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“You like me. You’re certainly comfortable with me. You seem to enjoy spending time with me.”
“Well, yes, but—”
“So what’s the problem? You attend a few things with me. I’ll go to your gigs. It’ll take a lot of pressure off both of us.”
He was on a roll now, a mode she’d seen him in many times. He’d had what he considered a brilliant idea and he was running with it. True, his “aha” moments had served him well in the past, earning him a reputation as a business genius. But he’d really gone off the rails this time.
“May I speak now?”
He grimaced. “Oh. Sorry. Go ahead.”
“As I was trying to say, I understand what prompted your suggestion and it makes sense in some ways. But,” she said quickly when he started to speak again, “I don’t think you’ve considered all the ramifications. Showing up together for professional gatherings wouldn’t raise eyebrows because we’re usually together in that capacity. But in social functions, with families and friends... Everyone’s going to wonder if there’s something going on between us other than the construction business.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?”
Maybe he’d misunderstood what she was trying to say. “To have people speculating about us? It’s not that I care so much about gossip, personally—well, not too much—but I’m not sure how good it would be for the company.”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about the gossip. I meant the part about our relationship being more than a professional one.”
She stared at him across the table, trying to read his face. Was he joking? It wasn’t his usual style of humor, but surely he wasn’t suggesting that they should start...dating?
“Okay, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself,” he said quickly, probably in response to her stunned expression. “But think about it, Tess. We make a hell of a team. Everyone says so. How many times have we been teased about being so in sync that we’re accused of communicating telepathically?”
She could hardly count the number of times during meetings when she and Scott had exchanged thoughts with little more than a glance and a nod, to the bemusement of their associates. “Well, sure, but—”
“We both love children,” he reminded her. “We want families of our own. We share many of the same values. I always respected the way you took care of your parents, even though it meant a great deal of sacrifice for yourself. That’s the same kind of family loyalty my own parents instilled in me and my brothers.”
Children? He was talking about kids now? “I’ve, um, always admired how close you are with your family. But—”
“I’m pretty sure we’ve both tried all the conventional dating methods. We’ve had relationships we hoped would lead somewhere, only to end up single again. It occurred to me that maybe we’ve both been going about the process all wrong, ignoring the obvious solution right in front of us. We’ve been successful partners for more than six years, longer than any other relationship I’ve ever had.”
She bit her lip. He was doing it again. Enthusiastically barreling along without giving her much chance to respond. She knew how to break in, how to get his attention and make her point. Even if he didn’t agree, he always listened and respected her opinion—but she didn’t for the life of her know what she’d say if she stopped him just then. She was literally struck speechless.
After a moment, Scott grimaced and made a little sound that seemed self-chiding. “You’re completely gobsmacked by all this, aren’t you?”
“That’s one way to phrase it,” she managed to say fairly steadily, though her pulse rate was still fluttering like crazy.
He reached across the table to lay his hand over hers. “Sorry, Tess. You know how I get when I’m inspired by an idea.”
She knew exactly how he got. Which was why she was suddenly so nervous.
He squeezed her fingers. “It’s just something to think about. You have to admit it makes sense, but I won’t take offense if you decide you don’t want to try it. Nothing will change between us, if that’s what you prefer.”
Her attention was drawn to their joined hands. His was strong, tanned and very warm. She’d always admired his hands, secretly studying them as his capable fingers had flown over the keyboard or tablet screen. Her own felt suddenly small and soft beneath his, feminine to his masculine. She found herself mesmerized by the contrasts, the sensations, the intimacy of that contact.
What on earth was wrong with her? Though that medicine-fueled embrace had been a definite glitch, it wasn’t as if Scott never touched her. He was in the habit of patting her shoulder when he was particularly pleased with her or high-fiving her when a job was completed satisfactorily. But now, with just this casual hand-holding, she was suddenly transported back to inarticulate appreciation of just what an attractive and compelling man he was. The thought had always been present at the back of her mind, but she’d kept it firmly locked behind professional boundaries she had never expected to cross.
Maybe they had both lost their minds.
“Why don’t you think about it for a couple of days?” Scott suggested after another moment of silence. “We could start slow, attend a party or two together, see how it feels. We’d figure out what to say to anyone who questions us. Whatever happens, nothing has to change at work. This would be a totally separate experiment.”
Experiment. The word cut through the daze that had temporarily engulfed her. She drew her hand from beneath his and picked up her soda again, holding the cool glass in a firm grip to control a slight tremor. “I’ll think about it,” she said evenly, “but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to mix business with personal pursuits. From my observances, it’s rarely successful.”
