Not In My Wildest Dreams (McKenna Series Book 2)

by Jamie Hollins

  Her lips twisted into a small smile. “Thanks.”

  She put her coat on and tied the belt at her waist. Her creamy white skin was a bright contrast to her black hair, trench coat, and the sky-high shoes she had on. After flipping off the lights, she tucked her purse under her arm and stepped out into the hall.

  “So. Where are we heading?”

  He swallowed, trying not to clear his throat for what seemed like the hundredth time since she had opened her door. It was time he got a grip. If he acted this way for the rest of the night, there was no way she would have fun. And he wanted to show her a good time.

  Taking a deep breath, he answered, “First we are heading to dinner. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  “First? You mean there’s more than just dinner?”

  They started to walk toward the elevators.

  “Lots more.”

  When Darcy looked over at him, her smile wavered, and he saw uncertainty cloud her gaze. Sean extended his elbow to her. “Just leave everything to me.”

  She hesitated and then slipped her small hand into the crook of his arm. He could feel her fingers grasp his bicep, causing him to automatically flex. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything.

  Sean pressed the elevator button and it dinged immediately, the doors opening in invitation. He knew it wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do, but he preceded her into the elevator. He didn’t want her to let go of his arm, and she would have if he let her go first.

  The button for the ground floor was already lit, so he pulled her toward the back corner of the elevator behind the other occupants. He felt her take a deep breath beside him, and he realized she must have been nervous too. He nudged her with his elbow, and when she looked up at him, her eyes were uncertain.

  He winked. Darcy pursed her lips, trying not to smile, but he could see the corners turn up ever so slightly.

  A small victory. He’d take it.

  ###

  “Ma’am, may I take your coat?”

  Sean turned to see Darcy smile at the coat-check attendant as she began to untie her coat’s belt.

  “Yes, sir. We have your table ready,” the hostess said, pulling his attention back to the hostess stand. “Right this way, please.”

  Sean stepped back and motioned for Darcy to precede him. He’d asked Hyde Wellington to pull some strings to get them a reservation. He’d explained that he had made last-minute arrangements to meet an old friend for dinner that night.

  Sean had said he was looking for someplace that was elegant yet comfortable. Hyde had phoned out to his receptionist and asked her to make a reservation for two at Berners Tavern.

  It took Sean three seconds after entering the restaurant to realize Hyde had been spot on. Its high ceilings, ornate chandeliers, and intricate crown molding screamed opulence. But the hundreds of thickly framed art pieces of every shape and subject matter that covered every square inch of the walls made him feel like he was having dinner in an obscure art museum.

  As Darcy passed him, the coat-check attendant handed Sean the ticket for her coat. He shoved it in his pocket and began to follow her, but he nearly knocked into a waiter carrying a large tray of plates after he got a look at Darcy’s back. Her red dress hugged every curve on her body, and the skirt swayed with each step she took.

  But it was the part of her dress that wasn’t there that had him zoning out. There was a large opening that showed her bare back.

  Holy shit.

  With his eyes, he traced the exposed line of her spine that passed between her shoulder blades. He wished the opening dipped lower, revealing the delicate skin just above her ass. He itched to touch her skin. The movement of her hips hypnotized him as he followed her all the way to the back of the restaurant where their table was.

  The hostess placed their menus on the table. It was the perfect spot, probably the best in the entire restaurant. Where all the other tables were close to one another, theirs was a semi-circular booth that sat a good distance from the rest of the dinner patrons. Hyde Wellington’s assistant definitely deserved a thank-you note.

  “Enjoy your meals,” the hostess said after they were seated.

  Sean watched as Darcy looked around the room, her eyes wide as she gazed up to the tall ceilings.

  “This place is amazing. It reminds me of the Great Hall of Staircases at Hogwarts.”

