by Jo Leigh
“Do you want to cancel? We can come back tomorrow.”
“No. We’re here. It’ll be great. Once we get…up there.” She forced a look that was as determined as her voice was weak.
Before he could pursue the contradiction, one of the crew called them to climb into the side-by-side harnesses that reminded him of a toddler’s playground swing.
Matt put his hand around Candy’s on her upright line, surprised to find she had the rope in a death grip. Her body was trembling, too. “Are you cold?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Just excited.”
No, he realized abruptly. She was scared. How had he not noticed? “Candy, if you’re nervous, we can quit right now.”
“No! I’m a little jumpy about heights is all. I’ll be fine once we get moving.” She swallowed hard and forced a shaky smile. “This is an adventure.”
“We’ll do something else that doesn’t upset you.” He leaned forward to call to the crew.
“Don’t you dare!” Candy said fiercely. She leveled her gaze at him. “I want to try this. We’re going up. It’s an adventure.”
The guy asked if they were ready.
Candy shot him a thumbs-up and before Matt could intervene, the crewman released the winch and let out the tether. Slowly, Matt and Candy rose, up and away from the boat. It was an incredible sensation. He felt weightless and free, but he kept his gaze glued to Candy, whose eyes were shut tight.
His heart lurched. He should have stopped this. Forget her pride. No way would he allow her to be terrorized on his whim.
He was about to signal the crew to pull them in when she opened her eyes and smiled cautiously. “This is…nice.” She looked gingerly around, then glanced down. That made her gasp and squeeze her eyes shut again.
“Candy, let’s quit. You got up here. You proved yourself. You can say you’ve parasailed.”
“No,” she said, eyes tight, pale as milk beneath the pink of her sunburn. “Baby steps is how they fix phobias. I’m working through it. I just won’t look down. Right away, anyway.”
The woman was being her own therapist. “You’re amazing, you know that.”
“I’m just me,” she said, steadying her gaze on him. The wind blew her hair away from her sweet face. She looked scared and brave, vulnerable and fierce all at once and emotion built inside him.
He watched her build up her courage, keeping her eyes open for a few more seconds each time. Before long, she let out a huge yell of triumph. “Yeah! I did it!” She released her rope long enough to squeeze his hand. “This is great. Thanks, Matt.” She smiled, her eyes bright, her voice warm with gratitude.
Looking at her like this, radiant with courage and triumph, Matt’s heart flipped over in his chest.
“What?” she asked him. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” he said, but that wasn’t true. Something was up, all right. Two-hundred feet in the air, he’d fallen for Candy.
Which was insane. And impossible. Even if they didn’t work together, which was trouble enough, Matt had no interest in the emotional roller coaster that Candy would consider normal. He liked things calm and stable. She liked to shake things up. They were apples and oranges, oil and water, as she’d said. And all the lighter fluid in the world wouldn’t change that.
Still, as he watched Candy laugh, head thrown back, reveling in the moment, love billowed inside him, taut and broad as the parasail that held them aloft, as if it planned to keep him in the air forever.
He knew then that it was too late for good sense, for willpower, for turning back. He was in love with Candy and now he had to figure out what to do about it.
12
CANDY LOOKED OUT across the sky, careful not to look down, thrilled to be floating on air, surrounded by blue, blue sky. She’d not only conquered her fear, but found a new thrill-parasailing. It was fantastic…electrifying…She felt so alive. And so grateful to Matt for giving her this gift.
“I love this,” she said, looking right at him. And I love you.
Uh-oh. Bad idea. Just an overflow of her delight, right? Except Matt looked at her so warmly, it was as though she’d actually said the words and he’d said them back to her.
That was scary. She felt dizzy and faint, the way she’d expected to feel floating so far above the water, but didn’t. Not anymore. She’d gotten used to it. Could she get used to these feelings for Matt?
She became suddenly aware that they’d stopped moving forward and had begun to drop in altitude. “What’s happening?” she said. “Are we going down?”
“It has to end sometime,” he said softly and she knew he wasn’t talking just about the parasail ride.
“Too bad.”
“Nothing lasts forever.”
“If it did, we’d be bored or burned out.”
“Probably.” He sighed.
“We’ll make the most of every minute,” she said, determined to do just that.
The parasail crew seemed to sense their need to hang on to the experience, because they gave them an extra bit of time to dangle their feet in the water before they hauled them onto the boat, ending the trip.
