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together, neither speaking, neither needing words. Thorne continued to hold her, simply because letting her go was unthinkable. His mind spun with a hundred questions. He prayed she was a secretary so he could make her his secretary. He didn’t care what strings he had to pull; he wanted her working with him. Ms. Hillard was planning to retire, and the thought of greeting each day with Cindy was enough to—He was going crazy. The cardinal rule in any office was never to become romantically involved with a colleague or an employee.
    He must have given her a startled look because Cindy’s eyes softened with such compassion that Throne could barely breathe.
    â€œIt’s all right,” she whispered.
    â€œBut…”
    â€œNo,” she said and brought her fingers to his lips, silencing him.
    He frowned at her. Could she read his thoughts? Was she clairvoyant? She couldn’t possibly have known whathe’d been thinking, yet she showed him in a glance that she understood.
    â€œYou don’t need to tell me,” Cindy said after a long moment. “I already know about Sheila.”

Three
    â€œS heila.” The name seared his mind. He was practically engaged to Sheila, and here he was sitting beside Cindy, madly plotting to keep her in his life. He thrust his face toward her, his mouth gaping as one thought stumbled over another. He had to explain—only he wasn’t sure how to unscramble his own feelings, let alone reassure her . It was as though Sheila meant nothing to him. Nothing. Yet a few days before, he’d contemplated giving her an engagement ring for Christmas. He’d actually been entertaining the idea of marriage and starting a family.
    His confusion must have been visible in his eyes, because Cindy smiled with such sweetness that the panic gripping him was instantly quelled.
    He looked so astonished that Cindy placed her index finger on his lips. “Shh. You don’t need to tell me anything. I understand.”
    If she did he wished she’d explain it to him. Thorne felt like a scheming hypocrite. He was nearly engaged to onewoman and so attracted to another he could hardly take his eyes off her. Even now that she’d brought Sheila’s name between them, he couldn’t force himself to leave. He knew he should stand up and walk away. He should escape before whatever was happening on this enchanted evening could affect him. His gut reaction was that Cindy’s imprint on him could well be indelible. It was crazy, the things he was thinking. Insane to want her working with him. Absurd to seriously consider getting involved with an employee. His mother would be horrified, his father amused. They’d been after him for years to settle down, but they’d made it abundantly clear that they expected him to marry the “right type” of woman.
    â€œYou’re angry again,” Cindy said, studying the dark emotion that crossed his face.
    â€œNot angry,” he told her. “Confused.”
    â€œDon’t be.”
    He took her hand in his, weaving their fingers together. She had beautiful hands. Each finger was narrow and tapered, and intuitively Thorne felt the comfort she would be capable of granting with a mere touch. The nails were a reasonable length, neither too long nor too short. He supposed she had to keep them like that in order to type properly.
    â€œWho are you?” he asked, surprised that even her fingers could entice him.
    Cindy felt the magic slowly dissipating. “I…I already told you.”
    â€œCinderella?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd I’m your prince?”
    â€œYes.” She nodded vigorously. “I’ve dreamed of you sooften, and then I met you, and I knew you were everything my fantasies had promised.”
    He made her gaze meet his by slipping his index finger beneath her chin. Studying her intense blue eyes was like looking into the crystal-clear water of a mountain lake.