INNOCENCE AND ARROGANCE

by Kimberley Reeves

  Mina’s heart soared. “You don’t?”

  “No, baby. I want a relationship, a real one. I know we’re taking a chance this could affect how we work together, but I’ve seen the way you separate your work life from your personal life and I think we can handle this. We’ll take it slow if that’s what you need, just don’t push me away.”

  “Why, Scott? Why would you want a relationship with someone like me when you could have your choice of woman? I’m not worldly, I’m not attractive, I’m shy in front of people I don’t know. Aren’t you afraid I’ll embarrass you?”

  Scott hugged her to him. “I could never be embarrassed to be with you. No, you’re not worldly, but you’re one of the most intelligent women I’ve ever known. I love it that you’re not sophisticated and pretentious. I love your innocence and the child-like exuberance you get out of the simplest things.”

  He drew away from her to look into her eyes. “As for the way you look, I think you’re beautiful. I don’t know why you believe you’re not. Maybe when you were growing up you were the ugly duckling, but I promise you, honey, you’re definitely a beautiful swan now.” Scott could still see the doubt in her eyes. “I wish I knew how to make you believe it, Mina. In time maybe you’ll see yourself the way I do, but it’s only a small part of what attracts me to you anyway.”

  “If you really mean it, if you…really want to make love to me, I’ll need to see a doctor first so…” Mina was too embarrassed to say it.

  “Birth control?” When she nodded shyly, he couldn’t help smiling. If she wasn’t taking birth control pills, it could only mean she hadn’t been with anyone for a while and hadn’t planned on being with another man any time soon. “Okay, sweetheart, I’ll find you a doctor and set something up as soon as possible.”

  Scott gave her a few more soft kisses before they set about cleaning up. It took much longer than it should have though, because now that he was free to kiss her, he took advantage of every opportunity to do so. Even when he walked Mina to her door and told her he should go because it was late and they both needed to get some sleep, he couldn’t seem to let loose of her. In his defense, she didn’t seem too eager to let go of him either.

  “I feel like a teenager,” he told her, “standing on the porch, making out. I keep expecting your parents to turn on the porch light and shoo me away.”

  “Oh, my parents never did that.”

  “I thought all parents did that.”

  “My Mom and Dad never had to wait up and worry about me because my brothers were always sitting on the porch when I got home. I don’t think I got a kiss after a date until I was twenty years old and off at college.”

  “Your brothers sound a lot like we were when Abby came home from a date, only we were much worse. Gage had this wooden rifle he’d painted, and in the dark it looked real. He’d sit on the porch with Nick and put that rifle over his knees just waiting for Abby’s date to walk her to the porch. They never stuck around long because Adam and I would be up in the tree waiting to throw fire crackers down when they went past us on the sidewalk.”

  Mina started laughing. “That was just mean. Wasn’t Abby mad at you?”

  “Naw, Abby’s pretty mellow. She’d just smile and shake her head then tell us to remember to pick up the mess from the firecrackers.”

  “What about your other sister?”

  Scott snorted. “Jenna didn’t need us. Hell, her dates probably wished we were around to protect them. We used to call her Jennaraptor behind her back.”

  “You never said it to her face?”

  “Good God no, we didn’t have a death wish!”

  Mina sighed wistfully. “I like hearing your stories, even if it does make me a bit homesick.”

  “You know, I have a business trip to Washington up near Spokane next month. It’s just for two days, but if you want to come with me, we could take some time to drive up to see your family.”

  Mina’s face lit up. “Could we really? I haven’t seen them for six months. Oh, Scott, they’ll be so happy.” She was so excited, she could hardly contain herself.

  “We’ll talk more about it later, sweetheart. If we don’t get to bed soon, we’ll both be dragging our heels at work tomorrow.”

  Scott gave her one more kiss then waited for her to go inside before leaving. He’d have to call Jenna and have her give him the name of a good doctor so Mina could get on birth control right away. He didn’t think he could maintain control if she continued to press herself against him like she had earlier that evening.

  ****

  Mina was elated when Friday finally arrived. She and Scott had spent every night that week painting and working on the minor repairs that needed to be done before she could move in. The hardwood floors still needed to be stripped and refinished, but other than scrubbing the kitchen and bathroom, the house was ready.

  Since she didn’t have much furniture, Scott agreed they could put everything in the dining room or spare bedroom until the living room floor was done. After that, they could move everything back into the living room and work on the hallways and bedrooms. He'd already rented a small trailer so they were going to spend the evening loading it up so it would be ready to unpack first thing in the morning.

