A few more minutes. She could have a few more minutes before reality intruded and she had to face life, couldn’t she?
“It doesn’t have to end,” he told her, his eyes so blue and so mysterious as he leaned down a little more, closer to her.
She sighed.
One kiss. Surely one kiss wasn’t too much. It wouldn’t matter, would it? Surely... Surely she could have that.
“I... Dave...”
“I love how you say my name. Makes me want to hear it in so many ways. I want to hear you say my name when you can hardly breathe.”
She couldn’t breathe.
He was so close.
Just... Just one kiss...
“Dave,” she whispered, the breathless sound surprising her too, and his eyes darkened. His hands on either side of her, he leaned down, until their lips were just a breath away from touching.
Her heart pounded so hard.
She wanted...
She needed...
It had been so long since she’d felt such need. It had been so long since she’d been touched.
“Dave.”
He groaned but held back, barely touching her lips with his, brushing them so lightly in a caress so gentle she might have wondered if it was real if her heart hadn’t started beating as if it would explode out of her chest, if her body hadn’t quivered awake as if it had always been waiting for that moment, that touch, that contact with his lips.
She sighed, and whispered his name again.
His hands stayed where they were as he kissed her again, his tongue stroking over her lips this time, leaving her shuddering, her lips parting, welcoming him in.
She wanted more. She wanted everything.
Now.
She pressed herself to him, her hands in his hair, dragging his head to hers, her body flush against him and kissed him.
And her phone buzzed from the pocket of her dress.
Chapter 9
Dave tried to find his footing as the wild, needy woman who had wrapped herself around him disappeared and was replaced by the composed, cool one he'd met that first day, her phone already in her hand.
“I’m sorry, I have to...”
Dave stepped away, shrugging, surprised by the intensity of the rejection he felt.
It meant nothing, of course. He wasn’t a randy teenager. He knew how real life worked. People had priorities, and she didn’t belong to him.
He didn’t want her to belong to him.
“Terry, please, slow down. Yes. All right, I’ll come and pick you up.”
She hung up.
Terry. He recognized the name. Terrence Burke, the slick swindler she'd married, the one who apparently still had her on tap whenever he wanted her for anything. How much would she do for him?
How far would she go for him?
The jealousy was primal, the rage nearly overwhelming. Dave fought for control and he won.
None of his business.
Like hell.
"Anything wrong?"
He kept his voice deceptively casual even if rage bubbled inside him. Rage and rejection. Unreasonable, of course. He had no claim on her.
"No, I... I'm sorry, Dave. This has been a lovely night but I have to go now."
"Can I take you anywhere?"
He watched as she considered, then dismissed.
"No, thank you. I'll get a cab. It's just... a friend, in a spot of trouble, that's all. Nothing big, just... Well, just, I guess... it's fine, it's nothing I haven't handled before."
Dave nodded.
"Then I'll thank you for a lovely evening and wait till you get a cab."
"Oh, you don't have to..."
"I insist," he snapped, and waited as she hailed a cab and got in.
He didn't try to persuade her not to go.
He had more pride than that. Apparently, she didn't. When her ex beckoned, she would drop everything and go running to him.
It was a good thing, he decided. It was a good thing he'd found that out before it was too late. Before he was in too deep. Now he knew that he should keep his distance, for his own good. And for Meg.
Would she choose her ex over Meghan, too?
He didn't think he wanted to find out.
"Bye," he said, and turned away without waiting to see if she had anything more to say.
Humiliated despite himself, he got into his car and drove away, sure that it had all been a mistake. And wondering how he was going to get it all out of his system because he'd never thought he would be shaken by a kiss like that again.
***
"Well, that was quite the weekend you had," said Felicity.
She looked well, and as satisfied as a cat that had knocked over half a dozen bottles of cream and enjoyed every bit of it.
"I suppose," said Tamara, more than a little annoyed.
"Well, at least the thing you were worried about didn't happen."
Tamara sighed.
"I suppose so. At least daddy didn't end up at mama's with Tricia. But now that the weekend is over, I don't know how long it will be before she does that. Tee, sometimes I wonder why I have to babysit my parents like this. It's like The West Side Story but without the happy ending," she said gloomily, poking at the egg white omelet she was having because she'd eaten far too much that weekend.
"Well," said Felicity, "you don't actually have to. You could actually just turn around and tell your parents that it's about time they sorted their shit out."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I... I'm their daughter."
"So?" pressed Felicity.
"So children take care of their parents after they're adults. That's how it's supposed to be. I'll take care of my parents."
"Mara, being a responsible and dutiful child is one thing. This is... Well, seriously, if your father goes out partying with your ex-husband and they get arrested for being drunk and disorderly, how is it that it's your problem?"
Tamara shook her head.
"You wouldn't understand. You don't have a dysfunctional family. Somebody has to clean up the messes or they'll never be cleaned up, and then it'll be my problem again."
Felicity shrugged.
