“Stop it.” Nathan was seething, and getting increasingly pissed off with every word Rick uttered. He didn’t want his friend to cheapen anything about the beautiful girl he was becoming increasingly obsessed with. “Just drop it, okay? Yes, she’s a fucking wet dream, and if I wasn’t already spoken for I’d be back at that table trying to talk her out of her panties. But I’m not free to do that so let’s forget it.”
Rick shook his head. “Fine. But you’re an idiot. Every other guy I know – single, engaged, or married – wouldn’t hesitate to fuck her brains out, even if it was just once. Woman like that only comes along once in a lifetime, you know.”
As the afternoon wore on, those words of Rick’s continued to nag Nathan. Would he always regret passing up the opportunity to spend a night with his beautiful stranger? Because despite his denials to Rick, he had definitely felt a strong connection, a mutual attraction to the green-eyed beauty, and was very sure he would have succeeded in seducing her. There had definitely been something there, and she had felt it, too, he was sure of it. She had been every bit as aware of him as he was of her, and he wished like hell he’d had the nerve to linger at Starbucks awhile longer and talk to her at greater length.
But it was too late now, for he’d walked away from his only opportunity, and it was extremely unlikely he’d ever see her again. Or that she would even give him a second thought. She probably had guys calling her and asking her out all the time, and she sure as hell wasn’t likely to dwell on a stranger who’d fumbled his best chance to approach her.
Chapter Two
Julia McKinnon gave herself yet another mental kick in the ass at how idiotically she’d behaved not once but twice now. Quite possibly the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen before had made it rather obvious that he found her equally as attractive, but what had she chose to do about it? Oh, yes, walk away the first time and then give him the cold shoulder the second by turning her attention back to her iPad. And now the odds of seeing him for a third time weren’t good. She’d overheard his short, pudgy friend – the one who’d frankly creeped her out with his lascivious grin – mention something about getting back to a session, so she assumed they were only in town for a meeting or conference of some sort. He was likely leaving town the next day or so, and she’d never seen him again.
‘Stupid, stupid, stupid, Julia!’ she chastised herself. ‘One of the very few times a man has actually interested you, and you basically freeze him out just like you always do.”
Her well-honed knack for ignoring men and their largely unwanted advances had developed at an early age. Julia had known that she was attractive from the time she was a small child, largely because everyone had told her so repeatedly. She could vividly recall any number of occasions when she’d been out with one or both parents – and her identical twin Lauren – and people had stopped them in the streets to comment “What beautiful children you have” or “Such gorgeous little girls”. As she and her twin had grown older and started to mature, the attention had come from boys. She and Lauren had both developed boobs and hips by the tender age of thirteen, and their mother – Natalie – had made very sure that her daughters never took advantage of their beauty.
She’d been quite strict with regards to their clothing and makeup, nixing some of their choices as inappropriate, and making sure her girls always looked ladylike. That had been much tougher with Lauren, who to this day vastly preferred T-shirts, jeans, and hiking boots to the sheath dresses and high heels that Julia favored. But during their high school years Julia could quite clearly recall a number of occasions when her mother had forbidden her to wear a particular top that was too low-cut or clingy, or a skirt that was too short, or a shade of lipstick deemed too flashy.
And as far as boys were concerned, Natalie had been adamant that neither of her daughters gained a “reputation” as being easy or promiscuous. “Because both of you are so pretty, you’re always going to have boys – and later on men – approaching you. You need to learn to be discriminating and careful, and not go off with every cute boy who smiles at you,” she’d cautioned them more than once.
As it turned out, their mother had had very little cause for concern. Lauren had much preferred soccer, swimming, and her martial arts classes to dating, though she had somewhat reluctantly attended both of her proms at Julia’s urging. Julia had been with Sam for all four years of high school, and even part of college, and had only had one other serious relationship since then – one that had not ended on an amicable note like it had with Sam. It had ended so badly, in fact, that she hadn’t had a serious relationship since – and that had been over two years ago. There had been a couple of very brief flings with men she didn’t care to think about anymore, and no one at all for almost a year now.
Her absence of a love life was certainly not for lack of opportunity. Everywhere she went men looked at her – and often tried to approach her – but she almost always ignored them, pretending they didn’t even exist. Until two days ago when she’d spied the gorgeous man walking towards her on Park Avenue.
He’d obviously been out for a run, for his hair and face were damp with perspiration, his gray cotton T-shirt stained dark with sweat. But all she’d really noticed were those piercing light blue eyes, classically handsome features, and that beautiful head of thick, dark brown hair. The body hadn’t been any hardship to look at either – tall and leanly muscled, well-defined biceps and slim hips. He looked like an athlete without having an overly-muscled body, or being too big and intimidating. His beautiful face and sculpted body had imprinted themselves into her memory banks immediately, even though she’d only seen him for less than a minute. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d even given a man a second thought, much less daydreamed about him at inopportune moments.
