She watched him shake the man’s hand and then grasp his upper forearm. A sign of superiority, she’d learned. The man rested his other hand on Zach’s shoulder, which made her chuckle to herself. Yes, Mr. Lee knew what he was doing.

They hadn’t ordered, but as soon as Zach returned, food began to appear at the table, compliments of the chef.

She sipped her green tea and looked at the amount of food that had accumulated. “Everything is wonderful. You certainly don’t eat like this every day.”

“No. They’ve been begging me to come in for a month now. Figured it was time.” He bit into an egg roll. “So what is the usual fare for Regan Keller? What does she enjoy eating?”

“Ah, more interviewing?”

“Getting to know you.” He lifted his eggroll to his mouth and took another bite as he raised his eyebrows to her.

“Let’s see.” She bit into a dumpling and tried to will herself to be comfortable around Zach. “I wouldn’t be a southern girl if I didn’t love my mama’s fried chicken.”

“Now that does sound good. My mother can’t find her way around a kitchen with a map.”

Regan laughed aloud, then shoved the rest of the dumpling into her mouth to stifle it.

“You think that’s funny. You wouldn’t if had to eat her cooking. That is why she caters all events and makes me bring desserts.”

“She sounds classy.” And she loved that he could joke about his mother with his mouth full, but she saw how he dealt with people around the office, with a no-nonsense approach. There were two sides to the man before her. And she was finding she enjoyed both sides, which scared the hell out of her.

“Well, we’ll switch. Your mom can cook for me, and I’ll let mine cater for you,” he said with a nod and a smile.

They met in his office when they returned from lunch. She had a stack of files under her arm that she laid on Zach’s desk. He sorted through them. They were all projects all in his care. He walked her through the building contracts, building times, estimates, and subcontractor contacts, giving her an idea of who and what she was working with.

“This is the condo project I was telling you about yesterday.” He reminded her of her future housing options with a smile.

“John Forrester?”

“Man in charge.” He showed her the drawings and the plans for the building.

She pulled the concept drawings from the file and gazed admiringly over them. “Zach, these are going to be gorgeous.”

“This one is my favorite.” He pulled a drawing from the pile and watched again as her eyes widened.

“Yes, that one is wonderful.”

“I designed it.”

“You’re amazing.” She looked up at him.

His eyes zeroed in on hers and softened. “I was hoping you’d tell me that someday.”

“Zach…”

“I’m kidding.” He gathered up the pictures. “You’ll have to think about city living. Nice view, roomy living accommodations, ample room for entertaining…”

“More money than I will ever make in my life.” She laughed as she gathered her notes and the files.

“So what is your ideal home?” He sat back in his chair and watched her.

“Oh, Tennessee sprawling land. A few horses, bank of trees, a porch wrapped around the house with rockers for me and…” She stopped and shook her head. “Well let’s just say not here in town.”

“That does sound nice.”

“I’d better get these filed. I’ll call on the project in Kansas City tomorrow, and I’ll check your itinerary for Monday morning.” Regan stood and left the office.

Zach turned his chair toward the windows. He could see the condo project from here. It would be over a year before the first residents could move in.

When building large buildings, there had to be patience, and he’d always had that. That was, until the moment he met Regan Keller.

Since the moment she’d landed in his lap two days earlier, he couldn’t clear his head of her.

For the rest of the week he kept his distance from her. There were no more lunches out or coffee in the morning, and he heard Mr. Benson more times than he liked.

They had a meeting with John Forrester at the condo project, which was less than a mile down the river. Regan suggested they walk to the site, and he looked at her high heels and laughed. But just to get the opportunity to spend a few moments, with her he agreed.

She excused herself, and a minute later, walked back into his office wearing tennis shoes.

“You’re one of those women who plan for everything, aren’t you?” he asked, enjoying the subtle difference in the way her calves looked in flat shoes as they walked out of the building.

Her hand brushed the silver necklace. “Not really, but I thought it best not to wear my good shoes on a site.”

“Mary Ellen only thought of that once we were on site and she was falling over rocks and construction debris.” Regan wasn’t like Mary Ellen much at all. She took care of him, but she didn’t coddle him. She was prepared for anything, and he appreciated that. Then again, he found there wasn’t much about Regan Keller that he didn’t appreciate, except for her emotional distance.

Regan carried a notebook against her chest with items they would need to address with John. Zach walked a step behind her to watch her walk. The way the ponytail she wore at the base of her neck swung from side to side made him want to loosen it and run his fingers through her hair. But when she talked he’d catch up and hope she didn’t notice him ogling.

“Until this week I never noticed how many job sites have your company name on them. I must have seen three on my way to work this morning.” She clutched the notebook closer to her chest.

“I have twenty of them in five states, but I personally oversee four of them. They’re the four I designed and acquired. I’m meeting next week with an investor for a new project in Los Angeles.” He adjusted the hard hats he carried under his arm and thought how proud his grandfather would be to see what he’d done with the company.

“Where do you live? In a high-rise condo that you designed?” She shook her head when she said it. He knew the reaction well. Just because his name was on the side of the building, everyone assumed he had to live the lavish life. Then again, he always had. Even in adulthood he was judged.