"Well, it started with fixing the photocopier, then you rescued that paper—"
"And then you saved my evening with Kayla, so we're even."
"Had a good time doing it, too." She smiled and he was encouraged. "We may have been even then, but you also got me into the Stratford Oaks, followed by the gym, and you gave me a huge check for the ballet. I can't ever repay you."
She felt in his debt. Not good. "I don't want to be repaid!" He lowered his voice. "I hope you don't feel that I expect you—" the memory of their kiss—his kiss—at the gym burned in his mind "—that you feel pressured to—"
"No." Shaking her head, she touched his arm. "That's not your style. And, by the way, you have a great…" her gaze dropped to his mouth then met his eyes "…style."
There was a humming in his ears and a distinct stirring elsewhere. His lungs felt tight.
She dropped her hand. "It makes me uncomfortable to have you think I need rescuing all the time."
"It's part of your charm."
Sara made a face. "Personally, I do not find incompetence at all charming."
"There's a difference between incompetence and needing a little help now and then."
"Right."
"For instance, I need help feeding a couple of cats next week."
She blinked up at him. "Tell me more about these cats."
"They belong to my neighbor, who's on a cruise. I hadn't anticipated leaving town while she was away, but…" he gestured to the Glasgow men, who appeared to be enthralled with Hayden. "It looks like I'm headed to Glasgow at the end of the week. Mind you, I'm not complaining, but I do need to find someone to feed her cats. I'd ask Kayla, but she'd have to make her own way over to the building, which would inconvenience Joanna and I'd rather not do that."
Sara was smiling, actually smiling.
He smiled, too. "So, could I inconvenience you instead?"
"I am delighted to be inconvenienced."
"Really?"
"I'm thrilled to find a way to repay you."
And he was thrilled that she was thrilled. "Great." His relief was enormous and it had nothing to do with finding someone to feed the cats. "I'll drop a key by tomorrow. Do you want to sit and watch the game?" That was smoothly added, if he did say so himself.
"I guess that is why we're here."
"Come on then. The view is great. You can see the skyline from here, too." Simon steered Sara to the bar seats behind the windows facing the field. He gave a passing thought to his clients, but they seemed fine with Hayden. Though he'd never worked directly with her, he knew her to be a consummate professional in spite of her flamboyant personal life. He caught her eye and indicated the game in progress. She gave a quick nod. Joanna was chatting with the other women. Kayla and Amber were watching from the two rows outside the suite.
Everyone was taken care of.
Now he could turn all his attention to Sara.
It was the cats that did it. If she'd had the slightest hesitation about going for it with Simon, that obliterated it.
Sara wasn't a cat person, but how could she resist a man who fed his neighbor's cats?
It said a lot about his character. It occurred to Sara that, until now, she might have slept with a guy before knowing anything about his character—or the fact that he didn't have one.
Now that she knew Simon had character, she was ready for more.
She could hardly wait. Unfortunately, with all the people around, it looked as though she would have to.
"Are you a baseball fan?" he asked.
"I don't know yet."
He laughed. "That's an interesting way to put it."
"Well, I never really thought about it. My family wasn't into sports, but lately I've been trying out some new things." Maybe Simon would take the hint that she was willing to try out some new men, too. "I was in a rut."
"I commend you for doing something about it. Some people never take that initiative."
Sara didn't want to be commended unless it involved having Simon's lips a lot closer to her than they were at the moment.
In all fairness to him, he couldn't know that she'd just now changed her strategy of avoiding him to whatever the extreme opposite of avoiding him was. She had to maneuver the conversation to a more personal level.
Simon beat her to it. "Sara, when I asked you if I made you uncomfortable, the way you answered made me think there was something else you wanted to say."
"Hmm."
"Is that a yes?"
She crossed her legs and leaned her elbow on the chair arm between them. "It was an hmm."
"Define 'hmm.'" He leaned on his elbow, too.
