Determined to take back control and keep it, she said, “Not tonight.”
“When, then?”
“I—I don’t know.” Her stomach was quickly twisting into a knot.
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is your opening.”
Luke sounded utterly sincere when he said, “And I can’t think of anyone I want there at my side more.”
But he was the competition. Could she really do it? With her shop closed under mysterious circumstances, could she really flaunt her…well, whatever Luke and she had…before God and everyone and in his arena?
She chose to be honest. “I don’t know that I can do it, Luke.”
“Please. Your being there would mean a lot to me.” He paused for a second and when she still didn’t agree, said, “Besides, you do owe me a third date—your rule.”
“Yeah, my rule.” Like they were still playing by them. She sighed. Her being there would mean a lot to him. No man had ever said that to her before. Part of her wanted to please him, so she said, “I’ll think about it.”
“Good! I can’t pick you up, but the opening runs from three until eight. Come anytime. I’ll expect you. Don’t disappointment me.”
But she wouldn’t make any promises and Luke finally stopped pushing.
“See me in your dreams, darlin’,” he said in that low velvet tone that made her toes curl. “’Cause I know you’ll be in mine.”
As if she could sleep.
12
LUKE SEARCHED the surging Hot Zone crowd for any sign of Helen—again—but the effort was in vain.
“Hot damn, boss, we did it,” Alexis said. “We have another success on our hands.”
“Seems like.”
“Cheer up. It could get worse.” She glanced around. “Hmm, the dessert table could use some freshening up. I’ll find someone to see to it.”
With that, his ever-efficient assistant disappeared into the crowd.
And what a crowd it was.
Not only had the twenty-and thirty-something singles made their expected appearance, but couples of all ages, a few families and even some older folk had been drawn out to see what Hot Zone was all about. Media people were there, too, covering every aspect of the new venue, from the fancy coffees to the hot tub currently occupied by several hired models. He’d thought to make it available to anyone, but reminding him that with a big crowd like this, anything could happen, Alexis had talked him out of it.
What would he do without her?
He didn’t want to think about it—didn’t want to believe either of the women working for him could be making Helen’s life hell. Not today, of all days. But he knew he would have to face the possibility, and soon.
Curiosity had attracted a steady stream of people from the moment the doors had opened at three until now. Luke checked his watch. Nearly six. He guessed Helen wasn’t going to show, after all. He tried to bite back his disappointment, but it filled him with something he could only describe as loss.
How could this be? he wondered, searching the crowd yet again.
There were plenty of beautiful women in the room, including several local celebrities who’d made a point of securing an introduction to him. An actress…a traffic reporter from a local news station…a North Shore debutante who headed a leading charity…he could be wearing any one of them on his arm right this moment.
Trouble was…he didn’t want any of them.
He wanted Helen.
Man, was he in trouble!
He couldn’t ever remember feeling like this about a woman before. Couldn’t ever remember wanting more from a woman than she was willing to give.
He’d lived more than a dozen years of adulthood the same way he had his youth—moving around, having a good time with impermanent relationships, avoiding attachments of any kind. He didn’t even have a real place to live, merely a single-bedroom apartment in Houston, the space he occupied on the occasional trip to the Hot Zone corporate office, such as it was. And before opening each new venue, he short-term leased or sublet places in whatever city it was so he had somewhere to keep his things until it was time to move on again.
Suddenly Chicago was looking good to him as a home base.
Great city…even greater Helen.
He could imagine himself traversing every mile of lakefront, exploring every neighborhood, discovering restaurants that no one else knew about…all with her. He could even imagine living in that huge old house of hers, helping her pick out furnishings, digging in the garden and cooking side by side with her in her kitchen.
How had he become such a chump? He was desperate for a woman who didn’t even have him on her radar.
Hearing a familiar voice call his name from somewhere across the room—his public relations director was on the prowl—Luke figured he’d better get his butt back in gear. Nevertheless, before going in search of Flash and whichever media mogul she currently had in tow, he gazed around the room one final time.
That’s when he spotted her at last.
Practically swallowed by a crowd of her contemporaries, Helen stood out among them. Wearing a low-cut, sleeveless cream-colored dress that clung to her curves as if she’d been poured into it, a gold-toned collar trimmed with green gemstones encircling her neck and thin matching bracelets around her upper arms, her blond hair a riot of curls, she looked for all the world like a goddess.
If only she realized how amazing she was, Luke thought, noting her expression—wary and a little intimidated.
And then her gaze met his and her features immediately softened. Her lips curved into a wide smile and her eyes glittered like emeralds and Luke’s stomach did a flip-flop as he shouldered through the crowd to get to her.
He stopped bare inches in front of her, fighting the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her passionately. She would respond…and then be embarrassed to death.
“I didn’t think you were going to come,” he said.
“I didn’t, either.”
“What changed your mind?”
“You.”