When she’d seem him again earlier today, she had definitely noticed how hot he looked with the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt precisely rolled back, and the way his dark gray suit trousers hung on his body. His clothes looked expensive, and Julia – who knew clothing and designers very well – guessed his suit to be Gucci or maybe Dior. She’d recognized the classic Piaget watch on his left wrist, noticing discreetly at the same time the absence of a wedding ring. His black oxford shoes had been buffed to a subtle shine, and he had looked every bit the suave, polished businessman he most likely was. Julia had a real weakness for a guy who could wear a suit really well, and Mr. Gorgeous – as she’d nicknamed him – certainly fit that bill. It was too bad that the weather had been so hot and he’d left his suit jacket off. She could just imagine how the undoubtedly well tailored garment would show off the breadth of his shoulders, and the dark gray color would compliment his blue eyes.
That she was seriously attracted to this man was without debate. The reason for it was something she couldn’t explain as easily. Oh, he was undoubtedly gorgeous and sexy, and his smile could melt the panties off a nun. But Julia saw attractive men almost every day in Manhattan – and most of them tried to get her attention. There was something else about this one particular man that made him special, made her want to see him again, have dinner with him, kiss him, go to bed with him for hours, days, weeks. There had just been – something that had passed between them, not just an awareness but almost as though she recognized him, knew him in some inexplicable way, had been waiting for him for a very long time.
‘Too late, stupid,’ she told herself angrily. ‘When are you ever going to learn it’s okay to act on your instincts once in awhile?’
It was nearly time to leave work for the day, and she wondered hopefully if she might possibly run into him again. She began to tidy up her desk and workspace, though unfortunately there wasn’t all that much to organize these days.
She worked as an interior designer at one of Manhattan’s most exclusive firms. It had been a real coup for someone so young to land such a plum job, but of course she had Gerard to thank for that. Sadly, she also had Gerard to blame for the lousy situation she currently found hersel
f stuck in.
Gerard Landreaux had been friends with Julia’s aunt Madelyn – Natalie’s twin – since their college days at the Fashion Institute here in New York. Gerard had majored in interior design, while Aunt Maddy had studied fashion merchandising. They had remained fast friends ever since, going on thirty years now. It had been Gerard – whom Julia and Lauren had met many times over the years during visits to Aunt Maddy – who had ultimately influenced her to pursue a degree and career in interior design, convincing her it was more stable and less subject to wide changes in trends than the career as a fashion designer she’d originally considered. And it had been Gerard who had obtained the internship at his firm for her once she’d graduated from Cornell three years ago, and had offered her a permanent job after that. He had been her mentor, her friend and her boss, not necessarily in that order.
He’d shielded her from the cattiness and outright hostility displayed by his business partner - Vanessa Bradshaw. The older woman had taken an almost instant dislike to Julia, and had advised Gerard against taking her on. Fortunately, Julia hadn’t had much contact with Vanessa, working almost exclusively under Gerard’s direction.
Julia had fretted once to Gerard, not at all understanding why Vanessa disliked her so. “I mean, I can’t think of anything I ever did or said to make her mad. Why in the world does she hate me so much?”
Gerard had chuckled, shaking his close-shaven head. “Oh, sweetie pie, do you want a list? Let’s see – it’s because of your face, body, wardrobe, age, talent, personality. Oh, and let’s not forget the design award you won last month. Van’s been in this business almost twenty years and has never won a damn thing. You’re in less than a year and you’ve already got clients singing your praises and being nominated for awards.”
Vanessa was, from all accounts, not a particularly talented designer and most of her client base was referrals from her wealthy family. And it was her family money that had initially funded the design firm, the only reason Gerard had ever agreed to working with her.
Vanessa’s hostility aside, working for Manhattan Interiors had been a dream job for Julia these past two and a half years. Gerard had given her some small but interesting jobs to start with, then, as her reputation as an innovative designer became more widespread, the jobs became larger and more prestigious. When she won three design awards in two years, Julia had become even more sought after.
And then everything had changed a little less than four months ago. Gerard’s longtime lover – Theo – had left him abruptly for a younger man, and Gerard had gone a little crazy as a result. Stating very dramatically – in true Gerard style – that his heart was broken into a million pieces and that he couldn’t bear to stay in New York where there were too many memories of Theo, he had promptly sold his share of the business to Vanessa, rented out his midtown apartment, and moved back home to New Orleans to lick his wounds. Gerard had been far too emotionally wrecked when he left to smooth things over for Julia with Vanessa, and she’d been left at the mercy of the older woman, now her sole boss.
And the changes had been immediate and unpleasant. The assignments Julia now received were small, boring, and not the least bit challenging, mostly redecorating the bedrooms or living rooms for uptown society matrons. Vanessa reserved the really good jobs for herself or the two or three other designers who chose to kiss her ass, something Julia flat out refused to do. But from what Julia had overheard, some of those jobs hadn’t pleased the clients and there had been complaints. Business had also dropped off some since Gerard’s departure, and Julia knew it had been his reputation that had brought in a lot of clients.
