With her stomach at full occupancy with knots and butterflies, Serena hadn’t cared one way or the other where they went for lunch. Natalie had easily agreed to the restaurant, as well, not that she was likely to be that hungry since she’d been devouring David with her eyes. Actually, Serena thought, fidgeting as Natalie laughed appreciatively at David’s tale of lost luggage when he’d come home for Christmas, her assistant seemed to be accelerating through her normal grief process with record-breaking speed. She’d been ogling David with prurient interest since he walked into Inventive Events twenty minutes ago. Not that Serena blamed her—what red-blooded woman with working eyesight wouldn’t look at him that way?—but David was not a candidate for rebound sex.
And I’m not jealous, I’m feeling protective of a good friend. He would appreciate her looking out for him. Absolutely. Nothing men hated more than being used for recreational no-strings nookie by curvy femme fatales.
“Argh.”
“Did you say something?” Natalie called over her shoulder. Once Natalie had found her alligator hair clip in her purse to hold her long hair back, they’d agreed it was too beautiful a day to leave the top up, and the resulting wind was loud enough that Serena could mutter whatever she liked back there without being heard.
So she stuck to denial. “Nope.”
In the rearview mirror, David’s eyes, sky-blue and seriously amused, met hers. He hadn’t stopped grinning since Serena’s white lie in the parking lot, when she’d claimed Natalie got queasy if she didn’t ride up front. Normally, her friend was more intuitive about backing Serena up. Today, Natalie had looked startled by Serena’s announcement, then winked at David. “She must have me confused with someone else. Some of my best memories took place in the back seats of cars.”
Serena’s muscles had tensed with unwanted possessiveness even as she’d tried to tell herself life would be simpler if Natalie diverted David’s attention.
He’d proven difficult to distract, however, and had merely smiled at Natalie’s remark. “I know what you mean—there’s a couch I feel the same way about.” His gaze had flicked to Serena’s, and she’d wanted to kiss him. Desperately.
Which, of course, was why it was such a good thing Natalie had agreed to join them.
An hour later, however, Serena was having a difficult time maintaining her goodwill. While Serena sat at the table and contemplated drowning herself in her black bean soup—not that her companions would even notice, much less offer mouth-to-mouth—David and Natalie carried on an animated discussion about fishing. Ick. Serena, vegetarian and soft-hearted wuss, couldn’t get too revved about a sport that involved a living creature gasping its last breath as it flopped around in front of her. But Natalie had spent lots of time on her dad’s boat, and David had grown up on the coast.
Well, hell. Serena had never needed Patrick as a buffer. She could’ve just introduced David to Natalie sooner.
Deep down, she knew her crankiness had nothing to do with lures (the kind being discussed or the ones Natalie was sending David’s way with her hazel eyes). Serena was grouchy because she’d barely slept all weekend, because David would be leaving in the morning, and because her body was tense with repressed sexual need. Typically speaking, she wasn’t a big believer in repression.
So why aren’t you going for it, nitwit? He was ready, willing and able the other morning.
Hell, she’d been more than ready herself. She’d been hot and needy, shattering at his touch so quickly it had verged on embarrassing. Just the memory of it made her mouth go dry. He made her feel like no one else ever had, which was ironic, really. Because if he’d been anyone else, other than David Grant of the esteemed Savannah Grants, they might have had a chance.
Every year she saw David, he was another rung up the corporate ladder and looking more conservative, though, granted, few men had ever made conservative seem so sexy. He worked long hours and had endless stories about corporate dinners or business travel. They were entertaining, but mostly because she enjoyed laughing at some of the absurdities of that lifestyle. It certainly wasn’t one she wanted for herself, even by extension.
Sure, she’d taken business classes—possibly some freak genetic coding she’d inherited—but she’d used the background to start her own company, doing what she wanted in order to maintain creative control and not slave for a bunch of suits. She worked hard, but she left the office behind when she went home for the day. Her father had constantly been worried about impressing his superiors, wanting his wife to dress more “appropriately” at a business dinner, spending Saturdays on a yacht with the regional vice president instead of using his visitation rights to see the daughter he’d been quick to dismiss—unless she’d done something he could brag about or the bank was sponsoring a father-daughter event.
Though Serena had a higher opinion of David than to think ever losing custody of a child would come as a relief to him, she also knew how important his family’s opinion was to him. How determined he was to prove himself equal to previous Grants. The man came from a family of senators, for crying out loud! Serena, who had been halfheartedly raised by her mother and neighbors who helped look after her during her teenage years so she didn’t miss classes during any of Tricia’s walkabouts, once filled in as the nude art model for a friend’s class. Not exactly the image of the corporate significant other. Considering how James and Meredith viewed her choices, she could just imagine how the Grants would look at her.
“Serena?”
The sound of David’s voice jolted her from contemplating her cold soup. “Huh?”
“We figured we’d lost you,” Natalie said, staring at her boss with a perplexed expression before turning back to David. “See, this is what I mean. She insists she’s over him, but anyone can see she’s totally preoccupied.”