  He wouldn’t have pegged Darcy for a Harry Potter type of gal, but then again, there was a lot about her that he obviously didn’t know. Looking around, he scanned the walls until he came to a rather large portrait of a nude Victorian woman in the throes of ecstasy.

  “That one wouldn’t be found at Hogwarts,” Darcy said.

  He glanced back and noticed Darcy was looking at the nude portrait as well.

  Sean chuckled, opening his menu. “In that case, it definitely doesn’t sound like Harry Potter is my type of movie.”

  Darcy smiled and perused the menu in front of her. In the meantime, their waiter stopped by to fill their water glasses and take their drink order.

  “Do you know what you’re getting?” Darcy asked.

  Sean shut his menu and slid it underneath his bread plate. “I’m going with the lamb shoulder.”

  Darcy blinked. “You do realize the lamb shoulder is in the dinner-for-two section, right?”

  “I’m starving.” Sean grinned. “What are you getting?”

  “I’m thinking about the pumpkin risotto. It sounds festive.”

  Sean totally meant to listen to her response but was having some trouble. His eyes had caught on the valley of cleavage that peeked out above the top of Darcy’s menu.

  He remembered what her breasts had felt like in his hands. He remembered the way her nipples pebbled when he put his mouth to them. He shifted in his seat, glad they were sitting far enough away from the other diners that they couldn’t see the giant erection he had going on in his trousers.

  Sean was about to adjust himself when their waiter reappeared to drop off their drinks and take their order. Once he left, Sean looked across the table at Darcy and lifted his glass in her direction.

  “To new beginnings.”

  Darcy stared at him for a second before lifting her glass and tapping it against his. “To new beginnings,” she replied softly.

  Silence followed Sean’s toast. The sound of silverware hitting porcelain filled the room, along with the soft murmur of voices. Darcy looked uncomfortable. She looked everywhere but at him, and he suddenly was at a loss for what to say.

  He needed to do something about this awkwardness that sat heavily at their table.

  “How was your meeting with Ros Wellington today?”

  She cleared her throat. “It went well. She’s going to be really fun to work with, I think.”

  Sean watched as some of her anxiety lifted from her shoulders the way steam lifted from boiling water. She took another sip of her drink before she said, “We have similar tastes. She seemed to like my design ideas, and all her suggestions were really excellent. I have to admit that I was worried before I met Ros that our hotel would end up looking like a Liberace museum. But after meeting her, I’m fairly convinced that that won’t be the case.”

  “Why do you say that?” Sean smiled.

  “You know, I thought she was mega-rich living a mega-rich lifestyle. Opulence and glamour and all that. Then when we met her, I realized she was rather ordinary,” she answered before adding, “in a mega-rich sort of way.”

  He chuckled. “She wasn’t quite what I was expecting either. But I can see how they work. Their relationship, that is. He’s serious and extremely practical, while she’s carefree and uninhibited. He thinks with his head, she thinks with her heart. That’s a nice balance.”

  “I wonder if Hyde has always been so practical,” Darcy said.

  “I doubt it. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was a bit wild back in his younger years. Some men only grow up when they find something they really love to do. Maybe for Hyde that was
his career.”

  Darcy nodded thoughtfully. Her long black lashes hooded her eyes as she watched her drink swirl counterclockwise in her glass.

  “Some men, huh?” she finally asked, raising her eyes to his.

  Sean shrugged. “Not all, but some.”

  Her gaze narrowed slightly as she raised her glass to her lips. The muscles in her neck moved as she swallowed.

  “Are you one of them?”

  He couldn’t help but grin. He knew that her thoughts had been working along those lines.

  “I would have to say that working with Michael has shown me I have more potential than I thought. I honestly love my job. Yeah, it’s frustrating at times, and I want to leave the office and never come back. But it’s also rewarding. So maybe I haven’t fully grown up yet, but at least I’d say I’m on my way.”

  She smiled. “I’m happy for you. It’s important to like what you do.”

