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“I know you believe you’re performing a service here by providing these children with a chance at a life far better than the one they would have had in an orphanage,” he went on, “and you are, to a point.
“But have you ever considered the far-reaching ramifications, Ms. St. John, of placing foreign children with American parents? Have you thought about what it’s like for those kids when they realize they are different, just don’t fit in? Do you ever think about that, when you’re handing out cute little babies from overseas?”
“First of all, Mr. Sharpe,” Carolyn said, with a flash of anger, “we don’t hand out those children to just anyone. You’re obviously only part Korean but…” She planted her hands on her hips. “I’m sorry if you had difficulties with your mixed-heritage while growing up, but no, I’m not going to justify what I do here, to someone who has a chip on his shoulder as wide as Toledo.”
Carolyn narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin. “If you’ll follow me, please,” she said coolly, “we’ll join the others and you can present the plans for the new building.”
Carolyn spun around and marched from the room.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I…” Ryan stopped speaking as Carolyn disappeared from view. “Damn.”
Ryan shook his head in self-disgust, then grabbed the cardboard cylinder. He stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, then drew a deep breath, letting it out slowly with the hope of dispelling the anger he felt for his behavior.
Man, he thought, who had put a rotten nickel in him, causing him to mouth off like that? Those photographs had caused painful memories to rise up from some dusty corner of his mind and slam against him like physical blows.
But that was no excuse for what he had just done and said. Not only had he represented MacAllister Architects very poorly, he had also alienated a very attractive woman. A woman, who when angry, had eyes like incredible blue laser beams and a pretty flush on her cheeks.
He had to apologize to Carolyn St. John, make amends…right now.
Ryan left the office and looked down a hallway, seeing Carolyn waiting for him at the far end of the corridor. She had her arms crossed beneath her breasts and was tapping the toe of one shoe impatiently.
She was definitely angry at him, Ryan thought, starting toward her, not smiling.
Ryan strode down the hall and stopped in front of Carolyn.
“Look, I want to say that I…” he started.
“The others are seated inside,” Carolyn said, cutting him off as she spoke to the knot of his tie. “We’re running late as it is, so shall we go in, Mr. Sharpe?”
“It’s Ryan and…”
Carolyn swept one arm through the air. “After you. I’m just breathless with anticipation to hear what other pearly words of wisdom you have to offer…Mr. Sharpe.”
Ryan cringed as Carolyn’s words made a direct hit on his already guilty conscious, and he moved past her to enter the large room where a dozen people were seated around a long table.
Carolyn introduced Ryan to Elizabeth who introduced Ryan to the others as Carolyn took a seat at the far end. As Ryan spread out the blueprints in the center of the table, everyone got to their feet to see better. Carolyn rose but stayed at the edge of the group.
Ryan Sharpe, she fumed, might be one of the most handsome and well-built men she had ever encountered, but big macho deal. All the rugged good looks and nicely placed muscles in the world would not erase the fact that she did not like him.
How dare he pass negative judgment on her and the agency? He accused her of not knowing what it was like to be different? Oh, ha, a lot he knew. She had firsthand knowledge of that lonely status.
But no matter what difficulties he might have had while growing up, and no matter what problems the precious children she helped place with parents in this country might encounter, they were far better off here than lost in the shuffle in overcrowded orphanages and—
Oh, Carolyn, shut up, she told herself. She didn’t have to justify her chosen career to a narrow-minded hunk with an attitude. So there.
“Right,” Carolyn said decisively, then realized, to her embarrassment as everyone turned to look at her, that she’d spoken aloud.
“Well, good, Carolyn,” Elizabeth said, smiling. “I’m glad you agree that French doors leading to the courtyard are much classier than what we’d decided on earlier. It appears we’re in accord, Mr. Sharpe.”
“It’s Ryan, please,” he said to Elizabeth, then shifted his attention to Carolyn. “I’m delighted that you and I are on the same page…Carolyn.”
“Oh, we are…Ryan,” she said, ever so sweetly. “About French doors.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Did I miss something here, Carolyn?”
“No, Elizabeth,” Carolyn said, “nothing that deserves any further discussion. Are there any other changes from the original ideas we presented that we need to be apprised of?”
“Well, no, not according to the notes I was given,” Ryan said. “I just need Elizabeth to sign off on these plans and we’re all set. You can present these blueprints to your contractor. MacAllister Architects will have another set on file at our office in case any questions or problems arise during construction.”
“We’re going to have a ground-breaking ceremony with the press invited,” Elizabeth said. “I think I’ll buy a shiny shovel and put a huge red bow on it to turn over the first scoop of soil on our land and…”
As Elizabeth chattered on to Ryan about the ground-breaking ceremony, he smiled and nodded, then watched in frustration as Carolyn left the room without making eye contact with him.
At last able to escape, Ryan hurried to Carolyn’s office where she was sitting at her desk busily typing on a computer keyboard. Ryan stood in front of the desk and cleared his throat. Carolyn continued to type.