  Mina had spent the afternoon training with Barbara Montgomery, the only female in the whole company it seemed who didn’t have a problem with her. Barbara was just a few years older than she was so it was easy to relate to her. She was also extremely good natured and made Mina feel she had at least one friend in the company. Barbara had just left when Scott called to let her know he was running a little late. She decided to get a few more things off her desk before he returned and had barely even started when a man who looked to be in his early thirties approached her desk. Mina smiled up at him.

  “Can I help you?”

  The man gave her a rakish grin. “If I’d known how cute you were, I’d have been up to see you long ago.”

  Mina’s smile broadened. “Ben?”

  “Ah, she knows the sound of my voice. I just came to drop these off.” He handed her three memos on shipments that hadn’t been delivered properly.

  “I see how it works,” she teased. “You think by bringing them to me after hours, you won’t get the third degree for not catching them before they went out.”

  Ben acted offended. “Are you accusing me of being a coward?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” she laughed.

  “You have a killer smile, do you know that, Miss Harmon?”

  “Thank you, Mr. Romane, but sucking up won’t get you out of trouble.”

  Ben shrugged. “You can’t blame a guy for trying. So what are your plans for tonight, Mina? I know a great little Italian restaurant that just opened up not too far from here if you’d care to grace me with your presence.”

  “Actually, I…”

  Scott’s deep voice interrupted her before she could reply. “Mina, I’d like to see you in my office now, please,” he said gruffly before moving past them and disappearing behind his door.

  She smiled apologetically at Ben. “Sorry, I guess I’m not off duty yet.”

  “About tonight?”

  “I’m moving to a new house this weekend so I’m afraid not, but thank you for inviting me.”

  “Some other night?” He asked hopefully.

  Scott appeared in his doorway with a deep, brooding scowl on his face. “I believe I asked you to come back now, Miss Harmon.”

  “Sorry, Ben. I’ll talk to you next week.” Mina grabbed a pad and pen and hurried into his office, closing the door behind her. “I’m sorry about that,” she began with a smile.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Scott snapped.

  “He just came by to…”

  “To ask you out,” Scott finished in a harsh tone. “And I didn’t notice you doing much to dissuade him.”

  Mina felt a sharp pain weave its way through her stomach. “Why are you talking to me like that?”

  “Because y
ou’re sitting at work flirting with a co-worker!”

  “I wasn’t flirting,” she denied defensively. “He came to drop off some memos on a few shipping problems.”

  Scott stood up abruptly and leaned over his desk, his eyes narrowing. “Does he always bring them to you personally?”

  “No, that’s the first time he’s done it. Scott…” The pain in her stomach heightened when he turned away from her to stand by the window.

  “You know, maybe taking you to buy all those nice clothes and getting you to stop wearing that God awful bun was a big mistake. At least if you were still wearing your dowdy little outfits, I wouldn’t find you batting your lashes at the first man who pays attention to you.” His voice was hard and cold. “It’s inappropriate in the workplace, Mina, and I won’t have it.”

  She stood there for a moment, too hurt to even speak. “You’re right,” she finally said, proud that she’d kept her voice even and emotionless. “It is inappropriate to get involved with someone I work with.”

  Without another word, she turned and left his office. Mina stopped long enough to grab her purse then headed for the elevators. She fought to keep the tears back, thoroughly stung by his words and his accusations. The idea that she would even know how to flirt was ridiculous. She stepped into the elevator just as Scott appeared in his doorway.

  “Mina, wait…” he called out, hurrying across the room.

  She put her hand out, deliberately pressing the button to close the doors and watched it shut just a fraction of a second before Scott reached her.

  ****

  Mina sagged against the wall, feeling the wonderful weekend she’d envisioned slipping away from her. She didn’t understand why he’d been so harsh with her or why he’d said those awful things about her flirting with Ben just because she’d been talking with the man. She hurried out of the elevator, walking purposefully down the street toward the bus stop.

  Well, she certainly couldn’t move into the beach house now, she thought despondently. She’d be lucky if she still had a job on Monday. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the thought of never seeing Scott again tore at her heart. She stopped at the corner and checked her watch. The next bus was due to arrive in five minutes. What was she going to do now? She’d already given her notice at the house she was living in and only had two weeks left before she had to vacate.

  She’d already wiped out half of the bonus money she’d gotten on groceries and the new clothes so she had little choice but to go back to Washington since she’d have to pay Scott back for the money she’d spent. If she was careful, she’d have just enough money from the security deposit on her house to pay for airfare for her and Buster. She’d also have to leave most of her things behind because she couldn’t afford to bring them back with her.

  Mina glanced down the road to see if the bus was coming yet and spotted Scott’s car. He slowed down and came to a stop in front of her then rolled down the window.

