He couldn’t miss the curving of her lips into a smile, since he was staring at her mouth. She hadn’t moved out of the curve of his arm and, with her face turned up into the light rain, he hoped like hell it was an invitation because he was going to kiss her.
“Since writing a check and going back to work is the most efficient way for me to support a fundraiser, if I’m there, it’ll be because of you.”
He tightened his arm around her waist and his gaze dropped from her eyes back to her lips as they parted slightly.
As he lowered his mouth to hers, Derek felt the same fear and exhilaration he’d felt the one and only time he’d jumped out of an airplane. If it ended badly, it was really going to hurt, but he knew the experience would be worth the risk.
Tentatively at first, to give her the space to back out if she wanted to, he brushed his lips across Olivia’s.
She didn’t back out. She put her hands on his shoulders and rose up, pressing her mouth against his. Relief and hunger swept through him as he kissed her, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as his tongue dipped between her lips.
Her fingertips brushed over his back and then her hands curled, bunching his shirt in her fists. He cupped her face, deepening the kiss. Her skin was damp from the rain and he knew he should stop and let her go, but he didn’t want it to end.
Then she made a sound deep in her throat, a hungry sound that told Derek she didn’t give a damn about the rain. She wanted him.
And he wanted her so badly it hurt, but it wouldn’t be tonight—it was too soon, and the first date and he didn’t want to screw it up by going too fast—so he was going to take every second of this kiss he could get.
It was definitely too soon when she pulled back, breaking the contact. “I’m pretty sure that car just sitting there, with the driver trying really hard not to look at us, is my ride.”
Her voice sounded as shaky as he felt inside. It was hard not to ask her to send the driver away and let him drive her home, but he was trying damn hard to remember the reasons he didn’t think they were compatible. In the aftermath of that kiss, though, he couldn’t come up with a single one.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said.
“It was definitely a pleasure.” He opened the back door of the car for her, but she paused with one leg inside and they locked eyes over the top of the door.
“Definitely,” she whispered.
He winked at her as she got into the car. “Sweet dreams, Olivia.”
The look she gave him just before he closed the door confirmed that he wasn’t the only one who knew sleep might be hard to come by tonight.
Chapter Five
“I never thought I’d be one of those women getting kissed on a sidewalk in the rain.” The squeak of an office chair swiveling startled Olivia, reminding her too late that she wasn’t alone. “Did I say that out loud?”
“You kissed him?”
“I was mumbling to myself. How did you even hear that?”
“You’re my boss. When you talk, I listen.” Kelsey smiled. “Especially if you’re talking about kissing.”
“Well, I’m done talking about kissing. I have to get through this material.”
A last-minute cancellation by a potential client had opened up an unexpected window of time, so she was taking the time to research an upcoming productivity suite that encompassed paper and digital planning. The cornerstone of her business was finding systems that allowed for individual workflow within the centralized structure, so continued success meant staying on top of the evolving software. A lot of entrepreneurs in the market would reach out to her for beta testing or an endorsement, but she didn’t bother with apps that simply digitized written pages for future reference. An app that analyzed a handwritten page and updated a central digital system interested her.
But today her mind didn’t seem to find her work nearly as interesting as it found reliving Derek’s kiss. She’d lost count of the times she’d read the same few paragraphs on her screen, and now she was talking to herself about it.
And to Kelsey, since she was in the room.
“I want to hear more about last night,” Kelsey said. “And I’m not going to stop bugging you about it, so the most efficient thing for you to do is spill the details so we can both get back to work.”
“Or I can take my laptop to another room and work in peace.” When Kelsey just folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow, she caved. But only a little. “The food was amazing. We got some brainstorming done for the benefit. And he kissed me goodnight.”
“Was the kiss better than the food?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even have to think about it. “And that’s saying something, because it was the best herbed stuffed chicken I’ve ever had.”
“And when are you going to see him again?”
“There’s a fundraiser at a bar on Saturday—you know, the one Brynn made the graphic for—and he made it clear he’d like for me to go, and not just for Village Hearts.” She inhaled slowly, held the breath for a few seconds and then let it out. She needed some damn clarity. “I’d planned to write Saturday and...I’m just not sure.”
“You want to go. It’s written all over your face. Just go for it.”
“He has an ex-wife. And two kids.”
“Okay.” Kelsey looked as if she expected more of an explanation, but Olivia wasn’t sure she could put her reservations into words. “If you want to date a guy your age who doesn’t have an ex or any kids, you’re seriously shrinking the dating pool.”
“I don’t want to date anybody right now. That’s the point.”
Kelsey made a sound that translated to hmm, maybe I don’t believe you. “You met him. You liked him. You saw him again. You agreed to have dinner with him. And you kissed him, on the sidewalk in the rain, no less. You’re thinking about him instead of focusing today. I’m pretty sure you do want to date him.”