“Carolyn,” Ryan said finally.
“Hmm?” she said, her fingers flying over the keys.
“Look, I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I was way out of line, and I apologize for my outburst. It’s just that I… No, there’s no excuse for my behavior. I’d like to make amends. Would you have lunch with me? I’ll come back at noon and pick you up. Please?”
Carolyn stopped typing, pressed a key to save the work, then turned her head slowly to meet Ryan’s gaze.
“Lunch?” he repeated, producing his best one-hundred-watt smile. “Please, Carolyn?”
“I bet you’re accustomed to getting just about anything you want with that smile…Ryan,” she said. “Well, chalk this up as a new experience for you. Have lunch? With you? Do let me know if there’s any part of this reply to your request that you don’t understand, but my answer is really quite simple. No.”
Chapter Two
That night Ryan sat in his favorite chair in his living room, an open and forgotten book on his lap as he stared into space, frowning.
Carolyn St. John, he mused. The events that had transpired earlier continued to haunt him. In the silence of his apartment, there was no way to escape from again squaring off against his less-than-flattering behavior hours before.
Ryan sighed, leaned his head on the top of the chair and glowered at the ceiling.
Yes, he’d come a long way, since receiving the globe from his grandfather, toward achieving his goal of finding an inner peace about his heritage. But what he had done that morning was screaming the fact that he still had miles to go in his quest.
Even more disturbing, he mentally raged on, was the negative impression he’d made on Carolyn. He’d slam-dunked that lovely woman in an area of her life that was obviously of great importance to her. He’d infuriated her and very possibly hurt her, as well.
No wonder she’d refused to go to lunch with him. He was lucky that she hadn’t popped him in the chops.
Ryan set the book on the table next to him, got to his feet and began to pace restlessly around the large room, now and then dragging one hand through his hair.
He couldn’t just erase from his mind what had happened and go about his business. He had to make amends to Carolyn, not only to ease his conscience but because…well, because he was attracted to Carolyn and hoped the lack of a ring on her finger meant she was single and not involved with anyone.
Carolyn St. John, Ryan thought, continuing his trek, was a very intriguing woman. Her slender, small-boned stature gave the initial impression that this was a woman who needed protecting from harm’s way, should be taken care of, because she was…delicate.
But, oh, man, there was far more to Carolyn than the first glimpse would indicate. There was a depth to her, layers that beckoned to be discovered, one by one.
She was passionate, there was no other word for it—about her career, about the families she formed by uniting orphans from overseas with people who had empty arms and were aching to have a child to love and cherish.
She had a temper…oh, brother, did she ever…when an emotional button of importance to her was pushed by an idiot like himself who dared do such a stupid thing.
She was stubborn. He’d done everything he could think of at the time to set things right, mend fences, make amends for his crummy behavior, but she wasn’t having any of it, no way. She’d lifted that pert little chin of hers, nailed him in place with those expressive, dynamite blue eyes of hers and refused to go to lunch with him. She had said no in such a way that he’d known he had better hit the road while he still could.
“Oh, yeah, she’s really something,” Ryan said, slouching back onto his chair. “But, Carolyn, my sweet? I may have lost that battle, but this war isn’t over yet. Not by a long shot.”
With a weary sigh Carolyn entered her bedroom, eager to slip into bed and end this day that had seemed to be a week long.
That darn Ryan Sharpe, she thought, as she removed her dress, had taken up residency in her brain. Why was she wasting mental energy on a man she didn’t even like? He was rude and opinionated. He’d dumped emotional baggage on her about his heritage and practically condemned what she was devoted to, heart and soul and mind.
Clad in her slip, Carolyn crossed the room, plunked her elbows on the top of the dresser and scrutinized her reflection in the mirror with a critical eye.
What, she wondered, had Ryan Sharpe seen as a man looking at a woman for the first time? Well, she’d been told over the years that she was pretty, and she was, she supposed. Not gorgeous, nor stunning, and definitely not voluptuous, just sort of wholesome, picture-on-a-box-of-corn-flakes pretty.
Ryan was the type of man who could have his pick of gorgeous, stunning and voluptuous women. He no doubt drew women like bees to honey.
A chill swept through Carolyn as Ryan’s scathing words echoed in her mind.
“Stop it,” Carolyn said aloud, realizing she was close to tears. She wrapped her hands around her elbows and drew a steadying breath. “Oh, yes, Ryan Sharpe, I know all about being different, not fitting in. Being different, different, different.”
With a wobbly sigh that held the echo of tears, and with hands that trembled slightly, Carolyn reached up and removed her double hearing aids.
Three days later in the middle of the morning, Carolyn rolled her eyes heavenward and frowned as a young woman entered Carolyn’s office carrying a bouquet of flowers in a pearly blue vase.
