Christmas Every Day Part 24

"The more the merrier."

"The only problem is Sara says we need more money up front before we can go ahead and-"

He raised his hand to stop her before she got any further.

"Sara says?" he echoed. Jennifer nodded her head, aware that she had finally lit a fuse. "Since when does Sara dictate terms for anything?"

Jennifer looked up at him innocently. "Well, she is our accountant now ".

"Our temporary accountant," he emphasized. "And I don't want anyone from Accountants " R' Us to suddenly start dictating our restaurant policy. Is she in the office? "

He was already striding past Jennifer, heading toward the hallway.

"Yes. Now, Nik, don't yell," Jennifer warned, hurrying to keep up. "I don't want Katie to think her uncle's gone berserk."

"Then I'd advise you to take her out for a walk. It's time she got some air."

He might have known that if he gave her an inch she'd take out an entire claim. Just because he'd tentatively agreed yesterday to let her utilize a new program-and even that hadn't been a definite yes-that in no way gave her the green light to get any further involved in restaurant policies. She was working for him, not the other way around, and he was going to take great pleasure in pointing that out.

"Sara," Nik announced, "I'd like a word with you."

Sara had just returned from visiting her father in the hospital. It had been a quick, five-minute visit to check on his condition and to a.s.suage her conscience. Five minutes, after all, was all the nurse had originally said was allowed. Sara clung to that. If she stayed too long, things might get said that she had no intentions of saying.

Agitated, confused, Sara was the perfect candidate for a fight. She glanced toward the doorway and saw Nik standing there. Anger creased his brow. He made her think of Thor just before the Norse G.o.d let loose with one of his thunderbolts.

Ah, the perfect recipient for a fight.

She smiled at him sweetly. "Something wrong, Sinclair ? " she asked.

He crossed the threshold, struggling to keep his temper in check. He lost. "You bet there is."

Thunderstorm, no doubt about it, Sara thought, girding up.

Jennifer took her daughter's hand and led her toward the doorway. " "

Come on, Katie, time to get some fresh air. Uncle Nik is going to make nice with Aunt Sara. " As she moved past him, she saw Nik's brow rise.

" It's just an expression, Nik," she explained soothingly. But she grinned knowingly as she said it, as if the t.i.tle she had bestowed on Sara was a prophecy

Jennifer left Nik and Sara looking at one another like two roosters laying claim to the same barnyard.

Chapter 8.

Nik glanced over his shoulder to make certain that Jennifer and Katie were out of earshot. Satisfied, he turned his full attention to Sara.

But first he had to shut out impulses that had him responding to her on a very different, very basic level. They had no place in this conversation, perhaps no place in their lives at all.

"Just what do you mean by setting up rules for the restaurant ?" Sara drew her brows together, trying to guess what had set him off like this. Offhand she couldn't think of a thing that she had done that would make him come charging in like a steer on the streets of Pamplona during the annual running of the bulls. " " Excuse me? "

He could almost believe that childlike, innocent expression on her face-if he didn't know better. "Jennifer tells me that you don't think we should proceed with catering arrangements for the De Carlo wedding unless we get more money up front."

"And?" she prompted, waiting. So far, she didn't see what the problem was.

ll6 Christmas Every Day

And? Was she being purposely dense, or just baiting him? Either way, it didn't improve his mood. "Where do you get off, dictating what we can or can't do in running our restaurant ?"

There was something almost magnetically attractive about Nik when his expression looked so dark and foreboding. And it was exactly that attraction that made Sara break out in a cold sweat. Defense alarms went off.

"I'd hardly call common sense " dictating. " " She raised her eyes and smiled sweetly. Poetic justice was alive and well. "Careful, Nik, or someone's going to accuse you of protecting your own s.p.a.ce."

She was taunting him with what he had lectured her about yesterday. He should have realized that she would, the first chance she got. But she was still wrong. "That's different."

The look in her eyes was gently mocking. She was beginning to enjoy this argument. It was tipping in her favor. " " Is it? "

The woman was evoking a mixed bag of emotions from him. He felt like shaking her and knocking some reason into her head. Most of all, he felt like kissing her until they were both senseless instead of just her. " " You know it is. "

Sara spread her arms wide. "I don't know anything of the kind.

Besides-" her eyes held his again as she referred to something else he'd mentioned "-I'm only trying to help."

The h.e.l.l she was. She was taking yesterday and reversing their roles.

"Deja vu," he said sarcastically.

Sara grinned. "Maybe it is," she agreed pleasantly. "As your accountant-temporary accountant," she amended quickly before he had the chance, though the distinction was more for her own benefit than for his, "I have to call it the way I see it."

She leaned back and a.s.sumed what she hoped Nik would regard as a somber att.i.tude. She placed the tips of her fingers together and rocked in the swivel chair. Her eyes never left his.

G.o.d, he had beautiful eyes.

She forced her mind back to the little drama she was sketching for him.

"Now, the De Carlos are probably really

Christmas Every Day ll 7 qerrific, trustworthy people who don't even owe interest on their charge cards and pay every bill when it's due.

But- " she held up one finger in the air " "there are people in this world who will attempt to conveniently " forget' to pay on time. Or at all. Too many of those and you're overextended It can happen to anyone, Sinclair. Just read the papers" She gestured toward a folded newspaper Jennifer had left on the file cabinet.

He wondered if she would still be able to talk if someone held on to her hands. She gestured to punctuate almost every statement. "qDon't patronize me, Sara. I'm not a child," he said evenly. "I know that."

"Good: She turned her back to him as she resumed her work. Or tried to. With Nik in the room, it was difficult for her to concentrate on anything. Especially after yesterday.

Sara could feel him standing there, studying her back. It took all she had not to shift restlessly. "Then there's no reason for this argument."

"Except maybe," Nik began, moving around to the front of the desk so that he could face her, "that I don't like hearing criticism-or advice-" he added when she raised q a warmng brow " " coming from anyone. " He decided to be completely honest. " I suppose I don't like being told how to run things even if it does make sense. "

There was silence in the room for a moment. Only the low q hq of the computer disturbed it. And then somewhere off in the kitchen someone dropped a pan. A few choice words _ in Italian followed the incident.

"Then we have that in common, don't we?" She lowered - her eyes to the screen.

Nik raised his hand, wanting to touch her shoulder.

Wanting to touch her. If he did, she'd probably come out swinging. He let his hand fall to his side. " " Sara, about yesterday "