by Francis Ray
Looking at the messages spread out on her desk, Julia was glad she had sent him the basket. Not many men would be that persistent in trying to contact a strange woman. It seemed Chase wasn’t a man who gave up.
A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. With a name like Chase she should have guessed. Leaning forward, she flipped through her Rolodex until she found the phone number for Chase’s hotel. She listened incredulously as the hotel’s message center clicked on. Figures , she thought and blew out an exasperated breath.
This was ridiculous. She wasn’t playing phone tag another day.
“Mr. Braxton, if you’re as tired of talking to machines as I am, I’d like to offer a solution, if your schedule permits. I have a late appointment at Leo’s, a supper club here in the city. I should be finished by nine, and then you and I could have drinks. I’ll wait for you until nine-thirty. If you’re able to come, just ask Erin, the hostess at Leo’s, to direct you to my table. Good-bye.”
Julia hung up the phone and sat back in her chair. She didn’t make dates with men, certainly not with men she had never spoken with, but someone had to take action and since he had tried to contact her so many times, she felt it was her responsibility.
Leo’s was perfect. The elegant supper club was a fabulous place to wine, dine, and unwind. Movers and shakers, working-class and corporate types frequented the restaurant. Maybe, just maybe, she’d finally get to put a face with a voice.
Chase wasn’t coming.
Julia took another sip of the white wine she had been nursing for the past thirty minutes. She glanced again at the tiny eighteen-karat gold watch inlaid with diamonds on her wrist. Nine-forty-five. She had given him plenty of time if he planned to show up.
Her meeting with Noah Hardcastle had gone extremely well. He liked the idea of Sweet Temptation supplying him with special desserts during the holidays, starting with a chocolate cranberry upside-down cake topped with cognac whipped cream for Christmas. In the meantime they would partner on a gift basket. She would supply the basket and giant chocolate-covered strawberries, Leo’s the vintage wine, crystal glasses, and signature linen napkins. Leo’s would be the exclusive outlet.
The popular supper club was already known as the happening place to meet, relax, and have fun, so why shouldn’t it, Julia reasoned, also be known as the place where romance begins? Glancing around the room bathed in soft light, the smooth sound of jazz flowing over the intercom, couples snuggled next to each other, their rapt expressions illuminated by the Tiffany lights on the round tables, or dancing on the intricately patterned parquet floor, she didn’t doubt for a moment the success of the baskets.
People fall in love every day. And one day, when my business is solidly successful, I might let myself fall in love, too. But for now, Sweet Temptation is my only temptation, she mused. Smiling at her little play on words, Julia ran her finger around the rim of her wineglass. Across the room, the double mahogany front doors opened. She straightened, then sat back in the chair. An elderly gentleman crossed to the elongated rosewood bar and slid onto one of the tall, padded stools.
Groans emanated from the four women at the table directly behind Julia.
“It’s certainly slim pickings tonight.”
“He’s old enough to be our grandfather.”
“There’s a football game on tonight.”
“It was drizzling when I came in.”
Julia listened to the four women and tucked her lower lip between her teeth. Was that where Chase was, watching a football game? Married and single female friends had told her, “Never try to compete with a football game. Even if you win, you lose.” Perhaps she should have scheduled their meeting later in the week.
The front door opened again and she glanced up sharply, unaware of the hope shining in her brown eyes. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood poised in the doorway. His black Stetson-covered head moved in a slow arc as he searched the room. His gaze paused briefly on her, then moved on. A sudden gust of wind pressed the long black rain slicker to his athletic body, then away. Julia got an immediate impression of strength and leashed power. A little shiver raced up her spine.
Jeans lovingly encased muscular thighs and long legs. His skin was the color of burnished teak. The white shirt emphasized his wide chest.
“Mercy, look what the rain drove in.”
“Now there’s a man who looks like a man.”
“If any of you are wondering what to give me for my birthday, you can stop.”
“Since I’m your friend, why don’t I make sure he’s in good working condition first?”
Laughter drifted from the table behind her. They were unabashedly man-watching but until now Julia hadn’t paid much attention to their rating scale. This time she did and wholeheartedly agreed with them.
This man was spectacular, and for some reason, she thought, dangerous. Perhaps it was the way his gaze encompassed the room in a single all-consuming glance. She could almost feel the intensity from across the room.
Finally, he let the doors swing shut and came farther into the restaurant. Erin stepped forward to greet him, then moments later turned and looked in Julia’s direction. Julia felt her breath catch. Tipping his Stetson to Erin, he started toward Julia.
“Oh, goodness, he’s heading in this direction.”
“If he passes us, I may grab his leg.”
“If you grab one, I’ll grab the other one.”
“Just make sure that’s all you grab.”
The women erupted into bawdy laughter. Julia briefly wondered why their laughter sounded muted, as if from a long distance away. She didn’t seem capable of anything except watching the man’s slow, purposeful stride toward her. The brim of his hat shaded the upper half of his clean-shaven face, but she easily distinguished the strong jaw, broad nose, mobile lips. His eyes were hidden from her, but for some odd reason, she felt their pull.
