Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal by Rachel Bailey

had a plan that would suit them both. They could make a new agreement, move on, move out, and both put the entire episode behind them.
    All he needed was to see her alone to outline his plan.
    He lifted his hand to knock a third time, but the door was pulled open and he was presented with April, luscious, hair mussed, a robe tightly sashed at her waist, her cheek still creased with pillow marks. He dragged in a lungfulof air as his body roared to life. She’d just left her bed. It would still be warm with her body heat. His heart thumped hard against his ribs. How would she react if he kissed her? Walked her backward to that still-warm bed, laid her down, pushed her into the mattress with his own body weight?
    Unable to stop himself, he reached out, gently running his thumb down her rosy cheek, cupping the side of her face with his palm. Her skin was smooth, silken. Sensuous.
    â€œSeth,” she said, her voice husky.
    The sound of her voice startled him, as if rousing him from a dream. He dropped his hand and took a deliberate step back—away from the almost unbearable temptation of her.
    He cleared his throat, trying to also clear his mind. “I’m sorry for the early hour.”
    April’s knuckles, still gripping the brass doorknob, whitened. Eyes wary, as if she wanted to slide behind the protection of the door, she held herself firm. She had courage, this woman. When she spoke, her voice was steady. “I’m guessing you wanted to see me without being overheard by my minder.”
    â€œActually, yes.”
    â€œI can understand. She’s quite determined.” Her hand on the doorknob relaxed, as if she was more confident knowing they were discussing her mother. “She never lets her guard down, rarely lets me out of her sight.”
    Seth came to attention. “Is she a problem?”
    â€œShe means well,” April said after a small hesitation.
    He wasn’t as sure of that, but he let it go for now. “Have you had any progress with your memory?”
    She sighed and pulled her robe’s sash tighter, probably not realizing that it pulled more firmly across her breasts. “At first I thought it might help to have her here. That Imight remember something about her, or that her memories of our time staying here might prompt something.”
    He’d hoped the same. He reached for the steaming espresso shot and sipped it to stop his hands from grasping her and enfolding her in his arms.
    â€œBut it hasn’t?” he said over the rim of the small cup.
    â€œShe talks so much about what we did, and my father, that I’m worried that anything I do start to remember will be something she’s accidentally planted in my head, instead of a true memory.” She shrugged one shoulder—which also pulled the fabric of her robe tighter, but he tried not to let his eyes linger.
    â€œI’m sorry.” Perhaps letting her mother stay hadn’t been the right thing to do. He could fix that. “Would you like me to send her away?”
    She arched an eyebrow and smiled. “I think I can deal with my own mother. But thank you for your offer, Saint George.”
    The sight of her smile so radiant made something in his chest constrict, and he couldn’t suppress a return smile. “Well, if the dragon becomes too much, just say the word and I’ll ride in on my white steed.”
    â€œI appreciate it.” She chuckled. “So, is that why you woke me so early?”
    He set his cup down on the side table and rubbed a hand over his chin. “I have a proposition that I think will suit us both. But I need time to outline it to you without worrying about interruptions.”
    â€œSounds intriguing.” Her warm brown eyes sparkled.
    Everything within him demanded he release the sash at her waist and make those sparkling eyes burn with the scalding heat he knew was within her. Knowing that resisting the urge was the right thing to do was