He was shrugging on his jacket and I saw his relief that I'd put my dress back on.

My belly flipped at the sight of him all rumpled and sexy. Why, oh, why, out of all the men in the world did Caine Carraway have to be the one to make me feel this way?

I stopped a few feet before him and he narrowed his gaze, as if he sensed what was coming.

"You're afraid to let me in."

He shot me a warning look. "Alexa."

I forged ahead. "But I know something all those other women who have tried and failed with you don't. I know you're a good man. Real in a way they've never had the chance to see. I know that because I saw it when you were with Effie. I saw who you really are. I see who you are because ... we're not so different, you and I. We both deserve happiness."

For a moment Caine just stared at me and a little bubble of hope floated around inside me. When he took a step backward, extremely guarded, that little bubble just went pop. "Happiness? This coming from the daughter of the guy who destroyed my family?"

All the air went out of the room.

It was like he'd punched me in the chest.

And he wasn't finished. "I don't know what this is you're trying to do, but you and I are not the same." He took another step back from me. "And I am not for you. I'm not your white knight. I'm just the guy who wanted to fuck you."

I flinched under the sting of his words. Words that humiliated me. I'd idiotically allowed myself to be vulnerable with a man who'd already proven he had no qualms hurting my feelings.

My God, I was such a stupid, stupid fool. Worse. I was ... some kind of masochist!

I was my mother.

I tried to pull my feelings back inside me so he couldn't see how he'd cut me up into slices. However, I knew it was too late when he said my name in a gentle, remorseful tone. He wore guilt and regret on his face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean ... I shouldn't have said that." He ran his hands through his hair, looking appalled that he had, and frustrated by my effect on him. "I'm just not the guy you're looking for. I'm not ever going to be that man. Trust me."

How could I have allowed myself to forget who I was to him? That was what I'd done here.

Oh God. He must have felt terrible for having sex with me. A Holland. Warily I looked over at him. Did he want to wash me off? Forget I happened? I sucked in a breath at the painful thought.

He sighed. "Let's just put this behind us and go back to being the pain-in-the-ass boss and the smart-ass PA."

I stared at him, bewildered by the suggestion. He really thought I could be around him after this?

No. I was done.

What my family did to his had damaged him. The kinship I felt between us ... I didn't know if it was real or just something I had imagined to life out of the seeds of my loneliness, but I did know that Caine was determined never to feel the connection.

"I shouldn't have come to you for help," I said. "You're right. This was all a mistake. You can consider this my two weeks' notice. After it's up, you'll never have to see me again."

I knew Caine well enough to know that the emotion that flashed in his eyes that he tried so hard to bank was anger. I didn't know how to interpret that reaction, though, and frankly I was raw, mortified, and completely done with the whole mess we'd made. I didn't want to overanalyze a flash of emotion from him.

"I'll call a cab."

"No." He shook his head. "I'll have the driver drop you off at your place."

I did not want to spend another twenty minutes stuck in a car with him. "I said I'll call a cab."

Caine was visibly pissed as he took a menacing step toward me. "For the next two weeks you're still my employee. If I say I'll take you home, I'm taking you the fuck home and it's final."

It was the most silent and uncomfortable car ride in the history of car rides.

After showering the smell of him off my body, I climbed into bed, hugged my pillow like a five-year-old, and then cried all over it. The sun was just starting to filter through my curtains when I eventually nodded off to sleep.

It was with tear-crusted eyes I woke only a few hours later to the sounds of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive."

I'd changed my ringtone before I'd gotten into bed.

"M'ullo," I said into my duvet after grabbing the phone off my bedside table.

"Lexie?"

At the sound of Grandpa's voice I groaned and pushed myself up into a sitting position. "Morning."

"You sound like hell."

"No comment."

"Look, I'm calling to apologize for last night. I wish you'd told me you were going to be attending Dick and Cerise's anniversary. If I'd known I would have come up with an excuse not to go so I didn't have to put you in that position. Christ," he said regretfully, "the look on your face, sweetheart, well, it made me ... I felt like shit all night."

I felt a pang of remorse for my resentful thoughts when he'd ignored me. I understood the situation. I couldn't start pretending I didn't whenever it suited me. "It's okay, Grandpa. I understand. I even introduced myself as Alexa Hall all night so people wouldn't ask questions."

"I know." There was a smile in his voice. "You made quite an impression. You looked beautiful. I just wish this family wasn't full of malicious drama queens. If they were more understanding, this could all be out in the open. Anyway, I hope you didn't disappear because of me."

I flushed at the real reason. "Uh, no. Caine had a work thing."

My grandfather was silent for a few seconds. "You slept with him, didn't you?"

"How-" I lifted my jaw back up off my duvet. "How the heck did you know that?"

