Sarah laughed out loud. “You didn’t just chase away boys who hurt us, Ash. You also chased away perfectly good guys who were boyfriend material.”
“You girls were too young then.”
Sarah squinted her eyes at him. She’d always had a sneaking suspicion that Ash chased away boys for an altogether different reason—Brenna. But that was the one thing that she and her best friends didn’t talk about. For them, it was an off-limits topic. Ash was their ‘older brother’.
“So?” Ash prompted.
She made a face. “I want to talk to Amanda first.”
Ash groaned. “At least give me something.”
“O-kay,” she said slowly. “It does have something to do with a man she really dislikes. Nothing serious.”
“Nothing serious? Why was she downing wine like it was water?”
“Was she?” Sarah asked, her eyes widening.
Ash sighed. “Yes. Can you girls make sure she’s okay? It’s not often I see her like this. And she was perfectly fine earlier.”
“I will, don’t worry,” she said, linking her arm with Ash’s and leading him back inside.
“And you’ll let me know eventually, right?”
She chuckled. “Yes, Ash. Eventually.”
They stepped back into the bar and the smile on Sarah’s face faded. Jeff was staring at them, his expression stony. Without a gesture of acknowledgement, he turned around and walked away.
“Uh-oh. I think your Mr. Carmichael just got jealous,” Ash said. “Hey, if that’s the case, that’s good news. That means he cares about you.”
Sarah’s smile returned, pleased with that thought.
“Well, you better go and run after him, Sarah. No more dilly-dallying.”
She nodded. Yes, no more dilly-dallying. “Thanks, Ash,” she said, squeezing his arm.
*****
Sarah went out of the bar and into the lobby. Jeff was not there. She rushed to his suite, hoping that was where he’d gone to.
With heart pounding like it never had before, she knocked on his door.
“Who’re you looking for?”
Her head swivelled to the sound of Jeff’s voice coming from down the corridor. For a breathless moment, all she could do was stare. Then she remembered his question.
“I was looking for you,” she answered.
Jeff walked toward her, his eyes intense and searching, then walked past to head to the next suite—the one that had been hers before she’d left. He unlocked the door and held it open, wordlessly inviting her in.
“Oh. You’re not staying in this one?” she asked dumbly.
He shook his head, not saying a word, not smiling—just gaping at her with a look that made her tremble.
She bit her lip as she walked into his room, nerves running riot from a potent combination of anticipation and uncertainty.
Jeff closed the door and leaned against it, watching her.
She still couldn’t read his expression—well, more like she didn’t dare interpret it. Her head was clear as mud. Her heart—all nervous and excited—was overwhelming her brain. “Say something, Jeff,” she whispered.
His brows rose. “You’re the one who wants to talk.”
“Oh.” Her gaze went down to the ground, a sinking feeling suddenly enveloping her. So he didn’t want to talk? She rallied her courage and looked back at him.
“I’m sorry I ran away,” she said. “I’m sorry I got scared. I’m still scared but I’m willing to talk. If you want to, that is. Because you may not want to anymore.”
Jeff’s eyes softened and he strolled toward the couch. He sat down and patted the space next to him.
With a big sigh that released some tension, she followed and sat beside him.
To her relief, Jeff wasn’t stony-faced anymore. And he seemed to be nervous too. He was rubbing his biceps with the pads of his fingertips, as if it was itching.
“Okay where do I start?” she murmured, not really having a clear plan of attack.
“Why don’t you start with why you want to talk to me right now,” Jeff said.
Her eyes started to smart as she thought about all the things she wanted to say. She really didn’t know where to begin, apart from just blabbing what was forefront on her mind. Heck, what had she got to lose but her pride? That didn’t seem important now.
“I saw you watching me and Ash earlier. I don’t exactly know what you were thinking, but in case you got jealous, I want you to know that Ash is just a friend. In fact, he’s like a brother to me.”
“I see,” Jeff said, a small frown appearing on his face.
“Were you... um... jealous?” she dared ask, peering at him.
Jeff smiled. “Yes.”
She returned his smile. “That’s good.”
“Are you still jealous of Bianca?” he asked softly.
Her smile disappeared as she involuntarily swallowed. “Yes.”
“Greg will be her main point of contact from now on so I won’t have to work directly with her,” Jeff said.
She inhaled sharply, her jaw slackening in surprise.
“Would that make things okay between us?” he asked, concern evident in his face.
“You... changed things around at work?”
“Yes. There will be times when I will still have to see her for important meetings. But other people should be present with us then, and they will only be occasional. For the most part, Greg would be working with her.”
“But isn’t that messing with your work too much? I thought you’ve always been the head of marketing? Wouldn’t you still have to be greatly involved with her projects?”
“You prefer that she doesn’t work for us at all? Okay.”
What?? “What do you mean okay?”
“I mean, okay. We’ll ask the advertising agency to assign a new account manager to us.”
She stared at him in disbelief, her practical mind tempering the reaction of her heart that was dancing crazily with joy—not because Bianca might lose her role at The Carmichael Corporation, but because Jeff was willing to make that decision for her. For her?