“You do seem unusually pensive.” David brushed his fingers over the back of Serena’s hand, and so many fizzing embers shot through her she felt like a human sparkler. “Miss Patrick?”
“No.” As difficult as it was to meet David’s eyes, she had no other choice. It was imperative that he knew no other man had been on her mind when he’d been touching her, kissing her, setting her on fire, bringing her to or—“If you two would excuse me, I’m just not feeling myself. I think I’m gonna splash a little water on my face or something. Maybe I’m getting one of those spring colds.”
“That could be it,” David said, his completely unconvinced grin making her want to throw a little water in his face.
David watched his best friend flee the table, sighing to himself and wondering how long it would take her just to be honest about what she wanted—him. Arrogant, perhaps, but true.
Good thing he was a patient man.
“She’s got it bad for you,” Natalie mused, startling him with her observation.
He jerked his gaze back toward the smiling brunette, unsure how to handle the situation. He doubted the woman would’ve been flirting so blatantly if Serena had shared intimate details with her. And if Serena hadn’t, then it probably wasn’t his place…though he wouldn’t mind an ally.
“What makes you say that?” he asked carefully.
Natalie rolled her twinkling eyes. “Oh, please. She’s been about as convincing in her disinterest as you’ve been in your interest of me.”
He hadn’t gone so far as feigning attraction, not wanting to lead Natalie on, but it had occurred to him that a little friendly conversation with the woman might help his cause.
“I’ve genuinely enjoyed talking to you,” he said sheepishly.
“Well, who wouldn’t? But I gather you’d enjoy…other things with her more. You’ve told her how you feel?”
Told her? He’d shown her, in some of the most explicit ways imaginable. For all the good it had done him. He hadn’t seen Serena this stubborn since an environmental rights protest in college, when he’d wound up having to bail her out of jail. He’d given her hell about it for days.
Natalie chuckled. “Well, I see no
w why she never seemed that upset about Patrick’s defection. Any woman with half a brain would rather have you.”
“Too bad Serena doesn’t share that opinion.”
“Oh, yes she does. I’m not sure why she isn’t acting on it. I have to admit, cute as you are, most of my comments today were just to needle her, to make sure I wasn’t misreading her. I’ve never seen her like this.” Natalie picked up the dessert menu, adding, “Normally, if Serena has a thought or emotion, she goes with it.”
That would be Tricia’s influence, he guessed. Since he and Serena had grown close after she’d moved away from home, he’d never met either of her parents, but over the years he’d pieced together a pretty clear picture. Tricia “Embrace Life” Donavan was the one who threw herself into every undertaking wholeheartedly—sometimes to the exclusion of what was going on around her—whether it was her daughter’s art project for school, an angry divorce or a sudden yen to visit the Grand Canyon. He gathered she’d been an exciting mother, but not the most stable guardian. Then there was Serena’s father, James, who, until last year, hadn’t seemed to have much post-divorce contact with his daughter, except for the instances when he’d taken time to express mild disapproval over something.
There was really no part of Serena’s upbringing to which David could relate. His parents might not be given to the same outpourings as Serena’s mother, but in their own conservative way, they loved each other and their children. On the occasions Serena had mentioned her parents’ divorce, her offhand comments had made David want to knock James’s and Tricia’s heads together. It sounded as though Tricia had been caught up in her own melodrama, dragging Serena into the bitter divorce with little regard for its effect on her daughter, and James hadn’t been able to separate his growing censure for his wife from his child.
David sighed, realizing that Serena’s wariness stemmed from far more than their respective financial backgrounds. If he hadn’t been so blinded by his own lust, that would have occurred to him sooner. But her parents’ past had nothing to do with here and now—a point that would be easier to make if the woman he was trying to convince would stop hiding behind other people and in public rest rooms.
CHAPTER 6
DAVID DRUMMED his fingers on the base of his keyboard as he reread the light e-mail, with its interest in how his move was progressing and its playful teasing. Serena had indicated he not only needed to find an apartment, he needed to find someone to help him “break it in.” He’d heard it was good luck to make love in every room of a new place…but the woman he wanted wasn’t volunteering. In fact, in her opening, she’d mentioned Natalie asking after him and wrote, “the two of you really seemed to hit it off.”
Even if she was using the e-mail as an excuse to tell him to look elsewhere for sex, at least she was comfortable enough to bring it up. By the time he’d said goodbye to her a week and a half ago before returning to Boston, she’d been uncharacteristically quiet and had barely met his gaze.
When he’d first learned he was moving to Atlanta, David had been confident he could win Serena over. But that only worked if she was around to be won. She’s not going to provide you the opportunity. Given the way she’d been “too busy” to see him at Christmas and how she’d gradually withdrawn from him over the weekend—bringing Natalie to that last lunch and only at ease again when he was eight states away—he realized that just being in the same city didn’t necessarily give him the chance he needed.
What he really needed was a strategy for thwarting her avoidance.
A knock sounded against the doorjamb, and David minimized his e-mail as he glanced up at Lou Innes. Wearing a polo shirt, casual slacks and an embroidered golf visor, Lou obviously planned to take advantage of the warm weather this week and hit the greens.