"Because he ignored his date all night as he prowled around the room like a jungle cat hunting my granddaughter. I thought at one point he might actually kill Henry Lexington."

A thrill coursed through me at the thought of Caine's jealousy. "He was watching me all night?"

"What do you think everyone was talking about?"

"Oh my God," I muttered as a realization hit me. I remembered that weird little triumphant smirk on Henry's face when Caine interrupted our dance. "Henry knew. He asked me to the party to push Caine's buttons."

"That sounds like a Lexington." Grandpa's voice lowered. "So, was this part of the plan?"

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable discussing this with my grandfather."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with my granddaughter dating a known womanizer."

The ache from last night returned. "Don't worry about that. I don't even qualify as a date. It was a onetime thing."

"I'm going to kill him," Grandpa immediately growled over the phone.

There was every chance he might actually consider something stupid like that. I put on my sternest voice. "You'll do no such thing. It was my mistake. I stupidly forgot who I was to him and I thought there was something there that wasn't ... I gave him my two weeks' notice."

Grandpa heaved a sigh. "Lexie, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I did this to myself."

"Well, you make sure he gives you a good recommendation."

I smiled sadly. "I will." I glanced at the clock. It was early yet, which meant many hours to kill. "For now I'm going to buy myself something to make me feel better before I start job-hunting."

"Okay. You call me if you need me, sweetheart."

For some reason that made me tear up.

I thought of how stupid I'd felt after putting myself out there to Caine and being rejected. But I also felt kind of free. For the last few weeks I'd had our attraction hanging over me and subconsciously I knew I'd been building it up in my head into something more than it was. Now, though, I had my answers and I could move on.

Being honest had been scary and it hurt, but at least I wasn't a coward.

It was time to keep living life that way. I sucked in my breath, exhaled, and then said something I'd never said to a man since I was fourteen years old and I finally realized the truth about my dad. "I love you, Grandpa."

Shocked silence echoed down the line.

And then came his warm, hoarse reply, "I love you too, Lexie."

CHAPTER 11.

I knew things were not going to return to a state of normality for the next two weeks when I was late into the office on Monday. A flustered mess, I'd hurried into work after sleeping past my alarm and came up short at the sight of Caine sitting behind his desk.

The desk we'd had sex on.

I flushed, remembering every second in vivid detail.

I could tell Caine knew exactly what I was thinking and he shifted uncomfortably as I handed him his latte.

The fact that he didn't call me out on being late said it all.

I couldn't get out of his office fast enough, and we spent the next few hours avoiding contact with each other. I knew we weren't going to get away with that for the entire two weeks, but I could tell we were both going to try our darnedest.

"You look pensive."

My head jerked up from the e-mail I was reading and I stared into Henry's handsome face in surprise. "Henry? What are you doing here?"

He smiled. "It's Monday. Lunchtime. The usual."

"It's that time already?"

"You really were lost in concentration, huh?"

I smiled weakly. "Doing my best."

Henry perched on the edge of my desk. "I also wanted to check in on you after Caine hauled you away from the party on Saturday night."

"I'm fine."

He frowned. "That was the least-fine-sounding 'fine' I've ever heard."

Instead of answering I called through to Caine.

"Yes?" Even this was asked quietly, cautiously.

I glowered at the phone. I never thought I'd see the day when I wished for Caine's impatient grumpiness. "Mr. Lexington is here to see you."

"Send him in."

Thankfully Henry seemed more amused than upset by my obvious brush-off. He threw me a look and wandered into Caine's office. From that moment on I couldn't think about work. I couldn't think about anything but what they were talking about. Would Caine tell Henry that I had sex with him? And how would Henry react? After deducing that Henry was either playing matchmaker or just messing with his friend by asking me out in the first place, I didn't think Henry would be too affected by the news of my sexual escapade with his friend.

Either Caine didn't say anything, or Henry wasn't upset, because when he stepped out of the office with my boss he was laughing about something. My gaze moved to Caine, who stopped at the sight of me and scowled. "I'll be out for lunch. If there's anything urgent have it forwarded to my cell."

Why was he telling me something I already knew?

"I know how to do my job, sir," I said, smiling through clenched teeth.

"Did I say you didn't?"

I saw Henry's eyebrows draw together as he watched our interaction.

"Well, when you instruct me to do something I already know to do, you're implying I don't know my job." I shrugged, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Are you going to be this sensitive for the next two weeks? Because I'd like to prepare myself."

"Oh, why don't you-"

"Children, children." Henry stepped in between us. "What is going on here? I thought after Saturday-"

"You thought what?" Caine and I snapped in unison, and then glowered at each other.

It seemed we both suspected Henry of messing with us.

Henry at least had the good grace to appear sheepish. "Nothing," he lied with a shrug. "I'm just wondering why there's all the extra antagonism between you."