Not In My Wildest Dreams (McKenna Series Book 2)

by Jamie Hollins

  “Darcy?”

  The sound of her name being called snapped her out of her unpleasant walk down memory lane. She looked up at the faces that were all looking back at her. “I’m sorry?”

  Sean chuckled. “Do you have a status update for us?”

  Darcy shook the cobwebs out of her head and smiled as she looked around the table.

  “Yes. I’ve pulled together a team to assist me in carrying out the interior design. I’ve been working with Charlie to source out materials, and so far, I’m coming in just under budget. I’ve built in some wiggle room because I anticipate snags to pop up somewhere, but so far so good.” She paused to flip back through her notes to her list of discussion topics. “Once we have a better idea of the timeline and when Interior is ready to get involved onsite, I’ll have a more detailed plan. As of right now, I’ve arranged storage space for some of the harder-to-find pieces that I’ve had to order.”

  She stuck the tip of her pen in her mouth as she perused her notes, making sure she hit all the important points. “Oh,” she said, spotting one last thing. “Hyde Wellington’s executive assistant contacted me about setting up a meeting with his wife, Rosalind, so she can select the room designs. Daniel, you’ll be seeing the expense report for my planned trip to London on your desk in the next few days.”

  She looked up, accidentally connecting with Sean’s attentive eyes. Quickly looking away at anyone else but him, she smiled. “That’s about it.”

  “Very good,” Sean added. He moved onto Rhys, who gave a similar yet much shorter summary of his status report.

  As the updates made their way around the table, she looked at her watch. The dials showed eleven o’clock. The meeting was almost over.

  Michael mentioned something about all subcontractors needing to complete the mandatory safety training and to talk with Rebecca at the front desk to schedule the training in the next week. As the meeting wrapped up with individual questions that Sean fielded, Rhys nudged Darcy’s arm.

  “What are you doing for lunch?”

  “I’m actually headed back to Providence right after the meeting.”

  The big man frowned. “What’s the rush? You can’t delay by a couple hours to have lunch with me?”

  “Not today, sorry. But I’ll take a rain check?” Darcy started to pack her tote. The meeting was officially over, and some of the participants started to push away from the table.

  She needed to leave. Now.

  “Fine. A rain check it is,” Rhys replied. “Maybe we can do our safety training together. Seeing you in a hard hat would be a huge turn-on.”

  Darcy laughed. “There’s something wrong with you.”

  He smiled as she stood and pushed her tote into the bend of her arm. She gave him a small wave and made her way to the door. Once back in the reception area, she pressed the elevator button before grabbing her coat from the coatrack.

  Shoving her arms into her sleeves, she closed her eyes, silently praying the elevator would arrive soon. She’d maintained her composure for an entire two hours, but it was definitely slipping. With a loud ding, the elevator doors opened, and she quickly stepped inside. She jabbed at the button marked Lobby and repeatedly tapped it to close the doors.

  “Darcy! Don’t you want to schedule your safety training?” Rebecca called from her desk.

  “I’ll check my schedule and call you!” Darcy yelled back as the elevator slowly closed.

  She held her breath for the few seconds the car remained on the seventh floor. As soon as it started its descent, she slumped against the back railing.

  Thank you, Jesus.

  Seeing Sean was hard enough. Talking to him would have been impossible.

  ###

  A quiet relief settled in Sean’s chest as the meeting progressed almost to the point of making him giddy.

  It was like when he was sixteen and he missed curfew. He’d carefully and quietly sneak back into the house through an unlocked window in the back of their home. He’d learned the trick from Ewan. If he knew it’d be a late night, he’d unlatch the window in the laundry room so he could crawl back through. After he’d snuck into the house and up to his room undetected, without having to pass his waiting father’s sleeping form in the living room, the relief was as sweet as it got.

  Now he felt that same wonderful feeling swimming through his bones.

  When he’d first spotted Darcy entering the conference room, he’d held his breath. His heart rate had spiked, and apprehension had coiled in the pit of his stomach. She’d looked lovely in her black-and-white outfit and her sky-high red shoes.

  He hadn’t spoken to Darcy since he’d last seen her in her apartment. Rebecca had notified him that all subcontractors, including Darcy Owens, had confirmed today’s meeting. He’d known what an awkward reunion it would be. He’d assumed she’d treat him with cold indifference. Sean was surprised when she’d looked him directly in the eye without any animosity. In fact, she’d acted completely normal.

  He’d watched her out of the corner of his eye, giving her sidelong glances as Michael and the other subcontractors gave their reports. Her red-painted lips would turn up a little at the corners in response to something someone said. She wrote furiously in her notebook, which was no surprise considering she’d always taken terrific notes. Hell, her notes were one of the only things that had gotten him through school.

  She’d participated in the meeting. She’d even laughed at one of his jokes. And just like every other time he’d ever made her laugh, it’d given him that warm sense of triumph.

  Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe everything was going to be okay between them.

  He’d been concerned when she wasn’t there on time. One of Darcy’s many attributes was the fact she was religiously on time, no matter the circumstances. He’d thought maybe she bailed on the meeting or God forbid was late because of an accident. Relief after seeing her approach the conference room had given way to uncertainty as he’d awaited his sentencing. Now as the meeting finished and everyone prepared to leave, he was eager to talk to her. It looked like the storm might have blown over.