Simon this close really ratcheted up the lustometer. He was looking at her in that way he had that connected the two of them and excluded the rest of the universe.
"Hmm means extremely attractive men make me uncomfortable."
"And are you uncomfortable now?"
Honestly. She could just wrap herself in his voice and fall into those eyes. "Extremely uncomfortable."
He leaned infinitesimally closer. "Anything I can do?"
"Oh, yes."
But did they get around to discussing details? No. Why?
"You two look very cozy all alone over here." Joanna. That was why.
To Sara's utter disgust, she flinched when she heard Joanna's voice. Joanna must have seen, of course.
Simon didn't flinch. In fact he didn't move at all until she sat herself down on the bar stool on his other side. She chattered about the game, asking questions that forced Simon to answer, commented on the people, hopped up and got the snack tray and managed to get in a dig at Sara, "Have some nachos. You look like a girl with a good appetite."
If Sara had been Hayden, she would have answered, "I do have a big appetite, but not for nachos" and looked significantly at Simon.
But Sara wasn't Hayden, so she ate some nachos.
At one point, Joanna actually chided Simon for ignoring his hosting duties.
He gave Sara an apologetic smile. "I should make the rounds again."
Don't let yourself be manipulated by her she wanted to say, but frankly, it wasn't looking good for the home team.
Kayla and Amber saw her sitting by herself and gestured for her to come and sit with them.
Sure, why not? Sara got three soft drinks from the fridge and slid open the doors. It was noisier out here—closer to the sights and sounds and smells of the game.
"We've got peanuts." Amber showed her the bags.
"I like peanuts." Sara handed them each a soft drink, crunched over the peanut shells on the concrete floor and sat down.
Even though Simon only poked his head out once or twice, Sara had a pretty good time. She cracked open peanut shells and tossed them at the heads of the boys in front of them, giggling along with Kayla and Amber. To make up for it, she put together a plate of snacks and brought it out to the boys, which they thought was cool. During the seventh-inning stretch, she reconnoitered with Missy and Hayden.
"Ladies, I think I'm about to find out what a Scotsman wears under his kilt." Hayden waggled her fingers at one of the Glasgow men.
"I'm sorry about letting Joanna get away," Missy said in a low tone. "We'll talk later, but Sara, you need to watch your back with that one. She's got her eye on Simon."
"I—" Sara started to protest that it was nothing to her, but gave up. "Okay. Thanks."
"I'll try to get her to sit with us again. Hang in there." Missy patted her arm and drifted back to the wives.
And Hayden was over there doing hostess duties so Simon wouldn't be so tied down.
To heck with her budget, Sara owed them lunch tomorrow.
Then the game was over and everybody cleared out. Sara tried to hang back, but Joanna and the girls had Simon surrounded.
They were all the way down the corridor when Kayla gasped, "I can't find my cell phone!"
"Did you bring it with you?" Joanna asked.
"It must have fallen out of my purse."
She held up a tiny thing that didn't look large enough to hold a cell phone.
"I'll go back and look for it," Simon offered. "Go on ahead."
The elevator doors opened, but not everyone could get in. Somehow, Missy herded Joanna and the girls inside and Hayden and a couple of men filled it the rest of the way up. As the doors closed, they both looked significantly at Sara.
Right. Message received. She slipped away from the rest of the group and headed back to the club box.
She was going to be alone with Simon. Alone, alone, alone. Sara started jogging. She wouldn't have much time. She'd have to use it wisely.
But how? What was she going to do? Burst in and say, "'We're alone! Have your way with me'?" Efficient, but kind of tacky.
She reached the club box before she'd thought of exactly what to say or how to say it.
Simon was squatting down looking beneath the seats and didn't see her until she slid open the glass doors. He looked up, and honestly, she had to grip the railing to keep her knees from buckling. He just looked so good and they were just so alone—not counting the few thousand people still streaming toward the exits.
