by Rhonda Shaw
“You need to make time.”
“Stop and smell the roses, huh?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”
They walked through the lobby and out onto the street, where he took her lightly by the elbow and led her to a taxi waiting for them.
“I paid him to wait,” Matt said when she raised her brows in surprise.
They climbed into the backseat and Shannon tried not to notice how close Matt sat next to her. His woodsy cologne tickled her senses, which made her want to bury her nose against his neck, so instead she turned away to watch out the back window.
“May I ask where we are going?”
“Sullivan’s. I hope you like steak?” he asked, suddenly looking concerned. “I guess I shouldn’t have assumed you ate meat…”
“Oh, it’s fine. Totally love a good steak.” She gave him a reassuring smile, which turned timid when she caught him studying her.
Matt cleared this throat before leaning away a bit. “So, tough day at the office?”
“Long…like always,” she said and they were silent until the cab pulled up to the restaurant.
Shannon waited as Matt paid before following him into the building. He walked over to the host and informed him that he had a reservation, a sign he was a good planner. Which made sense since, as the catcher, he was acting manager on the field. He had to keep the game going, calling plays fed to him from the dugout, and collaborating with the pitcher to work through each hitter strategically and in an organized fashion. He had to have structure and order, which most likely spilled over into his personal life. She appreciated a good sense of organization.
The host walked them to a small corner table not far from the bar where live entertainment was setting up. Shannon started to shrug off her jacket and jerked a little in alarm when Matt’s hands landed on her shoulder.
“Your coat?” he said with a hint of a smile.
“Oh, sorry,” she said with an embarrassed laugh, still not used to a man acting chivalrous.
Matt walked over to the coat check while Shannon sat down at their table and opened her menu. When he returned, his blue eyes were intent on her. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, this is perfect. Thank you.”
A waiter appeared to take their drink order and Shannon ordered a Blueberry Lemon Drop Martini while Matt asked for a Whiskey Sour.
Matt sat back in his chair and raised one brow after the waiter left. “A Blueberry Lemon Drop? That sounds nasty.”
Shannon gave a small shrug with a crooked smile. “I think they’re pretty tasty, as a matter of fact.”
“I’ll have to take you word on that.” He paused when their server arrived with their drinks. After they put in their orders, Matt leaned in and gave her his perfect smile, making her heart skip a beat. “You look very nice tonight.”
She paused for a second thinking perhaps she’d misunderstood the hint of flirtation in his voice, but she spotted the gleam in his eye. She cleared her throat, unsure how to process this new information. Friends who flirt?
“Uh, thank you.” She tucked some hair behind her ear with her fingers.
Shannon studied her glass, trying to hide her discomfort since she was having a hard time reading the situation. She had no idea what to do, what to think. She’d totally expected the evening to be on a friends-only level and now he was switching everything up. Did she want him to flirt with her? Hell, yes. Did she want to flirt back with him? That…that she didn’t know, afraid of where things might lead.
“So what have you been doing since the wedding?” Matt asked her as he raised his glass to take drink.
Shannon cleared her throat. She could do this…whatever this was.
“Working. That’s pretty much all I do.”
“Come on, there’s got to be something else you do? You don’t do anything outside of work?”
“Nope. As I told you before, this is the sad reality of my life. Get up, go to work, come home, go to bed. Repeat.”
Hearing herself made her realize how boring and pathetic her life was. It also didn’t help she was having a difficult time ignoring the stirrings of uncertainties about whether she was giving up too much after learning her father was telling others she wasn’t interested in settling down and having a family.
Matt scowled. “That doesn’t sound exciting. You should go out and have some fun. Go to a bar. You’d have a ton of guys hitting on you.”
She laughed before she could stop herself. Surprise filled his expression and she held up her hand. “Sorry, it’s funny to hear that. I don’t ever have a ‘ton of guys’ hitting on me, even when I did go out.”
“What?” he asked, sounding genuinely shocked. “Why wouldn’t you? They’re idiots then.”
Shannon shrugged. “My guess is because I’m almost as tall as a lot of them. Most guys don’t like tall women.”
Matt shook his head as he sat toward her again. “Your height really bothers you, doesn’t it? I didn’t think anything of it when you mentioned it at the wedding, but I can tell it is a thing with you.”
She gave an awkward lift of one shoulder and averted her eyes down, uncomfortable under his steady gaze.
“Shannon,” he said and waited until her head lifted. “You are incredibly sexy. You’re probably just intimidating to most of them. Most guys would dream about having your long legs wrapped around them.”
Shannon choked on the sip she’d taken and gaped at him in astonishment. He, however, sat back in contemplation, making her wonder if he was envisioning her legs around him right then. Heat flooded her cheeks and she was probably as red as a lobster.
She finally laughed. “Is that your idea of a come-on line?”
He grinned as he shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t be my come-on line, if I needed one.”
“If you needed one? That sounds pretty self-assured.” Shannon crossed her arms as she studied him. “Oh, I get it. You don’t need one because the whole Chris Evans thing does the work for you.”