But the other increasingly unpleasant aspect of her job in recent months had had been the frequent and unwelcome presence of Vanessa’s newest boyfriend at the office. His name was Philip and he quite frankly gave Julia the creeps. She supposed he was good looking enough, though in a dark, swarthy way with over-tanned skin and too-white teeth that didn’t appeal to her in the least. He wore too much gel in his slick-backed black hair and an almost sickening amount of cologne. Coupled with all the gold jewelry he wore, and the open-necked silk shirts he favored that displayed too much body hair, he reminded Julia of an aging gigolo. And very, very unfortunately, he was also extremely taken with Julia. Nearly every time he was in the office, he sought her out and made some very suggestive comment or worse, tried to touch her. Julia had become quite adept at evading him, or at least making sure she wasn’t alone when he was around.
Philip’s presence in the office earlier today had, in fact, been the reason why she had been in Starbucks this morning. She’d seen him enter the office and had hastily grabbed her things and exited through a back door. When she had returned over an hour later he’d mercifully been gone.
Between the lousy assignments she’d been getting, Vanessa’s hostility, and Philip’s unwelcome attentions, Julia was more than ready to move on. She had, in fact, recently begun to polish up her resume and started researching other firms both in New York and other parts of the country. She loved New York and had thoroughly enjoyed living here the past three years. She adored the shopping, the restaurants, the museums and shows, the almost constant hum of activity and excitement. She had loved Manhattan since she was a small child and had paid regular visits over the years to her grandparents and Aunt Maddy. It had always been a cherished dream of hers to live in Manhattan, and that dream had become a reality after her college graduation from Cornell in upper state New York. And even though her apartment on the Upper East Side was teeny tiny, though still outrageously expensive to rent, she loved it.
But she was also homesick for her family home in northern California, and for her parents, sister and friends. Her parents lived in Carmel, where Julia had grown up, and Lauren had a small cabin in Big Sur where she lived when she wasn’t traveling all over the world for her job as a National Geographic photographer. Julia wouldn’t mind in the least if a new job brought her to San Francisco or Los Angeles so she could be closer to home and see her family more often than three or four times a year. And she had never been crazy about East Coast weather – cold and snowy in the winter months, hot and humid in the summer, and somewhat unpredictable the rest of the time.
As she walked slowly down Park Avenue towards the bus stop, she couldn’t help but keep a watch out for the gorgeous man. But even though she’d known it to be a long shot, Julia couldn’t help the overwhelming sense of disappointment she felt when he didn’t appear and hoped that he hadn’t already left town. It would be just her bad luck to have squandered the perfect opportunity to talk to him earlier today, and then to never see him again. One of these days, perhaps, she would finally learn to act on her instincts, maybe even to be impulsive once in awhile. Julia vowed that if she was lucky enough to see Mr. Gorgeous again that she would definitely act on her impulses this time around – impulses that were compelling her to wind her arms around his neck and plant a long, slow kiss on that very sexy mouth.
Chapter Three
“Hey, Nathan. You’re having dinner with us tonight, aren’t you? Dave made reservations for eight of us at Tao.”
Nathan glanced up from the tumbler of scotch he’d been sipping at the sound of Rick’s voice. “Sure, why not? That sounds great. Let’s end our week here with an awesome meal.”
Rick clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit. Come on, let’s get another drink before we head out. Might as well enjoy the free booze while it lasts.”
They were attending the cocktail party that marked the official end of the five-day convention. Nathan was more than a little sorry to see the week draw to a close, for it meant a return to the daily grind of his job and the various stresses that accompanied it. He loved his chosen profession, was proud of co-owning a very successful firm, and grateful for all of the opportunities that had come his way. But all that success came with a price, and sometimes he wished he could take a few steps back to more fully enjoy the fruits of his labors.
However, his wel
l-deserved break was nearly over and tomorrow he’d be flying back to San Francisco and his normal, hectic routine. At least he would have Sunday to sleep in, unpack and relax before the work week began anew. Unless, of course, Cameron already had expectations to go out somewhere on Sunday, plans that she hadn’t yet shared with him. That was a particular habit of hers, one he didn’t like at all, and something she tended to laugh away, claiming she was so busy that he couldn’t possibly expect her to keep track of so many appointments and social events.
He was finishing up his third drink and starting to feel pleasantly mellow when his phone rang. He scowled slightly when he saw it was Cameron, but began to walk to a quieter corner as he answered the call.
“Hi, babe!” she greeted a little too enthusiastically, and he groaned inwardly. It was the cheerful, almost over the top tone she used when she wanted something.
“Hey, yourself,” he replied neutrally. “What’s going on since I talked with you – oh, let’s see – about five hours ago?” He had given her a quick call at lunchtime.
She giggled, another sure sign that she was getting ready to butter him up for something. “Nothing special. I just missed you. Thinking I should have come along on this trip after all.”
Nathan had actually been the one to suggest she accompany him to New York, especially after she’d made a big deal out of his being away for almost a week. Cameron loved New York – the shops, restaurants, night clubs and Broadway plays – but she hadn’t wanted to see all of that by herself while he was occupied with convention business. She had also had a previously scheduled show at the art gallery that she – well, technically her parents – owned and had felt obliged to attend.
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