But they were far away. In this area, she and Simon were alone. He stood. "Sara."
They looked at each other. Sara felt feelings that had been simmering all evening come to a full boil. She was ready to fling herself into his arms when, eyes never wavering from hers, he began steadily climbing the steps toward her.
"D-did you find the cell phone?" Not the best opening for seduction, but who cared.
"Right here." He held it up and continued to climb the steps to where she was standing.
Without pausing he reached for her, drew her to his chest and angled his head.
"Good," she whispered just before his mouth captured hers in a hungry kiss.
No, this was good. This was great. She'd ached for this, for his arms around her and his mouth on hers. Just to be touching him. It was almost too much. Desire bloomed from deep within her, deeper than ever before. She clutched at his shoulders and kissed him back for all she was worth.
He gripped her tightly and she stood on her toes to get even closer to him.
"Sara…" He dragged kisses along her jaw to the hollow beneath her ear. "So soft. So sweet."
When his mouth claimed hers again, it was for a deep and thorough kiss.
That software guy had nothing on Simon. Simon kissed with a breathtaking intensity that blotted everything else from Sara's mind. She almost forgot where she was, but not who she was with.
The ride in the Rolls had begun.
Simon ran his hands over her back, then cupped her head, his fingers playing with her hair. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this."
"You've kissed me before."
"But you never kissed me back."
"If you'll recall, I didn't have much of a chance." She nipped his lower lip. "I'm liking my chances now."
"And I'm liking them, too." He drew a deep breath and rested his forehead against hers as he traced light circles in the small of her back. "Which is why I have to stop kissing you now."
"I'll be uncomfortable if you stop kissing me now."
"Keep talking like that and I'll remember that there's a sofa just on the other side of that sliding glass door."
"Last one there's a rotten egg."
"You deserve better." He dropped a quick, hard kiss on her forehead and deliberately set her from him. "And don't look at me like that."
"I don't know how else to look at you." She was dizzy with first-real-kiss lust. Every nerve was humming with desire and the heady knowledge that he was as affected as she was.
Simon sucked in his breath through his teeth. "Sara, tonight I—"
And then his attention was caught and held by something over her shoulder.
Sara didn't want to turn around and see who was there, but of course she did.
Joanna stared at them through the open glass doors, her face expressionless.
So she'd seen them. Big deal, right? Sara turned back to Simon, trying to guess his thoughts, but his face was now as closed as Joanna's.
Sara was caught in the middle of some long history. The best thing she could do was stay quiet.
"I came back to help you look for Kayla's cell phone," Joanna said.
How lame. At least Sara hadn't pretended any such thing. Silently, Simon held up the phone.
Sara was trying not to look on this as a test.
"Thank you." Joanna held out her hand for it, forcing Simon to climb up to her. She turned to leave, but Simon stepped back down to Sara.
"They're holding the elevator for us," Joanna said.
"Why would they do that?" Simon asked. "It's a long walk."
"Politeness."
"I see." Simon lazily linked his fingers through Sara's and headed up the stairs with her.
Whoo-hoo! Score one for Sara. Except the long icy look Joanna gave her made it a hollow victory.
* * *
8
« ^ »
"She just stopped the elevator and got right out!" Missy was aghast at Joanna's escape. "She abandoned her child and everything!"
"So what did she see?" Hayden eyed Sara over her glass of iced green tea.
Sara had bought them lunch the next day. They weren't at their usual spot, but at a Chinese restaurant down in the tunnels. "Depends on when Joanna got there."
The other two just looked at her.
"Okay, he kissed me."
Hayden and Missy high-fived each other.
"I am dying to know how it was unless it wasn't any good. Then lie because I don't want that particular fantasy shot to hell."
"Hayden, I'm not sure I want you fantasizing about Simon that way."
"I'm going to, so get over it. Spill."
Sara closed her eyes. "Oh. My. God."
Hayden and Missy squealed.