“And you just proved my point.” Olivia stood and stretched her back. “Thinking about Derek has killed my focus this morning and that’s why I don’t want to date anybody. In a few years, I’ll be able to step back a little and have the time and attention to give to a relationship.”
“I know you, Olivia. By the time you’re ready to step back, your potential dates will not only have ex-wives and children, but grandchildren, too.”
“You’re exaggerating badly, but it doesn’t matter. When I do have a family, I don’t want to feel torn between them and my company.” If you piled too much on, things started sliding and everything could crumble. “I’m going to see if we have anything for lunch and then prep for my afternoon meeting. No more dating talk. I need to focus.”
“I’m having a yogurt in about twenty minutes, when I finish this, so I’m all set.” Kelsey swiveled back to her screen and Olivia grabbed her phone and walked to the kitchen. There wouldn’t be many lunch options, since she usually grabbed something on the run if she had time between meetings and Kelsey seemed to live on Greek yogurt and protein bars. Luckily, there was always extra yogurt since her assistant liked a variety on hand. Only having mango when you were in the mood for strawberry was a tragedy, apparently. There were three blueberries, so she grabbed one and pulled back the top.
Then her phone buzzed and she couldn’t deny the way her pulse quickened when she saw Derek’s name on the screen. Her attraction to the man wasn’t going to be scheduled in a neat little box in her planner.
She should let it go to voicemail and eat her yogurt so she could get ready for an afternoon of follow-up visits, but she couldn’t resist him and picked up the phone and said hello.
“Oh...” He paused for a few seconds. “Hi.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am, a little.”
She laughed. “But you called me.”
“I did, but I wasn’t expecting you to answer at this ti
me of day.”
“A potential client managed to double-book himself and even though he clearly needs some help with his scheduling organization, I’m the one he rescheduled. What’s up?”
He chuckled. “I spent half the morning rehearsing the voicemail message I was going to leave and had no backup plan for if you actually picked up.”
Her stomach clenched when the obvious reason for him deliberately calling at a time he didn’t anticipate her answering flashed through her mind. He just wanted to leave a quick message telling her he’d had a good time and enjoyed their kiss, but that he had a lot on his plate and wasn’t looking for a relationship right now. But he hoped she’d still pop into Kincaid’s for the fundraiser to support the cause.
The disappointment was an almost physical ache, but it was for the best, so she’d make it easy for him. “I’d hate for all that prep time to be wasted, so pretend I didn’t answer and tell me the message. Beep.”
“Hey, Olivia, it’s Derek. I just wanted to tell you I had a great time last night—it was the best night I’ve had in a long time, actually—and I can’t wait to see you at Kincaid’s, so I really do hope you’ll come.” There was a brief pause, and then a low chuckle. “That was it, so I guess this is where I’d hang up.”
“Don’t,” she said quickly, but then she had no idea what to say next. She was still processing the fact he hadn’t been taking the easy way out in dialing things back before he saw her in person again. “I...I had a good time, too.”
“Does your cancellation leave enough time for lunch?”
She wanted to say yes—she really wanted to say yes—but if she factored in the time it would take them to meet somewhere, it didn’t. They’d barely have time to chug a coffee, never mind eat anything. And she’d be off her game all afternoon because Derek had that effect on her. Especially if he kissed her again.
And she really wanted him to kiss her again.
“I can’t today. Or at all this week,” she said honestly. “My schedule’s pretty booked and I didn’t...”
I didn’t see you coming.
She didn’t say the words out loud, but she felt them deep inside. She’d built a good, solid life and career with careful planning and execution and then Derek Gilman had come out of nowhere. And she still didn’t know what to do about that.
“I figured as much,” he said, “but I’ll repeat the part about how much I hope you’ll make it to Kincaid’s Saturday night.”
“I’ll be there,” she said, wincing as she made the statement without leaving any wiggle room for getting her priorities back in order and changing her mind.
“Good. I can’t wait to see you again.”
The way his voice lowered as he said the words made her body sizzle with anticipation and her hand tightened around the phone. It was all too easy to imagine that voice in the dark, his breath hot against her ear as he told her all the naughty things he wanted to do to her.
“Olivia?”
“I’m still here,” she said in a breathy rush that didn’t give her time to think about what she should say. “I can’t wait to see you, either.”
“I’ll let you get back to work, but I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye, Derek.” The phone beeped to let her know the call had ended and she set her phone back on the counter. Carefully, since her hand was shaking slightly.
“I guess you probably heard that,” she said in a barely raised voice.
Kelsey’s laughter rang through the apartment. “Hell yeah, I did.”
* * *
Friday was a pain-in-the-ass day. While Derek didn’t wish catastrophic events on anybody, the constant in-and-out for stupid shit wore on his nerves after a few hours.
Like idiots who managed to forget they put pizza rolls in toaster ovens and filled their offices with smoke, setting the alarms off and forcing an evacuation.
“You’ve gotta be kidding,” Derek said, yanking the plug out of the wall. “How do you not set a timer for pizza rolls?”