  “Sean, can I get your signature on this lumber supplier validation list?” Charlie asked as he pushed a sheet of paper in front of Sean.

  He scribbled his name across the signature line after a cursory glance at the list. They used the same suppliers for every job. He was confident that Charlie was on top of things.

  “Hey, Sean,” Daniel called. “I have some expense reports and purchase orders for you to approve. Can I bring those by your office in about an hour?”

  Sean nodded to Daniel as he pushed in his chair. “Sounds good.”

  “Nice meeting, son.” Michael swatted him on the arm. “You almost had me fooled that you knew what you were doing.”

  “I learned to bluff from the best.” Sean smiled as he walked around the corner of the table.

  He looked up expecting to see Darcy but stopped when he saw her empty chair instead. He hastily scanned the conference room. There was no sign of her. It was like she hadn’t been there at all. He quickly strode out of the room and toward the reception desk.

  “Rebecca, have you seen Darcy?”

  The cheerful secretary nodded, her ponytail bouncing on top of her head. “Yes, you just missed her,” she replied, pointing toward the elevator.

  Sean turned and looked at the lights atop the elevator and saw that it was just passing the fourth floor.

  Fuck.

  He hurried to the emergency stairway and pushed through the door. He skimmed both sides of the handrails with his hands as he raced down the steps. He couldn’t let her leave without talking to her. He needed that reassurance that everything was okay. She’d acted like it was. Now he needed to make sure. Because goddamn it, he hated things being fucked up between them.

  Skipping the last two steps on the bottom floor, he launched himself out the exterior door into the cool morning air and looked around. He couldn’t see her between the cars, but he could
hear the clicking of her heels. He took off in the direction of the sound and finally caught sight of her a few rows away.

  “Darcy!”

  She must not have heard him. Her dark coat was billowing behind her in the unusually strong breeze.

  Jesus Christ, how could she walk so fast in those shoes? He was practically running and he wasn’t gaining on her. And why the fuck had she parked so far away?

  He made his way around another parked car between them, and he called her name again. This time she heard him. She slowed down and eventually stopped but kept her back to him. The wind was blowing her hair across the back of her bowed head, and he saw the pale, graceful line of her neck above the collar of her coat.

  “Hey, wait up,” he said, finally reaching her. She turned and raised her cool eyes to meet his. “Jesus, you’re fast. I wanted to ask you if you had plans for lunch. I thought maybe we could grab a bite.”

  She blinked twice. “No, thank you.” Her voice was cordial but short.

  He watched as she pulled a strand of dark hair out of the corner of her mouth. Her lips were the same bright red as her shoes. Against her pale, milky skin, the color was captivating. It was hard for him to tear his gaze away from her mouth and back to her eyes.

  “Are you staying in town?”

  She blinked again. “No.”

  He frowned. Something was off.

  “I thought you’d get a hotel room. Didn’t Rebecca send details on the training that you’d have to do this week?”

  “Yes, she did.”

  There was that hollow tone again. Her eyes were calm like a placid lake, but her voice was all wrong.

  “So you’re leaving? Going back to Providence?”

  Darcy nodded once.

  Sean scratched his head. The relief he’d felt earlier scattered with the wind that gusted through the parking lot. She wasn’t okay. Things weren’t back to normal.

  “I thought we could grab a sandwich and talk.” He watched her as he spoke, saw her lips part slightly. He saw indecision bleed through the calm in her eyes. But then she blinked and it was gone.

  “Not today.” He thought he heard a slight quiver in her voice. But he didn’t have time to think about it before she abruptly turned and started walking toward her car. Acting on impulse, he reached out and grasped her wrist to stop her.

  She turned and stared at where his hand circled her tiny wrist. Her gaze slowly rose to his. Everything she wouldn’t say aloud swam in the depths of her dark eyes.

  This is killing me.

  I’m a complete fucking mess.

  I miss you.

  His mouth went dry, and it was hard to swallow. He realized he wanted her to say those things. He needed her to say those things. Because he felt the same way. If they could just find some common ground, they could get past this.

  He moved his thumb gently along the fragile bone above her wrist. “We really need to talk. I don’t want things to be this way between us.”

  She blinked and pulled in a deep breath as she turned her head to look across the parking lot. Every spot in the lot was occupied but it felt deserted. He couldn’t move his eyes away from her face. He watched the wind brush her hair across her cheek. He thought he saw her bottom lip tremble when she parted them.

  She turned back toward him but looked at the ground. When she spoke, he could barely hear her above the gusty breeze.

  “I don’t either. But they have to be.”

  Without meeting his eyes, she pulled her wrist free of his grasp and turned back toward her car. He didn’t try to stop her this time. His chest tightened as he watched her climb into her car, reverse out of her spot, and make her way to the exit. She turned north out of the lot and disappeared, his view obstructed by the Rolland Construction office building.

  The emotions circling in her eyes contrasted with her words. He saw hurt and pain and yearning. A yearning for what, he wasn’t sure.