“Why are you doing this, Jeff?”
It was his turn to look disbelieving. “You can’t tell why? I love you, Sarah.”
Tears sprung to her eyes as she stared at him for interminable seconds. He loved her? “Really?”
“Yes, baby. Really,” he said, sincerity pouring from his tone and his gaze.
“Oh Jeff. I love you, too.” Then she launched herself at him.
In an instant, they were in flames. Jeff raked his fingers through her hair, holding her head in place as they kissed passionately. He shifted them so he was lying on his back and she was on top, straddling him, her short dress bunched up around her waist.
“I missed you so fucking much,” Jeff said vehemently against her lips, his hands busy caressing her behind.
She moaned, feeling heady with relief and desire, her heart expanding so much she could hardly breathe. But there was a small part of her that was conscious of what was happening elsewhere in the hotel. “We should continue this later,” she said reluctantly, sitting up.
“No. Why?” Jeff said, trying to pull her back down to him.
“Dinner will be served soon. We need to be out there,” she said, giving him a conciliatory kiss on the lips. “It’s also my birthday party, you know,” she added lightly.
Jeff sighed resignedly and let her go. “You’re staying in this suite with me this weekend. All weekend,” he declared.
“You wouldn’t be able to keep me away,” she said sultrily as she straightened her dress.
Jeff stood up and cupped her face, his gaze tender... loving. “I missed your sunshiny smile,” he murmured.
She beamed at him, projecting all her love in that one expression.
Jeff grinned back and kissed her softly before releasing her. “We better go. Another second of kissing you and I’ll be taking you to bed.”
She hid her smile and took a pee
k at herself in a mirror on the wall. “I need to make a quick stop-over to my room to fix my hair and re-apply my lip gloss. You go ahead.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you in the restaurant.”
*
Sarah walked back to where the party was happening. Funnily enough, her super-high stilettos weren’t as much of a bother as she’d originally thought. Thank God it seemed that she could enjoy the night without her feet killing her.
She rounded the corner, and almost tripped from the sight that greeted her.
There was Bianca, stunning as ever, talking to Jeff by the entrance of the hotel.
She froze. Was Bianca invited by the Carmichaels? No, she couldn’t have been. Rebecca would have mentioned it if she were.
So why was Bianca here? And why the hell was that woman now touching Jeff’s hand?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I thought you had no problems with us working together, Jeff?” Bianca said, reaching out for Jeff’s hand.
Jeff pulled away. “I have a new girlfriend, Bee. Understandably, she’s not comfortable with me working closely with you, given our history. Anyway, the new working arrangement shouldn’t affect the campaign at all. Greg’s pretty much up to speed with everything.”
Bianca’s consternation was evident. “Oh. Surely your new girlfriend can’t be that unreasonable that she’d try to butt in your working arrangements.”
“She didn’t try to butt in, Bee. I made the decision myself. Anyway, I’m really sorry but this is not a good time to talk. You should have called before you came here.”
“I was already on my way to Aunt Lynn’s and I thought I’d swing by. I was driving when I called you earlier. And I didn’t know you have Zach’s engagement party going on here tonight. Say, can I be shameless again and invite myself since I’m here already? I’d love to say hello to some—”
“Sorry, Bee. No. You have to go.”
The look of hurt on Bianca’s face made Jeff feel slightly guilty. Bianca did know many people at the party tonight. But there was no way he’d allow her to stay.
“It’s also my girlfriend’s birthday. It’s not a good idea for you to be here. I’m sorry,” he explained in a softer tone.
Bianca smiled in resignation. “Okay. I’ll go. But I hope this doesn’t mean we can’t even be friends, Jeff. Like you said, we have a history. And there was a lot of good in that history.”
He could only give her a smile. He didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep. Sarah was his priority now.
Bianca reached up to kiss him on the cheek, then left. He watched her walk out the door, wishing her well in his mind.
Was it strange to not feel something for the woman he once wanted to marry? He’d been pondering about that at the same time that he was wondering how Sarah managed to completely own his heart in such a short time.
Then it hit him. He wasn’t totally devoid of emotions when it came to Bianca. He still greatly admired her skills and professionalism, and that was something that hadn’t changed even after they’d broken up. It would seem that in the past, he’d mistaken his admiration for Bianca’s talents for love.
Ah, at least now he fully understood why he'd felt so damned raw, lost and broken when Sarah dumped him. It was because that was love. True love.
He grinned and headed for the restaurant, missing Sarah already. He laughed at himself. Pathetic.
*****
Guests were starting to sit at their tables when he walked in. He caught sight of Sarah with her best friends and frowned. He hadn’t expected her to finish retouching her face so quickly. Not that she needed makeup. She looked beautiful with or without it.
Shit. Did she see him with Bianca by the front door? She would have gone past the lobby to get to the restaurant.
He hurried to her, eager to gauge her mood.
“Hey,” he whispered in her ear.
“Hi,” she said with a tight smile.
Oh no.
They reached their table and he quickly scanned the place cards. To his relief, no one had rearranged them after he’d swapped his place card with Brenna’s so he could sit next to Sarah.