“I don’t,” Gavin said. “But mostly because I stare at them until they’re done. I wonder if they have any more of these, less well done.”
“Seriously?”
He shrugged. “I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving. Let’s get this out of here so we can clear the place.”
Once they were done and gave the all clear to the guys in ties and rolled-up shirtsleeves standing around outside smoking and talking on their phones, they headed for the trucks.
“Hey, are you guys going to reimburse us for that toaster oven?” one of the guys called after them.
They all paused, but it was Rick who spoke. “What’s that?”
“The door broke when you dropped it on the sidewalk, so are you going to buy us a new toaster oven? That one’s garbage now.”
Rick chuckled. “Sure thing. Send a bill to the mayor’s office and let me know how that works out for you.”
The guy was still calling them names when they climbed—laughing even though they probably shouldn’t—into the trucks. And the mood only improved when they got back to the house and Scott told them he had a line on some Red Sox tickets.
“Who’s in? The guy thinks he can get me six seats if we need them.”
“I’m in,” Derek said, at almost the same instant Gavin did.
“My name better be on one,” Aidan yelled from the other side of the bay.
“I’m out,” Grant said.
Gavin whipped his head around so fast, Derek was surprised he didn’t give himself whiplash. “What the hell are you talking about? You never miss out on games.”
“I’m saving my money.”
“For what?”
“Something.”
Derek probably would have minded his own business at that point, but Gavin didn’t seem to have any qualms about forcing the issue. “It’s the Yankees at Fenway, dude. What could possibly be more important than that?”
“I’m saving up to buy a ring for Wren, okay?”
“No shit,” Gavin said, and then he grinned and stuck out his hand. “Congratulations, man.”
Grant shook his best friend’s hand, but Derek didn’t miss the way his brow furrowed. “Thanks, but there’s nothing to congratulate yet. I need to find a perfect ring and then, you know...ask her.”
“Guys are dropping like flies around here,” Chris said. “Pretty soon there won’t be any single guys left to stand outside and flirt with the pretty women.”
“Hey,” Derek said, holding up his hands. “I’m not getting married again anytime soon.”
Rick looked up from the clipboard he’d been writing on. “Really? Because I’ve heard a few things about that woman you were stuck in the elevator with.”
That got everybody’s attention in a hurry. “You sure as hell didn’t hear that I’m marrying her.”
“No, but rumor has it you were making googly eyes at each other during the last Village Hearts meeting.”
“Googly eyes? Are you fucking kidding me with that?” Derek laughed. “There is no way in hell Jess used those words.”
“No, but she said there was so much sexual tension between you she was surprised the air wasn’t sizzling, and that made me want a steak so I stopped listening after that.”
“She was hot,” Scott said, as if Derek needed a reminder. “You guys were stuck in there for a while, too.”
“While I tended to her injury.” That was an exaggeration and it did nothing but remind him of how soft her skin was.
“She’s a little out of your league, though,” Scott continued.
That struck a nerve, though he did his best not to let it show. Yeah, she was out of his league. No matter how much he tried to tell himself it was a bullshit phrase that didn’t mean anything, it really did. While the chemistry between them might sizzle like a steak
when they were together on neutral ground, he was a burger and she was filet mignon. Wrapped in bacon.
“Good thing I’m not looking to play ball, then,” he lied.
As he’d hoped, the playing ball reminded them they’d been talking about Red Sox tickets and—other than a lingering, skeptical look from Jess’s husband—they jumped back to that topic.
Derek tuned them out and then headed upstairs. The way this day was going, it wasn’t going to be long before somebody threw a cigarette butt in a trash can without putting it out or got upset because a cat was sitting in a tree, so he was going to grab a snack while he could.
She’s out of your league.
They lived two very different kinds of lives, and it wasn’t just about the money, although that was a big part of it. Her life was her own, to plan and live exactly how she wanted it and she seemed to like it that way. His life wasn’t his own and hadn’t been for a very long time.
Since he surprised her with the call during the day on Monday, they’d spoken on the phone every night. On Wednesday night, he’d put his cell phone out of reach and tried to focus his attention on the TV screen to make the time pass. He felt as if he was rushing into something that could be a dead end, and he was determined to put a little space between them. Maybe cool things off.
But when his phone rang, he couldn’t help walking over to it and as soon as he saw her name on the screen, he’d forgotten about his doubts and answered. They talked about their days and expanded on the ideas they’d brainstormed at dinner. Last night they’d discovered they both watched a legal drama series and they’d watched together—almost perfectly timing hitting play on Hulu. Her voice on the phone as she tried to guess at the show’s twists and turns wasn’t quite as good as having her on the couch next to him, but he hadn’t minded.
When it was just the two of them, whether they were having a dinner or talking on the phone, it was easy to forget that nothing about their lives seemed compatible. And tomorrow, when he finally got to see her again at Kincaid’s, he knew he’d forget everything but her the second she stepped into the bar.
Under Control Page 6