Instead, she’d taken a business call, then rushed off.

Will was used to people wanting something from him, especially women. But Harper didn’t seem to want anything. Not even the things he was dying to give her. Just the opposite—he had to cajole and seduce her every step of the way, whether it was about the Maserati or a date...or to get his hands on her.

So today it was just Jeremy and him. Not that working with Jeremy didn’t have its own rewards. The kid was intelligent, he just had trouble with bigger concepts. But he followed instructions well. They worked companionably all day, continuing to number the shipment of sheet metal panels that had arrived on Friday.

“Great teamwork,” he said when they broke for the roast beef sandwiches Mrs. Taylor brought. She’d included milk and cookies as if they were kids.

“Thanks, Mrs. Taylor.” Jeremy’s voice was loud in the barn. He used a big voice when he was excited. Or when he met new people. Just as he had last weekend with Evan.

“You’re very welcome.” A short, rotund widow with white hair, Mrs. Taylor had been Will’s housekeeper for five years, moving with him from his previous house in San Mateo. She fixed meals when he was at home, did the cleaning, the shopping, laundry, household errands. Once a month, Will had a service come in to do all the heavy work, saving Mrs. Taylor’s back.

“I like her,” Jeremy confided after Mrs. Taylor had returned to the house in a golf cart. “She makes really good sandwiches.”

“She does.” There wasn’t much not to like about Mrs. Taylor.

Jeremy talked with his mouth full. “When are you going to take Harper out again?”

Will, in the middle of swallowing, almost lost his roast beef. “Do you want me to take your sister out again?”

Jeremy nodded vigorously. “I like you.” He chomped off a bite of cookie even though he hadn’t finished his sandwich yet. “You’re a lot nicer than the other guys she goes out with.”

Jealousy hit Will like he was a crash test dummy, straight in the chest, at the thought of Harper with another man. But he wouldn’t use Jeremy to get information about Harper, so he didn’t ask any questions. He merely said, “I like you, too, Jeremy. And I like Harper.”

Jeremy beamed, his eyes aglow. “Then it’s a deal. You take her out.”

“I have to ask Harper first.”

“She’ll say yes. She likes you. She always comes into the room to listen when we use Skype.”

“Maybe she’s just checking up on me.”

Jeremy shook his head, turning all the way to the right, then the left in an exaggerated movement. “Nuh-uh. She likes you. I know. Whenever I talk about you, she gets this funny look in her eyes. Like she’s dreaming even though she’s awake.”

Again, though Will loved getting this inside scoop on the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about, he wouldn’t allow himself to pry any more information out of Jeremy. “Let’s just wait until she gets here, okay?”

Which meant, unfortunately, that he’d have to dig deeper into his reserves of patience. Reserves that were running really thin where Harper was concerned.

But it wasn’t only patience Will was nearly out of by the time Harper finally returned—it was also self-control.

When she left, she’d been wearing jeans. Now she wore a gorgeous dress that skimmed her curves and flowed down in long lines to her calves. Her sandals laced up over her ankles and met the bottom of the dress, looking like something a gladiator would wear. And what made Will’s self-control nearly snap completely was his realization that the gauzy material of the dress was almost see-through in the light from the open barn door behind her.

The faint outline of long legs made his mouth dry up. The neckline dipped low, cushioning a teardrop necklace between her breasts. A hint of lace peeked out. The sun was a halo around her hair, a gentle breeze lifting the locks, and her lips were the luscious shade of ripe plums, a deeper color than the usual pink she wore.

She stole his breath.

She made his jaw hit the floor.

She drove him crazy.

Which was exactly where Will wanted to go with Harper—utterly crazy.

* * *

The look on Will’s face was worth every single penny she’d spent. He seemed stunned, unable to speak, unable to move, able only to look.

And to want her in the same way she’d been wanting him.

Oh yes, definitely worth it. What’s more, she felt sexy and desirable, from the new makeup to the new sandals to the new dress. And everything new underneath. It had been a really long time since she’d treated herself...and she wondered suddenly why she’d waited so long.

“We had a good day,” he told her. “Got a lot accomplished.”

“We even marked a bunch more panels that we still have to match up,” Jeremy rushed to add.

“That’s great.” She beamed at them both, easily able to see how happy they were with the day’s work. Two peas in a pod...who would have thought? The billionaire and her brother.

She was still marveling at that when she realized Will was saying, “Jeremy has given me his permission to take you out to dinner tonight.”

“He has?” She felt a kick in her pulse, as if he’d stepped on the accelerator. All afternoon, she’d been trying to figure out how to make her move. The problem was that she’d never made a move on anyone before, so she didn’t have the first clue how to do it. But now, thankfully, that problem might very well be solved for her.