched for the right word “—distracted by good-looking men and vice versa.”
“So you think I’m too old and too good-looking,” he said dryly. “What else?”
When he repeated it all back, Tina knew it sounded absurd. She cursed herself for not having had him just fill out an application and leave. “You’re overqualified.”
“How do you know that?”
“You’re obviously educated,” she said. “You speak well, exude confidence, and you look like you just stepped off the cover of Fortune 500 or—”
It felt as if a lightbulb had flashed on.
Danforth. Of the Savannah Danforths. Shipping magnates. Big estate. Lots and lots of money. There’d been rumors that Abraham Danforth would be running for the Senate.
Everyone who lived in Savannah, and most everyone who didn’t, had heard of the Danforth family.
Unable to speak, Tina continued to stare at Reid. That’s why he looked so familiar. He had been on the cover of a magazine, Savannah Business. The issue Reid’s face was on had been sitting in the customer magazine rack of the bakery for the past three months.
“You—” her voice was a ragged whisper “—you’re…Abraham Danforth’s…”
“Son,” he finished for her, and stuck out his hand again. “Reid Danforth. I’m here to rent the building next door.”