“Maybe for people like us it’s exactly the right way to go about this. Thoughtfully, practically, logically. As adults who share common goals and common interests, not starry-eyed kids too caught up in fantasy to give serious consideration to the future.”
People like us. This could be the least romantic discussion of dating and potential marriage she’d ever had, she thought, frowning down at the now unappetizing food that remained on her plate. Not that she’d ever expected romance from her prosaic employer. Okay, maybe she’d let herself daydream a time or two, especially in those early years, but she’d long since convinced herself she was completely happy with her comfortable friendship with Scott. Now he was suggesting changing the parameters of their relationship, carrying the success of their business collaboration into a personal partnership. And while she was utterly—well, gobsmacked by the proposition, she had to admit that a part of her recognized the unassailable logic of his idea.
She’d tried romance. She’d crashed and burned. Scott had been engaged. It hadn’t ended well. So maybe he was right that a union based on common goals and interests was much more fitting for, as he’d said, people like them.
He gave her one of the quick, crooked smiles that almost always made her melt inside, even when she’d been annoyed with him. “Or you could always go to your parties with boring, no-chemistry Glenn.”
She pointed a finger at him. “It’s not wise to tease me about something you overheard while eavesdropping on a private conversation.”
He held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “You’re right and I apologize. But will you think about what I suggested?’
“I’ll think about it,” she agreed after a moment.
Looking satisfied that she hadn’t shot down the idea out of hand, he nodded and pushed away his plate. “Great. Just let me know what you decide.”
As far as he was concerned, apparently, the new business at this impromptu meeting was concluded.
She had no doubt that if she presented good reasons why she thought it best to decline, he would accept her answer graciously and they would go on with their professional lives exactly as they had before. But maybe she needed to give his suggestion a bit more thought before she reached that conclusion.
Declining dessert, she gave the excuse that she had things to do that evening. The silence wasn’t quite as comfortable during the short drive back to the office in Scott’s car. She suspected that was why he turned on the radio to a station already playing nonstop holiday music.
“I left my tablet inside,” she said after he parked next to her car. “I’ll just run in and get it.”
“I need to collect a few things, too. I’ll walk you in.”
She’d left the Christmas lights on when they’d gone out, so they were greeted by the cheery glow of the tiny white bulbs on the tree and garlands, an unnecessary reminder of the upcoming festivities. She glanced at Scott. It was all too easy to imagine herself walking into her cousin’s party with him at her side. Her sister, especially, would be stunned to see Tess with her handsome, socially prominent boss.
Was that really a good enough reason to risk upsetting the solid working relationship they’d built between them during the past six years?
Needing a distraction, she glanced around the reception area and noticed a strand of garland had slipped from the light fixture behind the desk. She rose on tiptoes to fix it, but Scott stepped up to help her, reaching over her head to secure the end into the cluster of greenery and glitter.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling automatically up at him.
Her smile faded when their gazes met and she realized just how close he stood to her. So close she could almost feel the warmth and energy radiating from him. So close she could see the sudden heat reflected in his dark blue eyes. It was a look she’d never seen there before during all the times they’d been alone in the office together, all the late nights and long weekends and holidays when they’d given up personal time to work toward the mutual goal of making the business successful and profitable.
He took a half step nearer, so that they were almost but not quite touching. His voice sounded deeper than usual when he said, “We’ve agreed that come Monday this conversation never happened, if that’s the way you want to play it. With that caveat in mind, there’s one more experiment I think we should try to help you make up your mind.”
That was the only warning of his intention as he dipped his head down to hers. He stopped with his lips only a whisper away from hers. “Say the word and I’ll back away now,” he murmured, his warm breath brushing her skin. “Or we can satisfy our curiosity and give you just a little more to think about while you make your decision about my proposition.”
She couldn’t even argue about that “our curiosity” comment. He’d know she was fibbing if she denied that she’d ever wondered what it might be like to kiss him—a real kiss, this time, not an accidental brush of lips.
“This never happened?” she asked in a husky whisper, letting her hands rest against his broad chest.
His lips curved into a smile. “Totally your call.”
The temptation was too great. A chance to find out what it would be like to share a kiss with Scott without worrying about the consequences? Maybe it wouldn’t be quite as easy as he made it sound, but for once in her safe, responsible life, she gave in to a reckless impulse. It took only a shift of her weight to bring their lips together.
