The Duke's Runaway Princess (Love By Accident) by Elizabeth Lennox

law and with a strict work ethic. He’d have to prove it, allay her suspicions by letting her see for herself how he worked. And he wouldn’t mind at all working closely with this lovely woman. Very closely. “Let me buy you lunch and we’ll talk about it.”
    Zarah continued to watch him warily. “Why would I want to work for you?”
    “Because you’re interested in the challenge I can give you,” he said, coming closer. “And because you want to prove to whoever was on the other end of that phone that you’re not some silly little female who needs protecting. You didn’t answer my question. Ex-husband? Boyfriend? Father?”
    Zarah’s whole body stiffened. How could this man know so many things about her in such a short conversation? “I don’t think…” she started to say, but he interrupted her.
    “Don’t you even want to know what the job is before you turn it down?” he asked, one eyebrow raised but the rest of his features were flat and expressionless. “Or was I wrong and you’re not strong enough to work for me? I only hire the best, most competent personnel for my organizations. Do you not fit into that category?” He almost laughed at the change in her expression after tossing out that challenge.
    Zarah considered him for a long moment, narrowing her eyes as she watched him carefully. She might be afraid of him, but there was also something about him that was stimulating. There was something in the way he looked down at her that made her want to show him that she wasn’t afraid of him.
    Or maybe she just wanted to prove to herself that she wasn’t afraid of him?
    That possibility had her chin jutting out and she looked up at him with grim determination. “Okay. What’s the position? And just so you know,” she said before he started to give her any details, “I’m perfectly happy exactly where I am. Mary is a wonderful person to work for.”
    He smiled slightly and shook his head, rejecting her claim. “No you’re not. You’re content. There’s a difference between happy and content.”
    Her shoulders felt like they were going to snap from the tension this irritating man generated within her. “And you know me so well because…?” she prompted, raising one eyebrow inquiringly, hoping to put him in his place for being so contradictory.
    His strong, sexy mouth curved upwards into a half smile. “Let’s just say I believe we might have similar priorities.”
    She considered that for a moment, then nodded. She couldn’t deny that she was interested. She could at least hear him out. Listening didn’t imply any kind of acceptance or commitment.
    “Okay. Let’s talk.” It was better now that he’d told her that he was of a like mind. What he could possibly think would be a challenge for her, she had no idea. Rumors about this man’s business acumen flew through the village like a constant sand storm, one amazing story topping the other and the residents loved to boast about his financial successes as if they were their own. So maybe he had something in mind that would push her business skills a bit beyond what she was currently doing for the shop owners.
    She’d never acknowledge that she wasn’t happy though. He had no idea how happy she was to not be preparing for a wedding to a stranger.
    “Lunch. I’m starving,” he said and took her arm. He turned her around, then put his hand at the small of her back, burning a hole in her cotton shirt and making her want to run several steps ahead of him so he would have to remove his hand. But she instinctively knew she couldn’t outrun this man; neither literally nor figuratively. She walked beside him, pretending that his touch didn’t bother her, that it wasn’t making her stomach do flips or her heart race as if she’d just run a marathon.
    He led her to a small café that looked out over the pretty lake area with colorful umbrellas that provided shade from the bright sunshine. A waitress arrived immediately and took their