Page 81 of Craig

Craig was proud of her. She had made a difference.

And he wanted to as well. He wanted to make them both proud.

But yes, the old man was mellowing, and he knew it was because of Regina.

The woman could melt stone. She had that type of personality.

She was vivacious and full of life. She also combined those traits with her brutal honesty.

She was kind and caring even though she liked to pretend otherwise. She knew all the staff by name, and in the brief time she had been here, they had fallen in love with her.

He knew the feeling firsthand. Wasn't he madly, head over heels in love with her himself?

Shaking his head, he pulled the files towards him and tried to concentrate on them. Some contracts to consider, a company or two the acquisition department had been eyeing.

And his project.

Renovations to the building would start within the week. He had every intention of taking an active part.

It was his pet project, and he wanted to see it to the completion stage.

What the hell was she still doing up there? he wondered restlessly. A frown touched his brow as he glanced at the clock.

It was way past eleven. The old man should be getting his rest.

And he wanted her. Wanted to be with her.

The tug of resentment that she was spending so much time with him was brutally squashed. But he rose nonetheless with the intention of putting an end to the game or whatever they were doing at this time of the night.

He found them in the middle of a heated discussion. His brows rose as he stopped just inside the doorway of the bedroom.

They were seated on a rose gold sofa tucked beneath the large bay window overlooking the tennis court and the bed of azaleas and peonies. Light from the Tiffany lamp shone on the Scrabble board.

She had made herself comfortable by kicking off her ankle boots and curling her feet under her.

His grandfather was leaning back on the cushions tucked behind his back, and he was gloating.

"That's absolutely not a word," she insisted. "I've never heard of it before."

"That makes no difference. I happen to be an English major, like my son had been."

As the boy came in, he glimpsed him and saw the expression on his face. With a twinge, he realized that the very interesting evening was about to be curtailed.

Craig walked into the room and sat on the arm of the sofa at her back.

"He was. And I forgot to mention, he also cheats."

"I'm beginning to believe you."

Craig felt the pleasure race through him as she leaned back against him. His hand came around her instantly.

"Absquatulate is a real word, and it means to leave somewhere abruptly or suddenly," he crowed. "I told you that I'm a whiz at this game."

"You cheated. I know you did."

"You'll never hear me admit to anything like that." He started to rise.

"I suppose it's time for bed." He flicked a glance at Craig.