  He wanted to offer a resolution if she’d just let him. A way to find their way back to the friendship that they had. A friendship that grew more and more important to him the longer he didn’t have it.

  A determination bloomed inside of him. He had waited two whole weeks without calling or texting. He’d given her space. He was done waiting for her to come around. It was evident that he would have to force her hand.

  As he stood in the deserted parking lot amongst the many rows of cars staring at the spot he’d last seen her, a plan started to form in his mind. He grinned to himself, turning back toward his building with a purpose to his step. It was time to put his plan into action.

  Chapter 16

  “Have a nice flight, ma’am.”

  Darcy smiled at the security agent checking her photo ID against her boarding pass. She followed the line of travelers through the security checkpoint, placing her shoes, coat, purse, and laptop bag onto the conveyor belt. She slid her laptop out and into a separate tray along with her small bag of travel-size liquids that she kept in her purse at all times. She’d arrived just in time to Boston’s Logan International Airport for her flight to London. She planned to grab a few magazines on her way to her gate and feast on celebrity gossip and fashion during her plane ride.

  She wasn’t meeting with Rosalind Wellington until tomorrow. She’d decided to catch an early flight so she could do some shopping before the shops closed in the evening. London had far better shopping than Providence offered, and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity.

  After collecting her things on the other side of security, buying a bottle of water, and picking up her highly anticipated gossip magazines, she made her way to her gate.

  Her flight left in a little over a half hour, which meant they should be boarding soon. She found a seat near the window and settled her bags on the seat next to her. Deciding to read this month’s Cosmopolitan magazine first, she balanced her water bottle between her knees and shrugged off her coat. She couldn’t wait to read the article on the many ways guys get ready for a date and the poll on “What Men Really Think of Women’s Bodies.”

  Settling into her seat and opening the magazine, a shadow fell over the page.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  She looked up toward the voice and stared. Blinking rapidly, her mouth fell open.

  Sean stood smiling down at her, dressed in a button-down black dress shirt and charcoal-gray suit pants. His suit jacket was draped over his arm, and he carried a laptop bag in his other hand. He tossed his jacket and bag on a seat and flopped down next to Darcy, jarring the entire row of connected seats.

  “Hi,” he said, grinning at her. His short, sunny locks, which looked more golden than usual, contrasted brightly against his dark clothes.

  She slowly looked around the gate area. She looked down at her boarding pass. Was she in some sort of twilight zone?

  “What are you doing here?”

  He gave her a look that told her he thought she was a bit slow. “I’m flying to London. Same as you.”

  “But why?”

  He raised his brows and shrugged. “I have a meeting with Hyde. He couldn’t come here, so I’m going there.” Frowning, she watched him riffle through his bag, finally pulling out a Chapstick. “My lips get so dry when I fly. Don’t yours?”

  She watched the Chapstick applicator smear across his bottom lip before running along the top. She realized she moved her lips in sync with his as that all-too-familiar pang of desire stirred in her belly. Although completely involuntary, that pang was unwanted. Darcy’s bewilderment turned to irritation as he put the cap back on his Chapstick and tossed it in his bag.

  “Why are you taking such an early flight?”

  Crossing his ankle over his opposing knee, he shrugged. “I’m a morning person.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Sean looked back over at Darcy, one corner of his mouth turning up. “Okay, you got me. I knew you were flying out this morning. I had to make a trip to London, so I figured I’d just fly with you.”

  Sh
e shook her head as she looked away from him. She was not okay with this. It had been nearly a week since she’d seen him at the subcontractors’ meeting, and she wasn’t anywhere near ready to think about him, let alone travel with him to London.

  He shifted next to her, bouncing her seat in the process as he pulled his boarding pass out of his pocket.

  “What seat are you?” he asked.

  Not looking at him, she handed him her ticket.

  “Oh, look at that. You’re right next to me.”

  “What a coincidence,” she grumbled as she snatched the boarding pass back from him.

  The airline attendant made an announcement to begin boarding their flight. She looked around at the nearly full sitting area, and her hopes of moving to an empty seat on the plane vanished.

  “Would you mind switching seats with me?” Sean asked. He stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. “I’d prefer the aisle seat so I can stretch out my legs.”

  She took a deep breath. “Fine.”

  She prayed for patience. She prayed that the pilots would try to break the Boston to London Heathrow flight time record. She prayed that the cabin leaked some sort of nontoxic gas that put them all to sleep temporarily so that when she woke up, they’d be in London and she could be on her way to her hotel without her new sidekick.

  “Coming?”

  Darcy looked up and saw Sean waiting in the middle of the row for her. She gathered her stuff and shoved her coat through the straps of her carry-on baggage. Stuffing the Cosmo under her arm and grabbing her unopened bottle of water, she walked past Sean toward the ticket counter. He followed quietly, greeting the airline attendant with a charming hello, which made Darcy roll her eyes. She stopped at the end of the line of passengers on the gangway and flinched slightly when Sean stopped beside her.

  “Do they serve food on this flight?”

  “I assume so,” she answered, not bothering to look his way.

  He was unbelievable. Was she being punished? Did he not realize how incredibly awkward this was?