They smiled at each other and tried to act as if nothing had changed. But it had, all right, and Candy could tell the end of their affair would not be as easy or simple as they’d made it sound last night.
“A BUSINESS LUNCH? And you’re taking Matt?” Sara stared at Candy, as she tugged the drugstore panty hose under the single cocktail dress she’d brought on the trip. She’d borrowed a linen blazer from Sara to give the outfit some business flair.
“It’s perfect. Matt gets another networking lesson, I talk up Ledger Lite Personal with possible clients and impress him even more with my professionalism.” Plus, it would be a taste of being in the work world again, a chance to test their ability to keep work and play separate.
After the parasailing, they’d managed to get back more or less to how they’d been-making love for hours, laughing and talking as if nothing had changed.
Still, Candy knew she was in a fog. The mere thought of Matt started her heart banging in her chest. The luncheon, she hoped, would put things in perspective.
She pulled on the blazer and checked herself in the mirror. Perfect. On the surface, she looked serious and sober and all business. Inside, she was squishy and soft and woozy with tenderness for Matt. She hoped her outside would rub off on her inside and not the reverse.
Ellie floated down the stairs, dressed in her new, softer clothes. Since she’d slept with Bill, she’d become positively dreamy. “What’s happening?” she asked when she reached her friends.
“Candy’s going to a business luncheon with Matt,” Sara answered. “Welcome to the bizarro world. Candy’s working all the time and all I can think of is playing with Drew.”
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Ellie said wistfully. “Everything worked out. You and Drew. Me and Bill. Candy and Matt.” She sighed.
“It is great,” Sara breathed. “Drew and I really connected. He truly understands me.”
“I feel that way, too, with Bill,” Ellie said.
Candy smiled at her dazed and confused friends. She hoped they wouldn’t get hurt. It’s not that she was cynical, just practical. She had to stay clear-eyed about her own situation as well. “It’s not like that with me and Matt.” She tugged the blazer hem, straightening out the creases.
“Oh, no. Not at all,” Ellie said, wearing her know-it-all grin. “With you and Matt, it’s strictly business.”
“I’m serious, Ellie. Really. Besides, as soon as Jane sees the new Matt, she’ll want him back. I know it.”
“But that’s over. He doesn’t want her anymore,” Ellie said. “That’s obvious.”
“He might not say it out loud…I’m sure he doesn’t want to get his hopes up.” Matt was too polite to talk about Jane with her. Candy tried not to feel too guilty about them being together.
“I don’t think either of you knows yourself as well as you think you do.” Ellie adjusted Candy’s blazer collar, which was inside out.
Candy hadn’t noticed. Her vision did seem a bit foggy today. “The point is that we can’t continue this when we get back. Think of it. How could Matt name me a team leader if we were sleeping together? Think how bad that would look.”
“Things work out,” Ellie said. “A friend of mine slept with her business partner for years before they told their employees and it was no big deal. Everyone knew and no one cared.”
“At SyncUp, people would care. Trust me.” Her reputation was already shaky enough there. An affair with her boss would look really, really bad. Not to mention how it would reflect on Matt.
“One of you could leave. Matt’s moved around before. And don’t you want your own agency anyway?”
“In five years, sure.” She knew several PR and ad people who had spun off from in-house work with big firms to become consultants, with their former employers as their biggest accounts. “When I have enough experience. I’m not leaving SyncUp yet. That would be way too flaky.”
“Starting your own agency is not flaky,” Sara said. “You’d be your own boss, depending on yourself for your income. You’d love that, Candy. I think you’d shine.”
“I know what I want. I have a plan.”
“Just keep an open mind, that’s all we’re saying,” Ellie said. “Now, come on…group hug!” Ellie muscled them together for an embrace, which Candy enjoyed, letting the close feeling soak in. She needed support for the afternoon ahead.
Maybe the team-leader issue would come up in a natural way, assuming they managed to stay in business mode, and they could talk about Candy becoming one.
“I’ve got to go,” she said, breaking away reluctantly.
“Wait,” Sara said. “Let’s see where we stand on points before you leave.” Sara fetched the chart she’d printed out and held it out for them to look at. “Our biggest competition is that team from Santa Monica, those cheaters. We have to outwit them somehow.”
They went over upcoming events, including several at the Sin on the Beach party that night that she and Matt had agreed to participate in. When they were finished, Candy grabbed her purse and turned back to her friends. “Do I look businesslike enough?”