  “That internship with Michael is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  And he meant it. If Michael hadn’t made that deal with him and taken him under his wing to show him the ropes of the contractor business, there was no telling where Sean would be at the moment.

  Back then he’d had no ambitions, no long-term goals. He had excelled at drinking, fucking, and playing football and rugby. Those weren’t really the types of things you put on your resume. Thank goodness Michael had seen something in Sean that suggested he’d be a good general contractor one day.

  When Darcy finished her drink, Sean flagged down their waiter to get her another one. As they sat across from one another, she seemed lost in thought once again. She was back to looking anywhere but at him.

  His nerves heightened, which made his stomach growl. Jesus, didn’t they get some goddamn bread or something before their meal?

  “This is so awkward.”

  Leave it to Darcy to cut straight to the chase.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, playing dumb.

  She rolled her eyes at him. “This. You and me on a date. Since when does that happen?”

  “Well, it would have happened before now if you would have just asked me out.” He had meant to tease her, but her glare told him that she didn’t think he was funny.

  “Are you telling me that you would have said yes if I had asked you out when we were in high school?”

  Sean took a sip of his cocktail before twisting up his lips and narrowing his eyes as if he were in deep thought.

  “I might have. If you would have worn that dress back in high school, I definitely would have said yes. Hell, I would have asked you out first.”

  Pink stained her cheeks.

  “You do realize that makes you sound horribly shallow, right?”

  Sean laughed. “I’m kidding, Darcy. I was just trying to get you to smile.”

  She raised an eyebrow. He knew that being funny wasn’t going to settle things between them, and he sensed he was losing her. It was time to be serious.

  “Listen,” Sean said, “I’ve been thinking about this. Honestly, I can’t say I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but not having you in my life for the past few weeks has been rough. I’ve realized how important you are to me. At first, I thought that the answer was to get us back to being close friends. But after being around you again, I’m not sure that’s what I want.”

  Darcy took a sip of the drink that the waiter had just dropped off and smoothed out the napkin that lay on her lap. “What do you want?” she asked without meeting his eye.

  “I think I’d like to explore the more-than-friends option.”

  She swallowed before nodding. Finally, she looked back up and held his gaze. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  He watched as she bit her bottom lip. If it were any other woman, he might have believed her. But he could tell by the way her breath quickened and how her eyes kept darting away from his that she herself wasn’t completely convinced by what she said. And that uncertainty gave him hope.

  He leaned forward and asked softly, “Why do you say that?”

  “I think it’s pretty obvious that we aren’t…compatible.”

  Sean grinned and sat back in his seat. She had to be joking. They were more than compatible; they were fucking combustible.

  “I beg to differ.”

  Her mouth fell open in surprise. “Are you for real? You know we aren’t.” Darcy glanced around before turning back to Sean and lowering her voice. “Remember what happened in my apartment?”

  A slow smiled pulled at one side of Sean’s lips. “Oh, I remember.”

  “If you remembered it the way I remember, then you would realize you are batshit crazy for asking me out on a date.”

  Sean picked up his glass and pinned her with his eyes. “I’m glad you brought that up actually. I would really like to know how you remember that night. Because I remember it being pretty fucking spectacular. I mean, sure, if I’d have known it was your first time, I would have done things differently. I would have taken things a little slower.” He winced as he thought back to how he must have hurt her.

  She opened her mouth to reply but stopped and blinked at him. He could see the wheels turning in her head. He’d sensed there had been some miscommunication that night between them. Her current reaction was all the proof he needed to confirm that.

  He leaned forward on his elbows so he could lower his voice. “People without chemistry can have sex. Maybe they both get off in the end, but it’s pretty meaningless. People with chemistry can have fucking amazing sex. In my experience, good chemistry is hard to find. And Darcy, there is no denying that you and I have it.”

  Before she could reply, their waiter was at their table delivering their meals. After he left, Sean looked over at her.

  “Listen. We obviously have some things to clear up about what happened.”