Matt laughed out loud, a full, low, rumble, making her tremble at its masculinity. “Oh, man. That’s funny.” He caught her eye and started chuckling again. “Okay, you got me. I have to admit, it doesn’t hurt. But,” he continued on when she started to jump in, “I have to say, I really don’t understand it. I don’t look anything like the guy.”
“Come on! You don’t look like him? Yes, you do.”
“I’m way bigger than that guy!”
Shannon rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say you were identical twins or anything, but you do resemble him. And yes, you are bigger than him.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” he asked with a crooked smile.
“I’m sorry?”
“We were discussing how you being tall is not a bad thing, and so I’m wondering if the same applies to me.”
Shannon laughed as she shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was actually sitting here, flirting with Matt. How the world had changed overnight. She wasn’t sure, however, if it was for better or worse. She eyed his broad shoulders and chest, which displayed strength and solidness even under his black sweater, and recalled all that muscle flush against her. The hand holding his glass had a wide palm and long, thick fingers, and she shivered, remembering the hot path they’d trailed over her skin. She crossed her legs under the table and squeezed, trying to relieve the pressure building at the memory of his demanding mouth on hers.
“It’s a good thing,” she finally said with a sly smile.
Matt gave her a big grin and played with the tines on his fork before clearing his throat. “Good, because I was wondering—”
“Shannon?”
Her head shot up at the interruption and she instantly wanted to disappear when she spotted her father’s friend, otherwise known as her boss, heading over to their table.
“Mr. Barnes, hi,” she said with a bright smile as she stood, almost tripping over the tablecloth in her haste. “What a nice surprise.”
&n
bsp; “It is a nice surprise,” he said to her with one white brow raised. “I’m surprised to find you out of the office with all the work going on with the Watkins case.”
Shannon tried to ignore the implication behind his statement. His opinion clearly being she should be working, not out on what most likely looked like a date. “Oh, yes. Well, I plan on picking it right back up tomorrow morning, if not later tonight,” she added to appease him. She pointed toward Matt as he stood towering over her boss, but Mr. Barnes wasn’t easily intimidated. “A friend of mine came in from out of town, and so I wanted to spend some time with him before he left. Can I introduce to you Matt Buck? Matt, this is Marcus Barnes. He’s one of the founding partners at Bickles, Bickles and Barnes.”
Matt held out his large hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Her boss took Matt’s hand in a firm shake and narrowed his eyes as he studied him. “You look awfully familiar, Mr. Buck. Do I know you?”
Matt gave a small shrug. “I don’t know. You a baseball fan?”
“Season tickets to the Gales for the past twenty years.”
“Matt’s the catcher for the Detroit Rockets,” Shannon quickly provided, hoping to help Mr. Barnes forget his earlier irritation at her for not being at work, billing hours for the firm.
“Yes,” Mr. Barnes said, his shrewd eyes still focused on Matt. “That’s exactly where I know you from. Well, it’s nice to meet you, son.” He shook Matt’s hand again with more enthusiasm and a friendly pat on the back. He glanced at Shannon. “I guess it makes sense, given your sister married Jerry Smutton.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, I’ll let you two return to dinner so Shannon can get back to work,” he said with a chuckle, but Shannon read between the lines clear enough. “Mr. Buck, I’m afraid the Gales are going to beat the Rockets in the standings this coming season.”
Matt gave him a friendly but tight smile. “Oh, well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we? I have some intel that says the Rockets are going to be a force to reckon with this season.”
Both men laughed as her boss gave a slight wave and walked away.
Shannon let out a breath and sank down in her chair, guilt washing over her. She deserved to eat dinner out occasionally, didn’t she? But Mr. Barnes was right. It was an important case for the firm, and as soon as she got home, she’d get back to reviewing the depositions.
“Wow,” Matt said. “He runs a tight ship, huh? Can’t even eat dinner?”
“It’s a big case, that’s all,” Shannon said, trying not to sound defensive.
“Shannon, big case or not, you deserve a life and some you time. He shouldn’t make you feel guilty for that.”
“I’m not guilt—”
“Don’t bother denying it. It’s clear as day on your face, and even now I can tell you’re thinking about what he said, planning what you’ll work on once you get home tonight.”
They paused when the waiter returned to their table with their dinner. Shannon didn’t like how Matt had been able to read her so easily, but she couldn’t deny that what he’d said was true.
“Okay, fine,” she said once the server had departed. “I do feel guilty because it is a big case. I can’t mess it up for the team. I need to hold up my end of things.”
“You won’t mess anything up. You can’t do everything, be on all the time, or else you’ll burn out. You need to enjoy life, not spend it sitting at your desk, drowning in work. Trust me, a lot gets missed that way.”
“True, but couldn’t you be considered to be in the same boat?” Shannon asked him, turning the tables.
“What do you mean? I do other things outside of baseball.”
“No, what I mean is essentially you were stating I shouldn’t be so career-driven, and I’m saying couldn’t the same be said for you?”
Matt frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Okay, let’s say you get married and start a family. Your kid is in some big competition or something and it’s in May. You’re on the road, you have your own games, and so what do you do? Aren’t you putting your job ahead of everything else?”