The single word affected him more than he imagined it could. The sound of it turned him on—not a surprise considering they were practically touching—but its intensity kick-started his heart so that he could hear the rush of blood through his ears.
The enormity of his feelings for this woman hit him with the speed and ferocity of a locomotive, but he wouldn’t put more specific words to them, not even to himself.
He took her hand and drew it through his arm. “Let me show you around.”
“I think I could get around this place in the dark.”
They grinned at each other and Luke wished it was dark, that this shindig was over and he could be alone with her. But, once more, duty called from the across the room.
“Luke, darling!”
Ignoring Flash and leading Helen in the opposite direction, he said, “Then let me show you off.”
Helen laughed and, sap that he was, Luke now felt as if his heart did a flip-flop.
Physically impossible, he knew, and yet…
With this woman at his side, anything seemed possible.
HELEN HAD TO ADMIT that she was glad she’d taken the plunge to be supportive of Luke. He was returning the favor, quite nicely as a matter of fact. He was keeping her close to his side, as if he meant to protect her, whether from stares in general or from irritating media people, who asked questions that made her feel foolish.
One was stalking her now.
“So you’ve given up the good fight and have taken the easy way out, have you?” asked a young reporter who wrote for one of the freebies stuffed in business doorways every week.
“I don’t understand,” she said with a smile both pleasant and forced.
“Your place is under lock and key and you’re here, riding the coattails of success.”
“Ms. Rhodes is here as my specially invited guest,” Luke corrected him, pulling her closer into his side. “If anything, I worship her.”
“Actually, I thought it somewhat understated,” Luke returned. “C’mon, darlin’, let’s get you some goodies.”
Helen barely waited until they were out of the guy’s earshot before teasing him. “Goodies…now…in the middle of this circus?”
“What?”
“Goodies…oh, you mean food,” she added with mock-innocence.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Don’t tempt me unless you mean it.”
Why not? She was tempted. She certainly would rather be alone with Luke than in the presence of all these people. But this was his big night and she didn’t need to prove anything. No getting around it, she needed to behave herself.
For now.
“Why don’t I meet you at the buffet in a few minutes?” she suggested.
“How can I be sure you won’t disappear on me?”
“Trust goes two ways, you know.” She eyed the line outside the women’s locker room. “But don’t get anxious if it takes me a while.”
Following the direction of her gaze, he said, “You could use the facilities upstairs.”
Hating to wait in line for anything, she said, “Great,” so he escorted her as far as the stairs, marked off-limits to anyone but employees.
But upon entering the second-floor ladies’ lounge, Helen feared she’d made a mistake. Flash stood before the large mirror and fussed with her hair.
“Helen,” she said, voice terse.
“Flash.”
Stomach tightening, Helen told herself not to be silly—Alexis was the one who worried her, not Flash—and went about her business.
But when she exited the stall, the public relations director was still there.
As Helen washed her hands, she slid her gaze to the woman who seemed well enough put together that she didn’t have to fuss. That umpteenth coat of lipstick Flash was applying had to be her way of stalling for time.
Helen’s instincts went on alert.
Part of her wanted to whip back out to the party and the security of having lots of people surrounding her, but another part refused to avoid a potentially uncomfortable situation. That’s all it would be, after all. Flash didn’t like her.
The feeling was mutual.
And even if it was more than that, even if Flash was the one trying to hurt her business—maybe even trying to hurt her—surely she wouldn’t try anything with dozens of potential witnesses just below.
Refusing to be cowed, Helen parked herself in front of the mirror, where she finger-combed a few curls back from her face, then reapplied her own lipstick. And all the while, she was aware of the other woman staring at her in the mirror.
“If you have a problem with me, no one is forcing you to stay here,” Helen finally said.
She caught a heated look—again indirectly—before the public relations director blinked and masked whatever she’d been thinking.
“What makes you believe I have a problem with you?” Flash asked in her best PR voice.
“You haven’t exactly been congenial to your boss’s girlfriend.”
The word girlfriend was out of her mouth before she could stop it and no way was Helen going to give Flash the edge by taking it back.
“Don’t get your hopes up where Luke is concerned,” Flash said. “You’re simply another in a whole lineup of pretty faces Luke amuses himself with when the mood strikes him. In the scheme of things, you’re insignificant.”
Struck dumb by the direct assault, Helen gaped at Flash before regaining her wits. “What has made you so bitter?” she asked point-blank, unable to help herself. Flash’s disregard for her feelings got to her, as did the intimation that Luke was using her. “The fact that you’re not one of them?”
Flash laughed. “I’ll be with Luke long after you’re gone, honey. Which will be sooner than you think. Luke has told you about our plans for The Big Apple, hasn’t he? As a matter of fact, we have a few Manhattan properties to check out in the next few weeks.” Flash’s mouth made a red O. “Oops, he hasn’t told you, has he?”
With a shrug of her shoulders, Flash left Helen to contemplate an immediate future minus Luke DeVries.
