His Secretary's Little Secret

Then again, his unconventional childhood had never really allowed for normalcy either.

Regardless, the drive reminded him of just how damn lucky he was to live in the tropical Florida Keys. People on bikes lined sidewalks. Palm trees bowed in the summer wind. Easton could make out the turquoise of the sea catching radiantly in the sunlight, the shoreline dotted with shacks that were homes and shops, colorful and scenic. The natural panoramic view was gorgeous.

But not nearly as gorgeous as the woman next to him.

Portia continued to surprise him. Intrigue him. He had a few hours until they’d be back at the refuge. Maybe he could restart their quiz game. Figure out more about her. Easton wanted to tease answers from her lips. Understand more. He could ask her about her family. He knew nothing about them. In fact, Easton didn’t really know much concerning her life before she came to work for him.

He could ask her if she’d ever been close to marriage. Did she want a family of her own? What was the worst kiss she’d ever had? That could at least break the ice and make them laugh. Or he could ask why she’d been avoiding him over the last few weeks when they worked together every day, for crying out loud.

With a renewed commitment to demystifying Portia Soto, he turned his head, ready to begin the questions again.

But as he opened his mouth, he knew he couldn’t continue.

Her head rested against the window, her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep. He picked up her empty food container, tossed it into the carryout bag, and decided to take comfort in the fact that she felt at ease enough to nap around him. He reached for the radio to turn on a news channel just as his phone rang, the Bluetooth kicking in automatically.

He reached to pick up fast before the tone woke her. But she only twitched once before settling back into even-paced breathing.

He spared a quick glance to the caller ID. His brother, Xander, was on the line. Easton tapped the monitor and his brother’s voice filled the air.

“Hey, dude, check this out.” Background noise echoed as he said, “Rose, baby girl, come back to Daddy and talk on the phone. Tell Uncle Easton what you just told Daddy.”

Easton’s mouth twitched. His brother was such a devoted father, and it was funny as hell watching his starched-suit, executive brother wrapped around that tiny little finger.

Easton’s toddler niece babbled for a few indistinguishable sentences before she said, “Birdies, birdies.”

“That’s great, Rosebud.” Yeah, Easton had to admit his niece was mighty damn cute. “Give the phone back to your daddy now. Love you, kiddo.”

“Hey, brother,” Xander’s voice came back over. “That’s awesome, isn’t it? We have the next generation of veterinarians in our family.”

“Could be, could be.” His eyes flicked back to Portia. She readjusted in her seat, sleep still heavy on her brow. The warmth of the afternoon sun hit her cheekbones, making her glow with natural, sexy beauty.

Xander’s baritone voice snapped Easton back into focus. “Maybe she’ll add to the family portfolio with inventions the way you have.”

“She’ll one-up me, for sure. And how the hell did you know about that? It was supposed to be—”

Xander cut him off, a smile present in his tone. “A secret and you just invested well, I know. But one of your colleagues saw me at a wildlife preserve convention and thought I was you.”

“Ouch.” While the brothers shared the same deep blue eyes and broad-chested build, Xander’s clean-cut executive look could never be confused with Easton’s collar-length hair and slightly disheveled persona.

“It was a windy day. I didn’t look like I’d combed my hair.”

“I think I was just insulted.”

“You were.” A laugh rumbled in Xander’s throat.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. How’s it going on your...what was it you were doing today?”

He was probing. Easton could hear it in his voice. Through clenched teeth Easton replied, “A professional run with my assistant.”

“Right.” Doubt dripped from Xander’s tone. Easton could practically see Xander’s eyebrow raise, incredulous as always. “How’s that going?”

“We’ll be back by the end of the day.”

“Given your wanderlust soul, something makes me doubt that,” Xander teased, but the joke missed its mark. Struck a nerve in Easton.

“We will be.”

“That reminds me of when Mom used to say she’d have us all back to the hotel by dinner, but instead, we’d spend the night somewhere unexpected. You’ve got her sense of time, you know.”