"You care too much. And frankly, they care too little and take you for granted. Now, tell me about this date."
"There was no date," said Tamara, a little too quickly.
She didn't want to think about it. It had been perfect and then it had turned so... No, she really didn't want to think about it.
"What do you mean there was no date? You were going there for the Fourth of July thing! That's why you didn't go to your mama's place!"
Oh, right. That's what she was talking about.
"Well, that's not a date. I spent most of my time talking to Meg, anyway."
"Come on," needled Felicity, "give me a few juicy deets. Were there all kinds of famous people?"
Tamara had to laugh.
"Don't you cook for all kinds of famous people who have to book weeks in advance to get the privilege and pay through the nose for it?"
Felicity grinned.
"Sure, but this is different. Come on. Dish the deets!"
"There were lots of celebrities. A lot of them were very drunk. I can tell you that one famous actress is really terrified of fireworks and hid under the table, where she was joined by a famous actor who is very much married and not to the actress, and the table soon started wobbling alarmingly. I tried to get Meg out of there but she declared that nothing shocked her anymore."
"Wow, that's some party."
"You sound jealous. Wasn't the boy toy up to the task?"
Felicity shrugged.
"Dumped him."
"What? Why?"
"He proposed."
"He what?" shrieked Tamara.
"He proposed. Got down on one knee, brought out the shiny rock, the whole thing. So I dumped him and went to a strip club and picked up a new one."
Tamara sighed and shook her head.
"I don't think
I'll ever understand you, Tee. You used to be such a romantic."
"I grew out of it, didn't I? Getting your heart broken can do that. Speaking of heartbreakers, how was it, hanging out with David Wilson?"
Felicity asked the question so innocently, sliding it in so innocuously, that Tamara answered before thinking the better of it.
"He's really nice. He's sweet, and notices things. And teases you, you wouldn't expect that. And down to earth when he lets go and lets himself relax. He's... unexpected."
There was silence as Tamara realized what she'd done.
"I mean, that's just my general impression," she said, frantically trying to save it.
"Oh no you don't. What aren't you telling me?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Mara..."
"Tee, seriously..."
"Mara, now or I'll tell your mother."
Tamara looked at Felicity, aghast.
"You wouldn't."
"Probably not, but tell me. We don't keep secrets, Mara. Come on."
Tamara sighed, but she needed to tell Felicity. Besides, she wanted to tell somebody, and who else was she supposed to tell, anyway?
"I... So, that evening, he took me out for dinner."
"He what?"
"It was... Well, he came and picked me up, and he took me to Rosa's."
More silence. Felicity knew what Rosa's had meant to Tamara once, too.
"You let him take you there?"
"It was a surprise. He promised me the best tacos in town and you know he's right."
"He is, but..."
"It was fine. It wasn't like that. I didn't think of that night we went there and saw Terry there with... her. I don't even remember her name anymore, can you believe that?"
"Angel," supplied Felicity. "I remember."
"I thought it would bring all of that back but it didn't. It's still a happy place, Tee. It still feels like home. And Rosa is the same as ever."
"I wouldn't have expected David Wilson to even know about Rosa."
"He's... not like that. Not like you'd expect. I mean, I suppose he is at business, but it's not business with me. He cares about his daughter so much but he doesn't want to."
"Doesn't sound like a point in his favor," pointed out Felicity, quite reasonably.
"He's afraid of loss and is shutting everybody out, but Meg is breaking all those doors down and he has no idea what to do about it. And then he... he took me there, where he and his wife have memories, and with Meg, and... I don't know what to make of it. He took me to Chinatown after that and he was so at home there, too. People knew him, not as the billionaire tycoon, but just as Dave. He speaks Cantonese, would you have expected that? Anyway, we were... It was a lovely evening, but then I got the call."
"Wait," said Felicity, holding up her hand and nearly knocking over the disgusting looking juice she was having for her breakfast. "You were on a date—don't interrupt me, it was a date and you know it very well—with David Wilson, and you got a call from your ex-husband, and you left him there, found a cab, and went to your ex-husband?"
"And my father and their girlfriends," pointed out Tamara, a little affronted. "You make it sound as if Terry texted me for a booty call and I just upped and ran. It's not like that."
"Maybe not for you, but did you explain all of this to David or is he just supposed to guess all of this?"
"I... Well, I didn't exactly—"
"Has he called you since then?"
Tamara hesitated.
She'd told herself that it meant nothing, really, but it was Monday now, and he hadn't called. He hadn't called or texted.
"I didn't call him, either," pointed out Tamara, a little defensively.
"Why not?"
"I... I thought he's just... I don't..."
"You really are clueless when it comes to yourself, aren't you?" commented Felicity, going back to her terrible juice and making a face. "This really sucks. But the price you pay for indulging. So, you did that, and you haven't called, and he hasn't called. And that's that?"
"Well..."
"Well? Come on, Mara. You know I'll just drag it out of you."