“It’s different,” he insisted.
“How so?” she questioned, not backing down.
“I don’t have a choice.”
Her eyebrows raised. “And I do? How is it that you don’t have a choice, but I do? Don’t you dare pull out the gender card,” she warned, reacting to the look on his face that suggested he was going down that road. “This is part of the requirements for my job, just like it’s a requirement for you to travel.”
“Okay, okay.” Matt held up his hands in a sign of peace. “I think we’re getting into a touchy area here and I wasn’t going to pull out the gender card, for your information.” He narrowed his eyes, letting her know she’d insulted him. “I see your point. Yes, I guess it is the same.”
“Let’s face it, no matter how you look at it, it’s tough for anyone to have demanding careers. This is exactly why work is all I have in my life right now. I don’t want to be put in a predicament of making others unhappy or forcing difficult choices which only leads to arguments and hard feelings.”
Shannon was unable to interpret the expression on Matt’s face. It was almost frustration, but she had no idea why he should be disappointed. He sat back in his chair, calmly taking a drink, as his eyes wandered the restaurant before finally landing on her.
“You’re right. That’s the last thing you’d want to do. You had to make a choice and you did. End of story.”
He picked up his silverware and returned his attention to his meal, successfully concluding their conversation. Heavy silence fell across the table, leaving Shannon unsure how to liven it up. She didn’t understand why things had quickly taken a downturn. What would he care about the decisions she’d made? They had no impact on him.
They finished their dinners, never regaining the friendly banter between them before her boss had ruined the mood. When they did pick up other safe topics of conversation, there was a discernable difference in Matt’s behavior toward her. He was back acting like the friend from out of town, rather than the guy telling her he wanted her legs wrapped around him, and she was back to wondering exactly what was going on in his head.
As she lay in bed later that night, she couldn’t deny the euphoria that had flowed through her when Matt had begun flirting with her. And even though getting involved with anyone was out of the question, she wanted him to want her, she wanted him to pursue her, and she wanted to let it all happen. She couldn’t ignore the rock of disappointment in her stomach when the night had ended on such a sour note and things had moved back into the boring neutral zone.
She rolled over onto her side and let out an irritated huff. It was just like her. Interested in someone she damn well shouldn’t be nor had time for. Her career was number one and she’d even told him as much. If that wasn’t a mood killer, then she didn’t know what was.
Chapter 8
A week later, hurrying out of her office, Shannon flipped the light switch off and struggled with the sleeves of her jacket when she attempted to thread her arm through while juggling her brief case and purse at the same time, but only succeeded in being tangled. Par the course, she was running late to meet Matt. She’d planned to arrive before him in order to freshen up in the restroom, but that wasn’t going to happen. Who was she kidding? Work always put her behind. She prayed she hadn’t kept him waiting too long since her last conference call of the day had run longer than anticipated thanks to a long-winded in-house attorney for her client.
Megan glanced up from shutting down her computer as Shannon breezed by. “Meeting Mr. Hunk?” she asked with a knowing smile.
Shannon smiled back, but kept moving. “That’s the plan, but running late.”
“You always are,” Megan said good-naturedly. “Have a good time.”
Shoving at the down button for the elevator while she continued to try to untangle herself, relief pulsed through her when the d
oors opened shortly afterward, thankful she didn’t have to wait long. She jumped in, ignoring the curious stares by the few occupants wondering at her haste. Urging on the descent, she studied the numbers over the door as they slowly flashed down one-by-painstakingly-one.
Once on the ground floor, she rushed through the lobby and pushed her way outside. The harsh cold hit her, causing her to wince, but she put her head down against the blustery wind as she pounded down the sidewalk, forcing her narrow heels to carry her faster than they normally allowed, and making her thankful for the absence of snow and ice.
When her eyes watered and her skin started to tingle from the brisk air, she found herself questioning why she continued to meet him each time he asked, especially considering the amount effort required by her to do so. Something as simple as a dinner entailed rearranging her schedule, not an easy feat, and certainly a frustrating one. After their first meeting, she hadn’t expected to hear from him again, with the way the evening had ended, but sure enough, a day later, he called to set something up. Nothing had changed, however. He was still distanced, but friendly…always friendly. The situation was odd, to say the least, including her inability to say no.
Each time she rushed out to meet him put her further behind at work, but she couldn’t seem to stop despite the not-so-quiet grumblings of her coworkers. Sooner rather than later, she’d be sitting down with Carol, their team lead, for a “chat” about being a team player, and each person needing to pull his or her weight. In addition, a not-so-subtle reminder of the minimal billable hours requirement to be met, if not exceeded, by each associate by the end of the year, as if she could forget.
Shannon was getting her work done, but she did more outside of the office—especially recently—rather than in. Whenever Matt called, she couldn’t find it within herself to politely decline, holding out hope he would start flirting with her again, even though there was no chance of them going anywhere, which was all sorts of backward. She couldn’t get involved with him. End of story. She was her own worst enemy, constantly setting herself up for a letdown each moment she spent with him. Her high stress level clearly served to prove her point.