Down from the Cross Read Online Free Page B

he’d recorded. However, this woman was different. She was actually trying to avoid being with him, and somehow he found it almost refreshing—challenging. He raised his brows in question. “You are going to accept my offer, aren’t you?”
    She lifted her big blue eyes to meet his, and once again he noticed how pretty her delicate features were, despite the huge knot on her forehead. Her complexion was flawless, giving those blue eyes a China doll quality.
    “Do you really want me to work for you, or are you just being kind?”
    “Of course I want you to work for me. I made the offer, didn’t I?” He hoped his smile was convincing.
    She returned his smile, although it seemed somewhat guarded. “Then, yes, I accept, but only until I’m able to get out of my cast and find another job.”
    He decided to push once more. “You’ll come to work for me, but you won’t accept my offer of a ride home?”

    Jane felt a flush of warmth rush to her cheeks, and she couldn’t do a thing to stop it. Keene Moray, the man whose voice echoed through her apartment nearly every night, was standing in front of her. The man she’d admired since she had been old enough to buy her own CDs. Most of her friends had laughed at her when she told them her favorite artist was an opera singer instead of a country music vocalist. Even Karen had laughed, but once she had visited Jane’s apartment, ridden in her car, and listened to his rich voice and elegant phrasing, she, too, had become hooked on the music of Keene Moray. When he’d recorded his
Love
album, featuring the most romantic songs of all time, both she and Karen bought two copies—one to play and one to save. She had dreamed about attending one of his operas or concerts someday, when she could afford it, seated in the front row, close enough to see his handsome face and watch his expressions. Now here he was—offering her not only a ride home but also a job! A real job! Though only a temporary one.
    “I’d like to, but—”
    “But you never accept rides from strangers, is that it? Even if they’ve demolished your car and put you in the hospital with a broken leg and a banged-up head?”
    “I–I have to admit I do feel a bit strange about it.” She felt her blush intensify. What a fool he must think her. And she certainly didn’t want him, the famous Keene Moray, to see the dingy, low-income apartment she lived in. “I–I hope you understand. I don’t mean to offend you.”
    He gave her a compassionate grin that made her feel a bit better. “Okay. Let’s strike a deal. If you refuse to let me take you home, at least let me pay for your taxi. Remember, it’s because of me and my carelessness that you’re not able to drive your car.”
    He was right about that. His carelessness had put her in this quandary. She was glad he acknowledged that fact. “Okay. I guess.”
    “Your taxi is here,” the receptionist said, gesturing toward the double glass doors.
    Jane allowed Mr. Moray and the orderly to help her through the doors, out of the wheelchair, and into the waiting taxi. She watched from the backseat as he spoke a few words to the driver and paid the man with a bill that would do far more than cover her trip across town. Waving at him through the window, she mouthed the words “thank you” and then settled back for her ride home, resting her injured leg on the cab’s leather seat. Good thing she’d worn a dress that day, instead of her good slacks or jeans; otherwise, they would have had to split them up the sides, and she certainly couldn’t afford to buy a new pair.
    When the car moved forward, she suddenly realized she had not even given him her phone number, and she had no idea how to call him. How could she go to work for him if neither one knew how to reach the other? Then she remembered he had taken care of her hospital bill. Perhaps he had written down the information from that.
    When they reached the exit from the parking lot, the driver pulled to