Chapter Three (#ulink_26465451-28f7-5203-81b2-9f65d2f82f87)
Maybe Scott had intended for it to be a quick meeting of lips, merely a sample taste of what could be—but it turned quickly into a kiss that made her knees go weak. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her more firmly into his embrace. Gripping his shirt, Tess tilted her head to provide better access for both of them, her lips parting and softening beneath his. Heat coursed between them, surging through her veins to sizzle in her pounding heart. She felt her toes curl in her shoes, the kiss affecting her literally from head to heel.
Her pulse raced frantically by the time they broke apart. For a moment Scott looked as disoriented as she felt, blinking as if to bring their surroundings into focus. It seemed that he, too, had been surprised by just how good the kiss had been.
Maybe they shouldn’t have conducted that particular experiment here at the office, she thought with belated qualms. She might never again stand in this particular spot without remembering how it felt to be held against that hard, strong body, their mouths fused, their hearts pounding together.
Maybe once all the Christmas decorations were put away, once the place looked normal and completely businesslike again, it would be easier to wave this off as a holiday anomaly.
Maybe.
Scott tugged at the unbuttoned collar of his shirt as if to loosen it, then glanced up at the garland they’d just straightened. With a slightly lopsided smile, he asked, “Did you tuck a sprig of mistletoe into that thing, by any chance?”
Clearing her throat, she tried to speak in the same light tone he’d used. “No mistletoe. Just a little fake balsam and holly.”
“The whole place looks great. You did a nice job decorating.” He scooted backward as he spoke, looking around the office as if suddenly fascinated by the holiday touches. Did he regret the kiss, or was he giving them both time to mentally process what had just happened between them? She couldn’t tell from his profile, and he wasn’t meeting her eyes.
She pushed back her hair and took a steadying breath. “I’d better go now. I have some things to do at home.”
After a moment, he turned to face her, his expression still inscrutable. “We’re okay?”
“We’re okay,” she assured him, touched by the hint of anxiety she thought she detected in his voice, though it didn’t show on his face.
“And you’ll think about the things I said?”
“Of course I will.” As if she’d have any other choice.
“You have to admit, we make a hell of a team, Tess. We always have.”
She couldn’t argue with that. There’d been a connection between them from that very first day. But was their professional bond strong enough to sustain a more personal relationship?
Making a hasty escape from the office that was as much her home as her own apartment, she decided to call an emergency meeting of her two best friends. She very much needed Stevie and Jenny to let her know if she was insane. Because she was suddenly thinking that maybe Scott’s surprising proposition wasn’t completely crazy.
* * *
“Wow.”
Tess nodded ruefully in response to her friend Stevie’s succinct response to being told about Scott’s out-of-the-blue proposition. “I know. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it myself.”
Sitting in the living room of Tess’s place Sunday afternoon with cups of tea in hand, her friends Stevie McLane and Jenny Baer Locke stared at her with almost identical thunderstruck expressions. Tess figured her own face must have looked much like that when Scott had sprung his suggestion on her that they should try dating. Especially when he’d made it clear that he was looking beyond merely attending events together to potentially building a future as a couple.
“He really hinted you could have children together?” Jenny asked, her dark eyes wide.
“Indirectly. At least, I think he did.” Tess held up her free hand in a gesture of bewilderment. “The whole conversation was a little hard to follow.”
“What did you say?” Stevie demanded with avid curiosity.
“I told him I’d think about it.”
“Wow.” This time it was Jenny who expressed the sentiment. “You must have been stunned.”
“That’s an understatement.” Gobsmacked still seemed a more accurate description.
Stevie set down her teacup to study Tess intently. “This could make things awkward, to say the least, when you report to work on Monday.”
“Scott assured me there would be no awkwardness. He said when we’re at work, we can pretend the conversation never took place.”
“Can you do that?” Stevie sounded skeptical. “Really?”
After only a momentary hesitation, Tess nodded. “I think so. Scott and I have never had trouble being completely professional on the job, no matter what was going on in our personal lives. We just focus on business.”
Which didn’t mean there wouldn’t be complicated emotions swirling inside her next time she was with her employer, she acknowledged privately. She only hoped she would do as good a job of hiding them as she had in the past.
Stevie shook her head, making her blond curls bob around her pretty face. “I have to admit I wasn’t expecting to hear this when you invited us here this afternoon. I thought you’d tell us about the latest aggravating thing your sister did to you. Hey, you don’t suppose she somehow put Scott up to this, do you? She is determined to marry you off after all.”
With a wry smile, Tess said confidently, “No, Nina wasn’t involved. This was totally one of Scott’s brain flashes. Apparently, something he overheard me say to you triggered it.”