Another tiny shiver raced up Julia’s spine. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around her. The long-sleeved red suit jacket did little to help. Moistening her lips, she reminded herself it was always on the cool side in Leo’s and continued to watch the stranger who was creating such disquiet within her.
With each step that brought him closer, she hoped the man heading straight for her wasn’t Chase Braxton. She had asked to be seated near the back of the restaurant because she hadn’t wanted to appear conspicuous while she waited for Chase. There were three other tables behind her besides the one where the four women were seated. Maybe he was going to one of them.
Her hope died when he stopped directly in front of her and removed his hat. She almost groaned. The women behind her did.
No man should be that handsome. His lush black eyelashes were longer and thicker than hers. His eyes were black and entirely too intense. His mouth was full and sensuously inviting. Worst of all, he had a charming and irresistible dimple in his stubborn chin.
How could Mabel have done this to her?
“Julia Ferrington?”
Her throat went dry. This man was nothing like she had expected and everything that could make a woman act very, very foolish. “Chase Braxton?”
He nodded, his handsome face unsmiling. “You’re not what I expected.”
“Neither are you.”
THREE
Studying the flawless oval face of Julia Ferrington, Chase tried to reconcile what he was seeing to what he had imagined. He couldn’t. She was … lovely. It was not a word he used often, but he could think of no other way to describe the woman in front of him. Her smooth skin was the warm, inviting color of cinnamon. The eyes watching him warily were a deeper shade of brown. So was the lustrous curly hair that brushed her tense shoulders. He had never thought of bangs as being flirtatious. Hers were. The red suit was another surprise.
He’d thought she’d be buttoned-down, hidden from the prying and unwanted eyes of men. Again he had guessed wrong. She was dressed completely in red. Here was a woman with enough confidence to draw attention to herself with an
eye-stopping combination of sexy style and classy elegance.
“May I sit down?” He thought that best since his legs weren’t all that steady.
“Of course,” she said, her voice smooth and oddly breathless.
Pulling out a chair, Chase sat down across from Julia and studied the becoming flush on her face. Another surprise.
“We meet at last,” she said.
Chase grunted in the affirmative. There was nothing cool about her voice now. The tone was soft, shy, and enticing.
Julia twisted uneasily in her seat, trying to understand whatever it was about Chase that made her decidedly … restless and scattered. Then she decided it was his eyes … dark, hot, and mysterious.
To combat the feeling, she took a sip of wine and quickly discovered her mistake when his gaze shifted to her mouth. The scorching intensity had her gripping the stem. “I—I didn’t think you were coming,” she said, hoping to avert his attention from her lips.
Slowly his gaze widened to encompass her face once again. “I was out with some friends from the university and didn’t get your message until about thirty minutes ago.”
Julia’s eyes widened. The hotel was a good thirty minutes away in the best of travel conditions, and with the rain … “You must have rushed over here.”
Chase shrugged, then leaned forward in his seat and braced his arms on the table, telling himself he was just getting comfortable and not moving to get closer. “Why did you send the basket?”
She fiddled with her wineglass, then looked straight at Chase. She had always demanded honesty of herself and others, even when it was difficult to face. “I had been less than cordial and rather austere when I returned your phone call, and I wanted to make amends.”
Chase never took his eyes from Julia. Cordial, austere, amends. More words he didn’t hear or use. But he admired her honesty. She didn’t shift blame, just took responsibility for her actions. Since he admired those qualities and tried to emulate them, he had to admit he shared in the blame. His phone call to her had been impatient at best. “Then I should have been the one to send the basket. I was less than cordial and rather austere first.”
A slow smile curved her magenta-colored lips. “Now that you mention it.”
Did she know her mouth was enough to make a man weep? Somehow he didn’t think so.
“No wonder she was waiting so long.”
“Some women have all the luck.”
“Maybe she’ll throw him back.”
“Would you?”
Julia’s eyes widened in embarrassment. Her gaze skirted to Chase, then away. She had forgotten about the women. Heat pooled in her cheeks. “Chase, I’m sorry.”
“Why? You’re gonna throw me back?” he asked, enjoying the husky sound of his name on her lips.
She blinked.
“Forget it,” he said, annoyed with himself because for one crazy moment he had toyed with the tantalizing idea of her wanting to keep him and wanted her to disagree with him.
“I’m not much of a fisherman, but even a novice knows you have to catch something before you can throw it back,” she countered, trying not to be affected by the sensuous mouth, the dimpled chin, the drawling voice that stroked the skin and the senses. Most of all by the little voice in her head wondering what it would be like to “catch” a man like Chase Braxton.
His gaze strayed to her lips again. What was the matter with him? He went for the fun-loving, no-strings type. Somehow that wasn’t stopping him from fantasizing about how Julia Ferrington’s mouth would feel beneath his. He barely kept the scowl from his face.
What was the matter with her? Julia wondered. This man was a stranger. An annoyed-looking one at that. Perhaps she shouldn’t have had the wine on an empty stomach. All she’d had to eat today was a bagel and a cup of tea. Her first day back after a trip was always hectic. Noah had offered her dinner, but she’d declined. She had been afraid dinner might run over the time she expected Chase.
“Would you like another glass of wine?”
