“That’s good.”
“What about you?” she asked him.
For a quick second their gazes locked, and she was certain every hormone inside of her came alive when he said, “My sleep last night was amazing...and all because of you.”
He continued to look at her, and her body felt warm under his regard. She was tempted to ask for details, like how and why, but didn’t. She would just use her imagination.
At that moment, Bryce came up to their table with coffee, blueberry muffins and menus. Victoria noticed she was all smiles—more smiles than usual.
“Good morning,” Bryce said, pouring their coffee and placing the basket of muffins in the center of the table. “Are you guys ready to order?”
Victoria returned her smile. “Yes, and you’re in a happy mood.”
Bryce twirled around like she was doing a happy dance. “Yes,” she said excitedly. “We’ve done a Harry-and-Meghan.”
Victoria lifted an eyebrow, wondering what that meant. “What?”
Bryce laughed. “Kaegan and I are having a baby before our first anniversary and I am so happy.”
Victoria was out of her seat to give Bryce a hug. “I am so happy for you and Kaegan. When did you find out?”
“A couple of months ago, but Kaegan and I wanted me to be further along before we shared the news with everyone. We figured we weren’t getting any younger and there was no reason to wait since we both wanted children.”
“Well, I am happy for you,” Victoria said, smiling.
“Thanks.”
After Bryce had taken their order and left, Victoria smiled at Roman. “She’s happy.”
He laughed. “Yes, I think that’s obvious. Do you want children, Victoria?”
His question caught her off guard because he’d asked it like he wanted to know for a reason. “Uh-huh. Sure. What about you?”
“Yes. I want four, just like my parents.”
“My parents had five, but I want to stop at two,” she said. Then while it was on her mind, she said, “I’m getting off work early today, if you want to grab something to eat again before the fireworks to avoid the crowds. With Monday being a holiday, it will be a long weekend for me, and I can’t wait for it to get started.”
“Is there anywhere in particular you want to eat? Anything you have a taste for?”
Victoria fought back the urge to say “another one of your kisses would be great.” Instead, she said, “I picked the last place, so I’ll let you decide this time.”
“Okay.” Then he reached across the table and took her hand and asked, “About last night? Is there anything we need to discuss?”
She knew what he was referring to and shook her head. “No, there’s nothing we need to discuss. Unless...”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Unless what?”
She wouldn’t be so bold to say everything she wanted to say to him, but she would say this. “Unless you want to assure me that what we shared last night wasn’t the first and the last.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, and she felt her body practically convulse with sharp sexual energy when he said, “I can guarantee you, Victoria Madaris, that that kiss might have been our first, but it won’t be our last.”
She smiled, liking his answer.
* * *
“WE HAVE A new client.”
“That’s great, Mom,” Lyric said, taking the folder her mother handed her.
“And he’s a cutie if I say so myself,” Leigh Ann Evans added.
Lyric rolled her eyes. “I told you, Mom, I’m through with men. Especially the ‘cute’ ones. They can’t be trusted.”
Now it was Leigh Ann who rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Lyric, it’s not that you were all in to Westley, anyway. In fact, you told me that you planned to break things off with him.”
“Yes, but that’s beside the point. He should have waited until after I broke up with him before sleeping with Wendy. And she was my friend, for heaven’s sake.”
Leigh Ann frowned. “No, she wasn’t your friend. A true friend would not have slept with your boyfriend, even if she knew you were getting ready to kick him to the curb. They were both wrong.”
Lyric agreed with her mother. That’s why she had given Westley his walking papers, just like she’d planned to do, anyway. And as for Wendy, she had deleted her from her Facebook friends page and dropped her name from her phone’s contact list. Now that Wendy had taken a job somewhere in Canada, Lyric didn’t have to worry about her ever coming back to the gym.
With Westley it had been a different story. He’d still come into the gym on occasion, trying to get back into her good graces. He’d discovered she didn’t have any good graces where he was concerned and had finally stopped coming. She hadn’t seen him in a couple of months and she honestly hoped she never saw him again.
“We’ll discuss this some other time, Mom. I don’t want to keep our new client waiting,” she said, tucking the folder under her arm and heading toward the training room. First, she would give him a tour of the facility and then work out a schedule that was suitable for them both. Her mother mentioned the man only wanted Friday mornings and Saturday afternoons and that would work well for her.
She was just a few feet from the door when she paused to take a look at the folder. She went still when she saw the client’s name. Tanner Jamison. No, it couldn’t be the ass from a few days ago at that club that was being renovated. Hopefully it wasn’t the same man who thought he could charm his way into getting her to overlook those two violations.
Lyric drew in a deep breath. If it was the same man, then it had to be a coincidence that he was here. When she walked through that door, he would probably be just as surprised to see her. She was sure of it. She decided she would give him a tour and then assign him to another trainer. There was no way she could work with him, a man who made it very obvious he thought he was God’s gift to women and was used to them falling at his feet.