"There might've been a kiss."
"If you're not sure, it doesn't sound like much of a kiss."
Tamara frowned. Felicity knew exactly how to press her buttons to get her annoyed and say more than she meant to. Even knowing it, she couldn't stop herself.
"There was. That's when I got the phone call."
Felicity set the juice down.
"Maybe I should make this more interesting with some tequila. No, I will be strong. I need tequila to process this, though. You bailed on David Wilson in the middle of a kiss because your ex called you. And you think it's just normal and you don't have to call him back. Mara, tell me, was the kiss so good that it short-circuited your brain? Because if even half your brain was functional, you'd know how that sounds.”
“I... I didn’t think of it that way.”
“Of course you didn’t. Short-circuited brain. I suggest you get to work fixing it.”
“I... What?”
“Fix it. Don’t you want to fix it?”
“I... I don’t know.”
“For heaven’s sake, Mara! Do you like this guy or not?”
“I... I don’t know.”
Tamara wondered if she looked as miserable as she felt because Felicity stopped grilling her and gentled her voice.
“Mara, do you really like him that much?”
“You know I haven’t actually... Not seriously...”
“I know. Every time I set you up with somebody or you go out with somebody, you say there’s no spark. So I guess there was a spark here.”
Tamara nodded.
“Then I think you should get him and apologize, don’t you? Maybe explain a bit.”
Tamara sighed and nodded again.
She really should.
If only she didn’t feel like such a coward about it.
***
Dave was mad.
That was putting it lightly.
He was mad with another layer of mad over it. He'd been an idiot, like... like some lovesick teenager who didn't know how to play the game. He'd been played for a fool instead.
The most mortifying part of reliving that evening over and over again, especially those last few minutes, was that he couldn't help but respond to it, to her, to every feeling she'd pulled from him, every single time.
He felt his body betray him again, and yet again, and he got madder and madder about it.
How dare she!
No, there was no point blaming her for it. She'd made no promises. An evening together, a meal together—it had turned into something more, but that was his problem. If it had been more for him than it was for her, that was his problem, too.
It was his problem to solve.
And solve it he would.
So far, he'd come up with two solutions.
The first was the tried and tested one. When he needed a distraction, he chose one from the many women who were more than happy to have him take them out, wine and dine them until they were more than happy to let him take his pleasure from them, as long as they were given theirs, too.
It was practical. These were women who knew that there might never be a second date, and who were happy with that.
He'd never had trouble finding companionship.
So he could do that, but he had a feeling that this time... Well, this time it might not be enough. Every time he scrolled through his phone, looking for somebody he could call, somebody who'd be happy to spend an entertaining evening with him, he found himself stopping at her.
Tamara.
Dr. Tamara Jackson, the woman who'd interrupted his kiss to take a call from her ex-husband, and who'd then left him hanging.
So, option two: Tamara.
He could seduce her.
That was, of course, assuming that Tamara could be reminded of what had passed between them. Hopefully this time without any unwel
come distractions. Maybe he could just grind her phone under his shoe before getting started.
That option was beginning to look more and more appealing by the minute, especially because he couldn't focus on work.
He'd been distracted during his meetings. He'd read the same reports multiple times without really taking in any of the damn words.
He'd even had to read a simple email three times to make sure it was good to send.
He couldn't go on like this, that was for sure. So he had to get her out of his system.
It only took a couple of hours to convince himself that Tamara was just a very specific itch he had to scratch. Get that done, and it would be over. He could move on with his life, and being the consummate professional she was, she would move on with her life without causing an upheaval in his own that might affect Meghan.
It all seemed pretty straightforward.
And so he determined his course of action and went ahead and made his plan.
Once Dave made up his mind, there wasn't much anybody could do to change it.
He'd made up his mind.
He would have Tamara.
And when he had her, she wouldn't be able to think of anything or anybody except him.
That he would guarantee.
***
Tamara looked at the time and bit her lip.
"Georgie, do we have anything now?"
"Actually, we don't. Andrea cancelled, she has a bad cold. Her mother called."
"Oh. Well then, I think we should both take the rest of the day off. What do you think?"
Georgina looked at her boss suspiciously.
"What's the catch?"
"Catch? There's no catch. We don't have appointments, it's not like we take walk-ins, so we'll just take some time to ourselves."
"Is this the attack of the body-snatchers? Are you actually somebody else?"
Tamara wrinkled her nose at her assistant.
"Very funny. Now, why don't you call whoever it is you're seeing now and see if they can make it for an early something or the other."
"You're getting rid of me."
"What? No, of course not. Why would you say that?"
"Because it's actually very obvious that you're getting rid of me. But I'm not going to argue because there's this excellent tapas bar with the best happy hour deals and I've been wanting to go there for a while. I'm going to leave before you can change your mind and keep me here."
Over 40 And Head Over Heels: BWWM, Over 40's, Billionaire Romance (BWWM Romance Book 1) Page 10