“Oh, no, Janice,” Carolyn said, leaning back in her chair and covering her eyes. “Not again.”
“Peekaboo, these are for you,” Janice said merrily. “Again. This is the third bouquet in as many days, Carolyn. Everyone in the office is just buzzing with curiosity as to who your new suitor is.” She set the vase on Carolyn’s desk. “Whisper his name to me. I swear I won’t tell more than ten people who he is.”
Carolyn laughed. “Oh, really? That’s an offer I can barely refuse, but I’ll force myself to pass.”
“Well, darn it,” Janice said, then removed the small white envelope from the plastic holder and waved it in the air. “How much is this worth to you without my peeking first?”
“Your life.” Carolyn extended one hand and wiggled her fingers. “Give.”
“Shoot,” Janice said, then dropped the envelope into Carolyn’s palm. “The romance of the century is taking place here and we only know the identity of one half of the dewy-eyed couple. You.”
“I am not half of a dewy-eyed couple, for Pete’s sake. Goodbye.”
As soon as Janice left, Carolyn dropped the envelope onto the top of her desk and stared at it as she toyed with the idea of just tearing it in two and throwing it in the trash. She knew exactly what would be written on the card, as it would no doubt be the same words as the previous two cards that had arrived with the gorgeous flowers.
Carolyn, she mentally recited, I’m sorry. Please forgive me and agree to have lunch with me. Ryan.
“Oh, he’s driving me over the edge,” Carolyn said, snatching up the envelope and taking out the card. “Yep, there it is. ‘Carolyn, I’m sorry. Please forgive me and agree to have lunch with me. Ryan.’ Well, I’ve had enough of this, thank you very much.”
She removed the telephone book from the bottom drawer of her desk, plunked it on the desk and began to flip through the pages with more force than was necessary. When she found the number she wanted, she punched them on the telephone and heard the ringing on the other end of the line.
“MacAllister Architects,” a woman said cheerfully. “May I help you?”
“Ryan Sharpe, please,” Carolyn said, drumming the fingers of one hand on the top of the desk.
“One moment, please, and I’ll connect you.”
“A thousand one, a thousand two,” Carolyn muttered, “a thousand—”
“Ryan Sharpe.”
Oh, my, Carolyn thought. She didn’t remember Ryan’s voice being quite that deep, quite that rumbly, quite that…male and…
“Hello?”
“Yes,” Carolyn said, much too loudly. “I mean, Ryan? This is Carolyn St. John. You have got to stop sending flowers to me. I mean, they’re really lovely and it smells heavenly in here, but my office is starting to look like a garden or a funeral parlor.
“Not only that but the staff is having a field day trying to figure out who my romantic— That is, who is sending them and… It’s very disruptive to our routine. So just stop it.”
“Okay,” Ryan said.
Carolyn frowned. “That’s it? Okay? No pleading your case? Nothing?”
“Nope. I’ll stop sending the flowers as soon as you agree to have lunch with me.”
“That’s blackmail, Ryan Sharpe,” Carolyn said, smacking the desktop with the palm of her hand.
“Whatever works. Lunch? Today? I’ll come by your office and pick you up.”
“Don’t you dare,” Carolyn said, stiffening in her chair. “Everyone here will go bonkers if they can put a face with the flowers. No, no, no.”
“Then I’ll meet you wherever you say. Noon.” Ryan paused. “There’s a deli around the corner from your building that makes great subs, if you’re open to suggestions.”
No, not that deli, Carolyn thought. She’d gone there once, and the popular restaurant was so crowded and noisy that her hearing aids had shrilled painfully in her ears.
Oh, drat, she didn’t want to have lunch with Ryan. She didn’t want to even see the man again. The continuous stream of beautiful flowers had caused him to take front row center in her mind and follow her into her dreams at night. He was driving her crazy.
Well, there was only one way to end his ridiculous performance. Suffer through one lunch with him and that would be that. Fine. No, it wasn’t, but what choice did she have?
“Carolyn?”
“Yes, all right,” she said, sighing. “But not the deli. There’s a small restaurant that’s fashioned after an English pub in the next block. I can’t remember the name of it but…”
“I know the place. Nice choice. It’s very cozy, rather…intimate, shall we say. I’ll see you there at noon sharp.’ Bye.”
“Goodbye,” Carolyn said, then her shoulders slumped with defeat as she replaced the receiver.
At exactly one minute before noon, Carolyn stood outside the intricately carved wooden door of the quaint little restaurant, and mentally pleaded with the butterflies to stop their frenzied flight in her stomach.
She wished she’d worn something more flattering today, she thought suddenly. Her gray suit with the pink blouse was very professional, she supposed, but she’d had it for several years, and the cut of the jacket was out of style and borderline frumpy.
Oh, for Pete’s sake, what difference did it make? This wasn’t a lunch date where she was attempting to impress. She’d been blackmailed into this meeting, a fact she was still angry about.