He’d discover the hard way that she didn’t play that kind of game. She knew she had done more than stump him—she’d read it in his eyes and seen it on his face. She had bruised his oversize ego. Too bad.
Squaring her shoulders, she opened the door to find a man dressed in a workout outfit that clearly showed what great shape he was in. This man didn’t need a trainer—he was already buff in all the right places. It was quite obvious he was already working out in somebody’s gym. Muscular broad shoulders, firm chest, tight abs, sinewy thighs...
Why was he here?
He hadn’t heard her enter as he studied the photos on the wall. They were of her father and had been taken years ago, when he’d competed in the Mr. Atlas competition.
“Mr. Jamison?”
He turned with a megawatt smile on his face, making it obvious he wasn’t surprised to see her. “Ms. Evans. We meet again.”
* * *
“WHAT ARE YOU doing here, Mr. Jamison?” Lyric Evans was glaring at him.
Tanner couldn’t help but smile. “I prefer you call me Tanner.”
“And I prefer you not being here.”
“Why? I signed up as a client with you as my trainer.”
“I get to pick and choose my clients. You knew I worked here. Do you deny it?”
There was no reason to lie. “No, I don’t deny it.”
“You’re stalking me?”
Tanner frowned. “I don’t stalk women. However, if there is one that I want to get to know better, then I make that possible.”
He watched her cross her arms over her chest and thought the same thing he had that first day he’d seen her. She had a pair of nice-sized breasts. “Look, Mr. Jamison, if you think you can show up here and flash some sexy smile and believe I will drop those code enforcements, then you are mistaken.”
She thought he had a sexy smile, did she? “My being here has nothing to
do with the renovations. I filed the compliance paperwork yesterday. My partners and I will be doing everything you indicated needed to be done to bring the building up to code.”
He saw the surprised look on her face. “Then why are you here?”
“Because I want to get to know you. Really know you.”
“I can just imagine.”
He chuckled softly. “No, I doubt if you can.” He really meant that because he’d never spent a night dreaming about a particular woman. There were too many out there for a man to enjoy. Why would he think about getting hung up on just one? But he was hung up on her for some reason and the only way to get his senses back would be to sleep with her. It was as simple as that.
“Too bad, because I refuse to take you on as my client. We have several other trainers who—”
“I don’t want them,” he interrupted. “I want you.”
“Well, you can’t have me,” she said.
He was very well aware she knew they were talking about the same thing, and it was not about her being his trainer. “Wanna bet? Don’t discount my abilities, Ms. Evans.”
“And don’t discount mine.”
Had she just dared him? Tanner crossed the room to her. “I’m up for the challenge. Are you?”
She glared at him. “There is no challenge. Goodbye, Mr. Jamison.” She then turned and walked out the door.
* * *
AUDRIA WAYFARE WAS walking out of the spa after having spent the last two hours getting a facial, a body massage, a manicure and pedicure and everything else that made her feel like the beautiful person she was. Her father had an event on Labor Day at the Capitol building and she would be there with him when he delivered his speech. She was glad he had finally stopped talking nonsense about retiring.
Her mother had died of cancer when she was three. Four years later, Matthew Wayfare had been elected as a senator for Florida—it was now twenty years ago. Although they would return to Florida to meet with his constituents, most of the time she and her father had made Washington their home. She had attended private schools there and had even gotten a degree from Georgetown University. Washington was as much a part of her as she was of it.
That’s why she would always throw a temper tantrum whenever her father talked about retiring and moving back to Florida. She didn’t want to live in Florida. She loved DC. So far, her outbursts had worked, but she knew it was just a matter of time before they wouldn’t. That’s why she’d had to come up with a Plan B.
Roman was Plan B. She’d known the first time he’d arrived in Washington that he was a young senator going places. Her father liked him and all the senior politicians from both parties liked him, as well. His other asset was that he looked good. Too good. Handsome beyond measure. Other women took notice and it had taken digging in to a few of their pasts and using blackmail to make them stay away. Most people living in DC had secrets. Luckily, she was blessed with the means to find out theirs before they could discover hers.
Through process of elimination, she was now one of the most desirable—and eligible—single women the nation’s capital had to offer, and she made sure Roman knew that. But then he’d let her know he wasn’t ready to get serious about any woman and wouldn’t be for a long time. That he preferred a single life and his main concentration was on passing laws and bills that would improve the lives of his constituents.
She had accepted what he told her; however, she’d been determined to be more to him than just another woman he slept with. She wanted it all. Then, when whispers reached her of him being looked at as VP, or even president, she wanted it even more.
Okay, she would admit to getting a little ahead of herself in that magazine interview, but she’d honestly thought she had changed his mind about the “I’m not ready to get serious yet” thing. Obviously not. Roman had been furious about the magazine article, and he’d refused to date her again. A little extreme to her way of thinking, but she figured he would eventually get over it. He had no choice if he was looking for a Washington-bred future wife. As far as she was concerned, Senator Roman Malone was hers, and sooner or later he would realize that and come back to her.