Opening her mouth to say, “No,” she yawned instead. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, covering her mouth with both hands in abject embarrassment and apology. “I caught the red-eye last night so I wouldn’t miss another day in the shop. I’ve only had a couple of hours’ sleep.”
“Surely your boss would let you off another day.”
Julia smiled. “I am the boss.”
Chase straightened. Black eyes widened. “You own Sweet Temptation?”
“Yes,” she answered proudly. “We celebrated our fourth anniversary two months ago.”
Chase floundered. “I thought you just did the baskets.”
“I do it all, including sweep floors and wash the windows,” Julia said without shame. “If I don’t take pride in the store I can’t expect my employees to.”
Chase stared at the well-dressed, elegant woman in front of him. “But Mabel didn’t mention you owned a business.”
“It’s no secret,” Julia said, but she wondered why herself. Mabel had always seemed so proud of Julia.
“I guess,” he said, then watched Julia fight back another yawn. She had to be exhausted, yet she had waited past the time she had stated to meet a stranger. Certainly not the action of an iceberg, but he had already discovered his mistake in judging her.
Julia Ferrington was turning out to be a complex, fascinating woman. Too bad he didn’t have time to explore the possibility of getting to know her better and learning if her mouth was as sweet as it looked.
Standing, Chase closed his hand around the back of her chair. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your car.”
Oddly reluctant, but aware that her body wanted to sleep, Julia picked up her briefcase from the corner of the table. “Thank you. I apologize.”
Strong fingers closed around her elbow. “No need. I’m just sorry I kept you waiting.”
“I didn’t mind,” she said, looking up at him. “I wanted to meet you.”
The genuine sincerity and warmth in her voice caused Chase’s fingers to tighten briefly on her arm. He felt the fine bones beneath his calloused fingers, the silk of the tailored suit, and loosened his hold. Wrong woman. Wrong time.
Outside they stopped beneath the restaurant’s awning and watched the steady downpour. Julia turned to Chase. “Good night. I’ll have to make a dash for it.”
Chase didn’t release her arm. “Where’s your car?”
“In the back I’m afraid.”
He pulled off his rain slicker and placed it over her shoulders in one easy motion. “It’s a little big, but it will keep you dry.”
Julia felt enveloped by his compelling, clean male scent, the lingering warmth from his body. It was almost like being in his arms. She flushed at the thought. “I couldn’t take your coat.”
“I’m wearing a hat, Julia,” he told her. “Besides, my clothes can take a little rain; that suit you’re wearing can’t.”
The dry cleaner could probably handle getting the Dior back in shape. What she couldn’t handle was Chase’s unnerving nearness or the way her pulse sped up when he said her name. Shaking her head, Julia reached up to take the slicker off.
“The coat stays.” With surprising gentleness, his hand closed over hers. Again Julia felt the tiny shiver.
The door behind them opened. Automatically they moved in tandem to one side, the motion bringing them closer. The nearness of the man was intoxicating. But his stubbornness was annoying. “I will not take your coat.”
“Then we’ll share it.” Before Julia could answer, he lifted the coat from her shoulders, stepped beside her, and raised it over their heads. “Now we both stay dry.”
His muscled thigh brushed against hers, sending more little tingles of awareness up and down her spine. The coat over and around them became a seductive cocoon. She had the ridiculous notion to step closer, press her lips to the dimple in his chin, then to his lips.
The door opened again. A young couple came out, nodded in greeting to Julia and Chas
e, then ran hand in hand laughing into the hard-driving rain. They were soaked within seconds. Carefree laughter drifted back to Chase and Julia. Clearly neither cared about being wet if they were together. Unexpectedly Julia felt a pang of envy, then pushed it away.
“Unless you want to follow their example and get drenched, we better get moving.”
“If you insist.” Julia turned briskly away from Chase, the cause of her strange and unwanted mood, and headed down the sidewalk to the parking lot just off the street. Chase’s long, easy strides easily matched hers.
Approaching her white unmarked minivan, she removed the key from the pocket of her suit jacket and disengaged the lock. Chase reached the door handle before she did, inadvertently pressing his long muscular frame against her. The intense heat and hardness was impossible to ignore.
Quickly she climbed in, as much to escape Chase’s disturbing presence as to let him get out of the rain. She was well aware that he had shielded her from the rain at his own expense.
Starting the vehicle, she let the window down. “Good night, Chase, and thanks for seeing me to my car.”
“I’m in a black Jeep Cherokee a couple of rows up front. Wait for me on the street. I’ll follow you home.”
“Ha—” He was already turning away. Julia let the window up and pulled out of the parking space. She could ignore his command couched as a request, but why bother? As it happened, she didn’t have a chance even if she wanted to. As soon as she hit the street, the Cherokee pulled out behind her.
Ten minutes later she pulled up to her condo building. Letting down her window, she waved good night to Chase and drove through the black iron security gates. It hadn’t escaped her attention that Chase had not asked to see her again, which was just as well. She was honest enough with herself to admit she was attracted to him. And practical enough to see that any relationship was impossible. According to the information Mabel had given her, he had only a little over four weeks in D.C. remaining.