“What can I do for you?” David asked.
“Just dropped by to see how things were going. Your last week with us here in Beantown, huh?”
David nodded. His place was packed and ready for the movers, and his parents had been thrilled when he’d called a couple of nights ago to announce the move. “I’m ready to get the new office up and running and take Atlanta by storm.”
“Good, good. You’ve seemed rather…intense since your return. We wanted to make sure we weren’t putting too much on you with this transfer. You’ve got quite a future with this company, and we don’t want you burning out on us.” The words were of the just-looking-out-for-you variety, but behind his wire-rimmed glasses, Lou’s eyes were calculating.
Damn. Was Lou having doubts about the decision? “Oh, no. No burnout here. I’ve just been concentrating on everything I can do for AGI with this relocation.” In the following weeks, David just needed to make sure his determination was clear to Lou all the way from Georgia.
“Glad to hear it. The job will be demanding, especially the first few months. We want to make our presence in Atlanta known quickly and effectively.” Lou grinned. “But maybe in a few years, you’ll be able to take the afternoon off for business golf and leave the company in some capable up-and-comer’s hands.”
David laughed. “That’s all right, I don’t have a decent swing anyway. What I do have are appointments for lunch next week with several important businessmen in Atlanta and ideas for civic projects that will help announce our arrival to the community in a positive light.”
“Well, then.” Lou looked pleased with the information. “You just forget I even dropped by and carry on with your work.”
Easier said than done, David admitted to himself once he was alone again.
In the past, he’d always enjoyed the demanding challenges of his job. Maybe at some point, his efforts had been about male pride or proving he wasn’t like some of his more odious relatives, content to live on trust funds or cushy jobs they’d been given because of who they were, but David had genuinely become a dedicated executive determined to reach the top. Yet after all the work he’d done to reach this point, not even his excitement for heading up the corporate relocation was enough to distract him from Serena for long.
Get your head back in the game, man. Too bad there wasn’t a way to combine his two biggest passions—his job and Serena. Unless…He sat back in his leather chair suddenly, knowing there must be an invisible light bulb over his head right now. Maybe there was a way to combine the two.
* * *
A WEEK. Serena paused while jotting notes on her day planner Monday morning, realizing that David had now been in Atlanta for an entire week. And she’d yet to see him.
Oh, he’d called to tell her about the corporate hotel efficiency suite he was staying in while he continued to search for a permanent place. He’d asked her if business had picked up, groused about traffic and told her to tell Natalie hello. He’d let her vent about the strained phone call from her future stepmother and Meredith’s apologetic explanation that with both of her children doing readings at the wedding, as well as James’s brother, they’d decided four would be overkill and had changed their minds about Serena doing one. But talking aside, David hadn’t visited her or even mentioned their seeing each other in the near future.
Serena honestly couldn’t tell if she was disappointed or relieved.
What did you think was going to happen?
She’d made her feelings to him clear, and he was respecting them. Plus, he was swamped right now. She only ran an office for two and had encountered the occasional snafu with things like computer lines being installed or the right phone number not working. David was responsible for hiring new Atlanta personnel and getting the office ready for the few dozen employees that would be transferred from the four AGI locations around the country. He’d admitted to possibly losing an apartment to someone else because he’d missed his appointed walk-through in favor of meeting with the CEO of some cell-phone conglomerate to discuss how AGI technology could improve cellular communications. If not even finding a place to live was a priority, he certainly didn’t have time for Serena.
The thought gave her a twinge o
f painful déjà vu, and she blinked. She wasn’t a kid anymore, wishing someone would pay her more attention. She was self-sufficient and had plenty of her own concerns to keep her busy, such as the promotional efforts she’d been coordinating to grow her company and the surprise party she was supposed to be planning for Alyson’s twenty-seventh birthday. So why the restless annoyance and confusion because David had given up?
Not that she wanted him to try to change her mind—no, the safe distance was much, um, safer—but she didn’t think she’d ever seen him concede defeat so easily. Come to think of it, she’d never seen him concede defeat. Then again, why would a man who could have his choice of women much better suited to him continue pursuing one who claimed not to want him?
Claimed being the key word. Because just the sound of his voice on the other end of the phone was enough to spark tremors inside her.
Funny, when Meredith had once proposed introducing Serena to some “nice young businessmen,” James had interrupted with a disappointed, “I think you’ll find the young men we know aren’t Serena’s type.”
That was probably true, although she wondered just exactly what her father deemed her “type.” He’d be stunned to learn David Grant, consummate businessman and grandson of a congressman, was the one who dominated her thoughts. Thoughts, fantasies…
Could she really turn David away if he suggested their going to bed again? Her eager body quivered at the thought of making love to him. No, no, no. You are not going to sleep with him. If she was smart, she wouldn’t even get within twenty feet of him. So it was good that he was too busy at work for them to see each other. Besides, she had her own job to do.
“Hey, boss?” Natalie’s voice came through the speaker-intercom on Serena’s phone.
Serena sighed, grateful for the interruption. “Yes?”
Going all the Way Page 6