"It was one of those kisses that is definitely going somewhere. But unfortunately it couldn't go anywhere just then."
"So just when?" Hayden asked.
This was the tricky part because, frankly, Sara had neither seen nor heard from Simon since last night. "Soon."
"How soon?" Hayden pressed.
"I don't know, okay?" Sara wasn't exactly worried yet, but there were a few niggling doubts.
"I knew it!" Missy snapped her chopsticks apart. She was the only one trying to use them. "That Joanna has something to do with it."
Sara really hated to think that Joanna had that much influence on Simon.
"He doesn't seem like the kiss-and-run type," Missy added.
"Not when there's more to be had."
Hayden snickered. "Don't be vulgar."
"Missy, sex isn't vulgar."
"I know, but the way you talk about it sometimes is."
"Hey!" Sara snapped her fingers to interrupt them. "I'll see Simon when he brings me the key."
Missy's eyes widened. "To his home?"
"No. I'm feeding his neighbor's cats."
They both looked at her. "Why?" Hayden asked.
"Because they need to be fed and he's leaving for Glasgow at the end of the week."
"Hmm," they both said.
"A loss of momentum this early in a relationship is not good," Missy said.
"But absence makes the heart grow fonder," Hayden quoted. "And she can have more time to prepare."
"Wait a minute. I don't think relationship is the right word here." Sara needed to let them know her immediate goal had changed. She wasn't sure how Missy would take it. "I'm just … just going for a ride in the Rolls."
"Not this again." Missy used her chopstick to stab a piece of chicken.
"All it means is that he's not a long-term prospect because of his sister and his stepmother." It helped to think of Joanna that way.
"Stepmother, oh please." Missy abandoned her chopsticks. "The first thing she did was tell us all that she never considered herself Simon's stepmother. And we were all, well, duh, you're like his age. And then we h
ad to hear how close they'd become since his father had died and how good he was with his sister."
Sara was glad she hadn't had to hear it.
Missy dipped her egg roll in some sticky red sauce. "It's probably just as well that you don't have any expectations because that woman has her hooks into him but good."
"Sara can handle her," Hayden said loyally.
"Hmph," Missy said around a mouthful of eggroll.
"I understand his priorities. They come first." Sara sounded very mature. And maybe a little whiny.
"Are you going to eat any more of the lo mein?" Hayden asked. When Sara shook her head, she drew it toward her. "When I find myself in such a situation, I just make it more fun to be with me than with them."
"They interrupt."
"So make him want to turn off his cell phone."
"You know, I don't see why he can't be marriage material." Missy toyed with the fortune cookies before deciding on one. "Sara has to overcome the wicked stepmother and the bratty half sister either way."
"Excellent point." Hayden gestured to Sara's hot and sour soup, now just warm and sour. "Are you going to eat that?"
"Yes." She didn't have much of an appetite today, though. She took a mouthful of soup.
"I think Sara should postpone her tryst—"
"Tryst! What century are you from, honey?"
Missy exhaled forcefully. "I think she should avoid boinking him until after he gets back from Glasgow. She should welcome him back with a home-cooked meal and provide a haven from the stresses of the modern work world."
"Watch out. She's quoting from her Stepford Wives for Dummies book."
"I just think that it couldn't hurt for Sara to demonstrate her domestic potential."
Sara gave a warning look to Hayden, who looked as though she was about to deliver one of her pithy put-downs. "A dinner might not be a bad idea. Simon once asked me if I could cook."
"There you are." Missy looked pleased. "While he's gone, we'll plan a menu and you can practice on us."
"That's all very well and good, but at this point, Simon isn't thinking about her cooking abilities." Hayden gave a catlike smile. "Sara, all you have to do is wrap yourself in Saran Wrap and a fur coat and pay a little after-hours visit to his office. I guarantee you that you'll have his uninterrupted attention for as long as you want it."
HOW TO BE THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND Page 10