  Darcy sat like a stone, staring at him from across the table. Her only movement was the rapid blinking of her eyes, and he hoped to God she wasn’t doing that to keep from crying. But since he’d never seen her cry before in all the years that he’d known her, he was fairly certain that wasn’t the case.

  “We have to talk about this,” he insisted. “I need you to spill everything in that head of yours. Because, Darcy, what happened between us was not a bad thing.”

  She closed her eyes and shook her head.

  She looked about ready to run, so he knew he needed to give her some time.

  “How about this? How about we finish our dinner in this lovely establishment? Let’s enjoy each other’s company. And then after dinner, I have one more thing planned before we officially call an end to our date. We can talk this whole thing out then, okay?”

  She slowly opened her eyes. They were clouded with uncertainty and skepticism. He knew he had a huge amount of work to convince her that he was seriously interested in something more than a friendship. God, he wished he could just spit out his emotions to get through to her, but he was terrible at that. It was so much easier for him to focus on the physical versus the emotional.

  Maybe that wasn’t the right approach.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and exhaled. “Okay.”

  “Okay.”

  The juices seeped from the meat into the braised potatoes underneath as he cut into his lamb. Sean slipped his fork into his mouth and tasted the succulent meat that all but melted on his tongue. Across the table, Darcy just stared at her plate.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked around a mouthful of delicious lamb.

  She stuck her bottom lip out and frowned. “I don’t know how you expect me to eat after everything you just said.”

  He finished chewing and swallowed.

  “Well, it’s easy, really. First, you take that silver thing they call a fork, scoop up some risotto, and place it in your mouth like this.” He demonstrated with his own food. As he chewed, he smiled at her.

  The corners of her lips pulled up infinitesimally before she picked up her fork. “Smartass
.”

  Chapter 20

  Something had changed. Darcy didn’t know what, but it had happened sometime after they’d left the restaurant. Although he was charming to a fault as usual, Sean’s demeanor had taken on a more serious tone sometime during their evening out.

  Darcy had first noticed his silence as their cab dropped them in front of the London Eye. After buying tickets, Sean casually took her hand and led them into their glass capsule. The warmth of his big hand around hers dulled her senses, and she was glad he was walking in front of her so she had time to mask the shock on her face before he saw it.

  It must have been one of the last rides of the night, and the slight drizzle earlier in the evening had kept most visitors away. Miraculously, the weather had lifted and the cloud ceiling was just high enough to give them a great view of the city skyline. They’d shared their Ferris wheel ride with only two other couples, and Sean and Darcy had one whole side of the capsule to themselves.

  She’d never been on the London Eye before and she had always wanted to go. Of course, there was no way for Sean to have known that, so the fact that he brought her here impressed her. He’d actually thought about date-like activities—activities that she would like—instead of dragging her off to some macho movie where everything blew up and everyone got bloodied.

  He’d been relatively quiet since leaving the restaurant, which led Darcy down a murky path of insecure thoughts. She thought maybe he was having second thoughts, but the hand-holding stunt had made her reconsider.

  Her heart rate had spiked when their capsule started to move, and Sean had pulled her to stand between his body and the glass window. His front had been flush against her backside.

  She’d chastised herself for thinking anything sexual, certain that Sean was most likely not thinking along those same lines. Then he rested he hands on the railing in front of her, caging her in as they reached higher and higher into the London sky.

  He began speaking softly into her ear, playing the tour guide and pointing out local landmarks. She’d been unaware that Sean had ever visited London before.

  She’d caught a word here or there, but mostly she had tried to keep herself from reacting to the way his breath gently brushed against the sensitive skin behind her ear. Or to the clean, woodsy scent of him dancing all around her. To everyone else in the capsule, they’d looked like a couple on a romantic ride. Every time Sean would shift his weight from one foot to the other and graze against her backside, her eyes would roll back and her panties would grow wetter.