  “Get in the car, Mina, I’ll take you home.”

  She stood there, not moving or speaking. He hadn’t asked her to get in the car, he’d issued an order and obviously expected her to obey without argument.

  Scott leaned over the passenger side seat again. “Did you hear me? Get in.”

  “I’ll take the bus, thank you,” she said stiffly.

  His face darkened. “Mina…” Scott swore under his breath as the bus pulled up behind him and Mina got in line with the other passengers. He hopped out of his car and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her from the line. “I told you, I’d give you a ride.”

  Mina’s eyes flashed. “And I told you, I’d take the bus, now please let go of me.”

  His voice softened. “Mina, honey, we have a lot to do tonight. Just get in the car so we can go.”

  She pulled her arm away from him. “I’m not moving, at least not to the beach house.”

  A cold fear stabbed at his heart. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means I give up, Scott, I fold. I’m going to go back to Washington as soon as I can arrange a flight.”

  “But why? Just because we had a disagreement? You can’t leave, Mina, I need you.”

  “I’m sure you still have dozens of applications for my job.”

  Scott reached out and took her hands. “I wasn’t talking about the job,” he said softly. “I need you. Please don’t leave.”

  Her resolve to remain impassive began to crumble when she looked at his crestfallen face. “Why were you being so mean to me? I didn’t do anything wrong and I didn’t deserve the way you treated me.”

  “I’m sorry, Mina, I was just…aw, damn it, honey, I was jealous! I heard Ben ask you out and I just lost it.”

  “You were jealous?”

  He drew her into his arms. “I was afraid you’d tell him yes.”

  Mina’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why on earth would I do that?”

  “I don’t know,” he said miserably. “Maybe because we never really talked about being together exclusively.”

  “You think I’d kiss you the way I did last night then turn around and go out with another man?”

  “I guess I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  She couldn’t help but smile at the helpless look on his face. “Are you always this possessive when you date a woman?

  Scott looked at her with a sheepish grin. “I don’t think I’ve actually gone out with any one woman long enough to get possessive… or jealous for that matter.”

  “Haven’t you ever had a long term relationship before?”

  “Honey, the truth is I never really took a woman out hoping for a deep conversation.”

  She stared at him incredulously. “You mean you only went out with a woman so you could have sex?”

  Scott burst into laughter. “God, I love being with you! Yes, honey, as awful as it sounds, that was the ultimate goal when I went out on a date.”

  Mina scowled at him. “Is that your ultimate goal with me too?”

  He pulled her closer, his eyes dancing with amusement. “If that was true, I could have had you last night.”

  She opened her mouth to protest then clamped it shut again. Scott arched a brow, daring her to deny it. “All right,” she admitted reluctantly, “maybe I would have if you’d pushed it a little harder.”

  He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. “Believe me, sweetheart, I couldn’t have been any harder.”

  ***

  Because Mina had everything boxed up and ready to go, they had the trailer packed in no time. “It’s still pretty early,” she told Scott as he closed the door on the trailer and secured it, “do you feel like unloading it tonight?”

  “That might not be a bad idea. That way, we can get an early start putting in a second load.” Scott opened the gate and called for Buster.

  “We’re taking him with us?”

  Scott opened up the door on his truck and let Buster jump in. “He likes going for rides and loves it at the beach.” He snapped his finger and Buster obediently hopped over the seat and settled in the back of the cab.

  “I hate it when you do that,” she pouted.

  Scott laughed and gathered her in his arms. “Can I help it if your dog respects my authority?”

  “It’s not fair,” she frowned at him. “You didn’t even teach him to do that. He just acted as if he knew what you wanted and did it.”

  “He’s a smart dog. Who knows, maybe we’re psychically connected.”

  “Yeah, well, if he keeps it up he’s going to be connected to you by ownership papers, only I’m changing his name to Benedict Arnold.”

  “Stop pouting and give me a kiss so we can go.”

  She didn’t have to be asked twice. She tilted her head back, her lips parting in anticipation then melted into him when his mouth closed over hers. As it always happened when Scott kissed her, Mina felt her mind slipping away. The world and everything in it simply disappeared, leaving only this one man and this one moment.

  She loved the feel of
his mouth on hers and the way her body tingled all over when he kissed her. She would have gladly stayed there all night in his arms if Scott hadn’t lifted his head and brought her back to earth. She stole a few more quick kisses before he swatted her playfully on the bottom and ordered her into the truck.

  They spent the next few hours unloading the trailer while Buster made a nuisance of himself by darting in front of her every time she tried to bring a box inside. Finally, she hollered for Scott to control his dog.