As she left the spa, her cell phone rang. She recognized the ringtone. It was John. She hurriedly clicked on. “Yes, John?”
“I just texted pictures. Senator Malone is living on a yacht while vacationing in Catalina Cove. He usually spends his time fishing every day.”
Audria smiled. That didn’t surprise her. She knew how much Roman liked to fish. “Anything else?”
“Yes. There is a woman.”
Audria nearly missed a step and gripped her phone tighter. “There is?”
“Yes. I’ve taken pics of them together a few times. She’s been on the yacht, and they do spend time together. I take it she’s someone he met while in Catalina Cove, because so far, she hasn’t spent a night with him on the yacht.”
That fact calmed Audria’s anger somewhat. At least the woman hadn’t been an overnight guest. “I’m headed for my car. I’ll look at the pictures then. If I need you for anything else, I will call you.”
When she made it to her private car, Sparrow, her chauffeur, was there, ready to open the door for her. She slid onto the rich leather seat, not caring she’d flashed him in the process. Now he knew she hadn’t bothered to put back on her panties before leaving the spa.
He leaned in to look at her and, with a knowing grin, asked, “Where to, Ms. Wayfare?”
“To the Lemmon Aire Restaurant. I’m meeting Walter Sims for lunch.” She saw the frown on Sparrow’s face. He knew of her setup with Walter, who handled her financial affairs. Although Walter was married, fifteen years her senior and the father of two, they got together on occasion to roll between the sheets.
She smiled, thinking Sparrow was probably upset because he knew Walter would be the one getting what he wanted today. One day Sparrow would learn that this was her body and she shared it with whomever she chose. He was lucky he was even on the list.
When he didn’t say anything, and just stood there with the door open, she asked in an irritated tone, “Is there a problem, Sparrow?”
He looked at her for a long moment, then replied, “No, ma’am. There’s no problem.” He closed the door and then walked around the car to get into the driver’s seat.
They had ridden a few blocks before she clicked on the phone to see the pictures John had sent her. The first ten were of Roman. He wore the scruffy look well. Unshaven and wearing shorts and a T-shirt, he had a damn sexy look. And just the thought that she used to get some of him had heat settling between her legs.
Then she viewed the rest of the photos. There was a few of him walking with some woman while holding hands. Of all the times they’d gone out, he’d never held her hand. Claimed he wasn’t a hand-holding sort of guy. Then her gaze focused on the woman. She looked all right. Not beautiful or gorgeous. Just all right. There were several other pics of Roman and that same woman together, including two photos of them kissing. And the very last one had captured the way he’d looked at the woman after the kiss. That look bothered Audria because she didn’t recall him ever looking at her that way.
She honestly didn’t see what he saw in the woman. She was wearing a baseball cap, of all things, and her clothes—a pair of jeans and a top—didn’t look name-brand. He must have been desperate to show interest in someone who looked so tacky. Audria knew there had never been a time when she’d been in Roman’s presence when she hadn’t been dressed to the nines or looked dignified and classy. Even when casually dressed, she looked refined. There was nothing sophisticated or classy about this woman at all. However, she couldn’t discount the way he looked at her, which meant he was quite taken with her.
She clicked off her pictures and clicked on John’s number. “John, this is Audria. I want to know the identity of the woman in the photos with Senator Malone. I want to know ever
ything there is about her.”
“I’ll get on it right away.”
She ended the call, too upset to join Walter for lunch. She sent a text to his private number telling him something had come up and she needed to cancel their date. After sliding her cell phone into her purse, she said to Sparrow, “There’s been a change in plans. I won’t be joining Mr. Sims for lunch after all.”
Without taking his eyes off the road, Sparrow asked, “Where to now, Ms. Wayfare?”
She could tell by the tone of his voice, although it was respectful, that he was still peeved. Her next words should cheer him up. “Your place.”
He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. A smile touched his lips when he said, “Yes, ma’am. My place it is.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“GREAT SHOW TODAY, VICTORIA. You gals nailed it as always.”
“Thanks, Archie,” Victoria said to one of the production managers as she hurriedly made her way to the exit door. She had planned to leave work an hour ago, but had gotten delayed due to her boss’s impromptu meeting.
Roman had suggested that he pick her up at her home since they were dining at a place in town instead of near the pier. Shanty’s was a popular restaurant in the historic district. She had eaten there when her parents had come to visit and loved everything on their menu. Usually the attire at Shanty’s was dressy, but this entire weekend, for the fireworks, they had a more relaxed dress code.
She had finally made it to the adjacent parking lot and stopped walking when she saw Tanner. He had a duffel bag and it looked like he’d been at the gym next door. The television station, Evans’s Gym and several other stores shared the same parking lot.
Tanner was built, but she thought Roman’s body was just as buff. As if he felt someone watching him, he glanced up and looked over at her. She could tell from the quick expression that had crossed his face that he wasn’t happy to see her.
She crossed to where he stood. “Tanner. It’s good seeing you again.”
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