Jenny nodded thoughtfully. “That sort of makes sense. You said you were complaining about your bad experiences with online dating and wishing you had a companion for some upcoming events. If he’s been thinking along the same lines lately for himself, I can see how he might make this leap.”
Successful business owner Jenny always looked at all the angles. Until six months ago, Tess had thought Jenny the most practical of all her friends. It had turned out, however, that Jenny had a romantic and slightly reckless side she’d been suppressing for quite a long time, a side that had emerged when she’d been reunited unexpectedly with her college boyfriend after a decade apart. Jenny had been considering an offer of marriage from a wealthy, socially connected attorney most people had considered a perfect match for her. Yet only a couple weeks after a chance reunion with Gavin Locke, she’d surprised everyone by breaking off her relationship with Thad. Barely two months later, she’d married her police officer first love in a sweet, simple little ceremony that had been a far cry from the lavish, very public wedding she would surely have had with Thad.
Stevie swiveled in her seat to frown at Jenny. Both daughters of single mothers, Stevie and Jenny had become friends in high school. They’d attended the same college and had remained close since. Tess had met them two years ago in a yoga class, and she’d fit right in with them, so that they were now a tight trio. Each brought her own strengths to the alliance. Jenny was the friend who offered shrewd advice and blunt candor. Stevie was the embodiment of generosity and thoughtfulness, the one who’d do anything for a pal—to her own detriment, at times. As for Tess... Well, she’d been told she was the encourager, the one who always supported and bolstered the confidence of her friends. She could use a little of that encouragement herself as she faced this potentially life-changing decision.
“Surely you of all people aren’t suggesting Tess should actually consider marrying His Highness?” Stevie demanded of Jenny, employing the nickname she often used when referring to Scott. Tess was actually surprised Stevie seemed so perturbed. Perpetually upbeat and positive, Stevie was an unapologetic romantic, and Tess would have thought her friend would be more intrigued than troubled by this development.
“I’m not saying she should start booking bands or ordering flowers,” Jenny shot back with a shake of her head. “Just that maybe it’s not such a crazy idea. I can understand why Scott thinks it’s worth examining more closely. Assuming he and Tess really are able to compartmentalize their work and personal lives so it wouldn’t affect their professional relationship, what could it hurt to go to a few parties together?”
“I don’t think anyone’s that good at compartmentalizing. I mean, seriously, could you work with Thad now after dumping him for Gavin? You don’t think that would be awkward?”
While Tess swallowed hard at the images Stevie’s question invoked, Jenny squirmed a bit in her chair. “I didn’t dump Thad,” she muttered, obviously uncomfortable with the blunt term. “When I told him Gavin and I had found each other again and realized we were still in love, Thad graciously bowed out.”
“Okay, that’s not dumping at all,” Stevie said, her tone fondly mocking.
Jenny sighed. “Still, point taken. I’ve crossed paths with Thad a couple times in the past six months and we’ve been perfectly civil, but I can’t deny it was awkward. I can’t imagine spending eight hours a day with him now that I’m happily married to Gavin.”
Jenny wasn’t just happily married, she was blissfully married, Tess thought with a touch of wistfulness. Jenny would always fret about the dangers in Gavin’s job, just as he occasionally became frustrated with the long hours her popular fashion boutiques required of her, but they were crazy in love.
“So even though you turned down a practical business-based marriage in favor of true love for yourself, you think this would be a good idea for Tess?” Stevie challenged.
Jenny tossed back her layered dark hair and lifted her chin in a familiar pose of obstinacy. “All I said was that maybe she should at least consider the possibility. And it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for Tess to examine her feelings for Scott. It’s not as if you and I haven’t wondered—”
Stevie cleared her throat loudly, but not before Tess figured out exactly where that statement had been headed. “The two of you have talked about my feelings for Scott?”
With a chiding look at Jenny, Stevie sighed. “Okay, maybe it’s crossed our minds that your total devotion to Scott isn’t entirely due to employee loyalty. But we both know you’d never overstep any professional lines,” she said hastily. “You’ve risen in the ranks of his company because you’re damned good at your job—irreplaceable, really—and everyone knows it. You’ve always insisted you had no romantic feelings for Scott, but I couldn’t help thinking sometimes you were denying those feelings even to yourself.
“It’s not like I’ve made a secret of my suspicions,” she added with a touch of defensiveness. “I’ve asked you several times if you’ve been so picky about the men you’ve dated lately because you’ve compared them to His Highness and they’ve all come up short. I just don’t want you to get hurt if it should turn out his feelings aren’t the same as yours.”