“Oh, are you sitting there, Jeff?” Rebecca asked with a confused look on her face.
“Yes. See?” He picked up his place card and showed it to Rebecca.
Zach snorted and ran his hand on his fiancée’s back, encouraging her to sit down.
“You okay?” Jeff asked Sarah softly as they settled in their seats.
“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be?” she asked, her eyes clearly questioning.
“No. None at all,” he said definitively.
She smiled—a bit better than the last one, but still not sunshiny enough to make him relax.
He leaned closer to her and spoke in her ear. “Bianca came wanting to crash the party but I said she couldn’t stay. I also told her not to bother me about work, that she should talk to Greg about it from here on in.”
“Okay,” Sarah said.
A wait staff started pouring wine for their table. When everybody had their glasses filled, he leaned into her again. “She tried to hold my hand,” he whispered. “But I pulled it away.”
“Why did she do that?” Sarah asked, her eyes clouding.
Ah, Sarah did see them.
“Well, she was wondering why there was a change in working arrangements when there wasn’t a problem before. I told her I have a new girlfriend—that you’re the reason for the change.”
“You did?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Yes.”
“I feel guilty about that, you know.”
“About work or about Bianca?”
“Work. I don’t want to cause any disruption.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not gonna have Bianca come between us.”
“What do Zach and Greg think about it?”
“They’re fine with it, babe. You can ask them if you want.”
“Okay,” she said with a genuine smile.
He relaxed a little, but he couldn’t wait until this whole party was over and they could be alone.
*****
Jeff sang Happy Birthday loudly with the rest of the guests.
Sarah stood in the middle of the dance floor, grinning shyly. In front of her was a small table where her big birthday cake sat. He chuckled as he watched her, knowing she was squirming in embarrassment on the inside from being the centre of attention.
Sarah blew out all her candles in one breath and her best friends rushed in to hug her, then they posed for photos. All five of them looked gorgeous, but his girl stood out for him. He simply couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“I see you’ve had your talk with Sarah,” Magda said to him. “I’m glad you sorted it out.”
“Did Sarah tell you?” he asked, smiling fondly at his grandmother.
“No. It’s written all over your face, Jeffrey,” Magda said, patting his cheek. “It’s so great to see another of my grandsons being so in love.”
“Our talk last week helped me a lot, Gran. Thank you.”
Magda beamed. “It’s my pleasure, dear. Now, don’t you think Greg’s paying a lot of attention to Gemma?”
He laughed. “You’re moving on to Greg’s case now, are you?”
“Well, I have to admit, he would be the hardest case. That brother of yours is very far from wanting to settle down,” Magda said with a shake of her head.
“He’s got plenty of time, Gran.”
“I know,” Magda said with a sigh. “Anyway, I’ve got to sit down somewhere. My knee’s bothering me.”
Jeff escorted Magda back to her chair. When he turned back to the dance floor where Sarah was, he saw a friend of Zach’s with his arm around Sarah, posing for a picture with her. He frowned. Someone was trying to make a move on his girl.
He strode toward them. “My turn,” he said, holding out his hand to Sarah.
“Sure,” said Zach’s friend. “Chat later, Sarah.”
Jeff snaked hi
s arm around Sarah’s waist as they posed for the photographer Zach and Bec had hired.
“Let’s have one with us kissing,” he suggested in her ear.
“What? No,” Sarah answered, horrified.
“Why not?” he asked with a frown. Didn’t Sarah want everyone to know they were together?
“One of these shots are bound to find their way to the magazines, Jeff.”
“So?”
“No. Please. I already feel like I’m taking too much attention away from Zach and Bec’s special occasion. I don’t want our photo plastered on covers instead of theirs. Maybe next time.”
“Okay then,” he conceded. He’d have to bide his time before he could let the world know Sarah was his.
*****
Jeff was finishing his dessert—Sarah’s yummy birthday cake—when Ted, his least favourite cousin, approached and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, that was Bianca I saw out the front earlier, wasn’t it?” Ted asked in a not-so-subtle volume.
“Uh-huh,” he answered warily.
“You’re back together, aren’t you, cuz?”
“No.”
Ted chuckled. “Come on, you can tell me. After last week when she was all over you during your birthday, everyone was expecting there’ll be another engagement party for one of the Carmichael brothers.”
Jeff gave Ted a withering scowl, but it had no effect on his already-drunk, thick-skulled cousin. He could really wring Ted’s neck right now.
“Ted, have you met Sarah?”
“Yes. Hi Sarah. Enjoying the night?”
“Yes, thank you,” Sarah said politely.
Jeff opened his mouth to clarify to Ted that Sarah was his new girlfriend when Ted abruptly floated off to the next table to annoy someone else.
He shook his head in irritation. He glanced at Sarah and found her staring at him.
“You look very mad,” she said wryly.
“Sorry about that,” he said.
“You don’t have to apologise for your cousin.”
“Can we go, Sarah?”
“Go where?”
“Back to our suite so we can continue talking and making up.”
Sarah looked around the restaurant, uncertain. “Wouldn’t it be rude? The dancing’s just starting.”
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