The Big Apple.
He was leaving Chicago for New York City and soon.
What had she expected?
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Helen told herself that it didn’t matter. She hadn’t expected him to stop expanding his business so that he could stay in Chicago. She hadn’t expected anything more than her usual short-lived fling.
Grateful for the reminder of what she had to do to protect herself, Helen thought she ought to thank Flash for straightening her out.
Well…maybe not.
She would simply live in the moment, prepare herself to have the best night of sex ever with Luke before kissing him goodbye for good.
This was their third date, after all.
So why did her dating rule suddenly seem so foolish?
HELEN ALLOWED Luke’s positive energy to sweep her along with him as he made the rounds, greeting media types and neighbors with the same panache.
Everyone loved him, she thought.
Everyone…
Closing time drew near and the crowd thinned, and that’s when Helen saw Kate, standing at the picked-over dessert buffet alone. Shoving a piece of lemon bar into her mouth, the wraithlike woman peered around until her unhappy gaze connected with Helen’s.
And remembering the promise she’d neglected to keep, Helen winced inside.
Since Luke was busy, she slipped away to join her assistant manager. “Hey, I owe you an apology.”
“No kidding.”
“I’m sorry I forgot to call you this morning. My mind was elsewhere.”
Kate’s gaze slid over her shoulder where Helen had left Luke. “Yeah, right. Your mind was exactly where it’s been for the past week.”
“It’s been a roller coaster of a week, Kate.” Guilt welled in Helen. She’d hired Kate to spell her, but she feared she’d been taking advantage. And now this. “All I can offer you is an apology and a day’s pay.”
“And you think that’s going to buy you my loyalty?”
Uh-oh, that didn’t sound good.
Not wanting to lose her first full-time employee— Kate had been a godsend to her—Helen said, “Please tell me you’re not going to quit.”
“Actually, that’s why I’m here.” Kate straightened her stance and stuck her chin up in the air. “I thought I might find a job working at Hot Zone.”
“Kate, please, no. It’s been a bad week. Worse even than you know. I’m pleased with your work and I want you to be happy at the café. I promise things will get better. Don’t make up your mind now, not when you’re angry with me.”
“Well…”
Sensing the young woman was torn, Helen quickly pressed her advantage. “Think about it, okay? Then once we reopen and everything settles down, we’ll have time to talk and see if there’s something we can work out to make you feel better about your situation.”
Kate heaved a sigh. “All right. I’ll give you another chance. Assuming you don’t forget to call me to tell me the café is open again.”
“No more forgetting,” Helen said, wondering if it was possible to depend on someone other than herself in business, if not in her intimate life.
Kate left and Helen rejoined Luke, who slipped an arm around her waist and introduced her as his “good friend” to the couple who had his attention.
Good friend…is that what she was?
Better than a poke in the eye, as Nick would say.
Helen tried to shut away any negativity that would affect her last night with Luke, but visions of big red apples danced in her head.
What was happening to her?
Why couldn’t she let the conversation with Flash slide and simply enjoy the moment?
Somehow she got through the final hour of the grand opening without Luke catching on. She smiled, she spoke, she supported.
But when the crowd cleared out of Hot Zone and she and Luke were finally alone, she went limp with relief.
Luke was checking things over at the main service counter, making certain all was to his liking before they could leave. As she watched him attend to small details like the placement of cups and wiping the stainless steel sink dry, Helen felt her throat tighten.
Simply looking at him made her weak in the knees. And in the head. What was happening to her? Helen wondered. How could one man obsess her so?
“Just a few more minutes and we can get out of here,” he told her, his voice low and husky with promise.
But rather than being ready for a night of hot sex, Helen needed some straight talk.
She leaned her elbows on the counter and watched his every movement as he peered into the refrigerator and checked over the cartons of milk and half-and-half—things his new employees had already done.
“It must be great to have such loyal employees. What’s your secret?”
“I simply treat people who work for me the way I would want to be treated myself.” His forehead furrowed as he rounded the counter. “Have you been having more problems at your place? Did someone quit?”
“Not exactly. Well, I hope not. My employees all have been transient—part-timers making money while going to school—until I hired Kate.” Though Kate had threatened to quit on her, he misunderstood what she was getting at. “Actually, I was wondering about Alexis and Flash.”
His “What about them?” wasn’t as casual as she might have expected. She recognized a tension in his voice that immediately put her on edge.
“Do they have any reason to be possessive?”
“Of Hot Zone?”
“Of you.”
Luke appeared surprised at that. “Not anything of my doing, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t consider dating employees ethical. I’ve always kept my business and personal lives separate. Obviously you have reason to think they feel otherwise.”
“Nothing concrete.” Not wanting to make accusations she couldn’t support, she nevertheless had to bring this out in the open. “Just instinct. Alexis especially. It’s the way she looks at you, is so protective of your time, orders the same fancy coffee as you do.”
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