“Oh, definitely,” Sara said.
“You look like a woman in love,” Ellie said.
Candy opened her mouth to object, but Sara held up a hand. “She’s not going to let it go, Candy. Just accept it.”
“I guess so.” Candy slid to the mirror in the entryway just to check. She looked…funny. Her face had too much color, even for the sunburn she’d accumulated, and her eyes were too bright. She looked like she had a fever.
Or like a woman in love.
“Hi, there.” Matt stood on the other side of the screen door and her heart surged at the sight of him.
“Hi,” she said.
“You look incredible,” he said softly.
“Thank you,” she said, so happy to have his eyes on her in that intense way Matt had.
“You ready to go?”
She nodded. “See you guys!” she called to her friends.
“Hold it!” Ellie said. “We have to see how Matt looks.”
“God,” Matt said, rolling his eyes. “Is there any point in refusing?”
“You know Ellie.”
“I do.” He sighed.
“Ready for the catwalk?” she asked.
“With you by my side, I can handle it.” He grinned and extended his arm for her to grab. They were comrades in the coming ordeal and she loved that feeling. No matter what happened, they would be friends from here on. No more awkward tension about the Thong Incident, no more blushing and stammering when they ran into each other at Dark Gothic Roast.
They were friends now. Surely that made it worthwhile.
“Do a turn,” Ellie commanded Matt.
“Lord,” he said, looking sheepish under the scrutiny of three sets of female eyes. He took a slow turn in the summer weight Joseph Abboud suit that emphasized his height and build.
“What do you think?” Candy said, running her finger along the lapel. “I was going for a look that’s traditional, but still trendy. We bought him a blazer, too, so he can mix it up.”
“Aren’t we about to be late?” Matt asked, shooting his cuff to check his watch.
“The shirt is gorgeous,” Ellie said. “And I love the tie.”
“I know,” Candy said. The shirt was a dense cotton in antique white, the tie a high-end gray-blue stripe, restrained and elegant.
“And the haircut…” Ellie sighed. “Looks fabulous.” She fingered his hair. “You could use some gel, I think.”
“Forget the gel,” Matt said, moving away. “Enough with the fashion show. Let’s go.” He took Candy by the elbow and led her out the door. She wiggled her fingers good-bye at her friends. “Wish us luck,” she said. She had a feeling she’d need it.
An hour’s drive later, they found the luncheon ballroom festive with flowers in honor of the theme-Planting the Seeds of Women’s Leadership. Each seat held a small terra-cotta pot with a packet of seeds.
After they’d filled out name tags, Matt started toward the ballroom, no doubt to find a seat.
“Hang on. This is prime networking time.” She caught his arm. “Let’s talk strategy.”
“There’s a strategy?”
“Absolutely. Don’t forget our card-gathering contest. Before we settle on a table, we circulate and collect cards. You go that way, I’ll go the other and we’ll meet in the middle. Then we’ll sit with the strongest leads-where a longer conversation might net sales.”
“Ah. I see. There is a strategy.” He smiled at her, then surveyed the crowd of mostly women. “Looks like I’m seriously outnumbered.”
“Use that to your advantage,” she said, pressing his arm for emphasis. “You look very hot.”
“You’re suggesting I work it?” He raised a brow.
“If it makes a sale for SyncUp.”
“I didn’t realize you were so mercenary, Calder.” He looked her over. “A hot mercenary, at least. Since you agreed to go to the convention with me, what’s the winner of our little contest earn, anyway?”
“We should decide that, huh? Hmm. How about we do what Magellan suggested-have our own game of Truth or Bare? The winner asks a question the loser must answer.” She would ask about the marketing teams. Perfect. Her heart raced.
Matt leaned down to talk near her ear. “Forget the Truth. Let’s just go for Bare. That way we both win.”
She trembled in response, aware that no matter how business-focused she managed to be, Matt could fell her with a word. The smell of him made her knees buckle and his kiss melted her bones altogether.
“Go get cards,” she said, gently pushing him away from her. She moved in the opposite direction and paused at a group of women, determined to do her job.
Every time she looked up, though, Matt caught her eye, and it gave her such a rush. It was as if the ballroom smeared into the background so that all she saw was him. She ached to be alone with him again. They had something better to do than any one of the three-hundred people in this huge ballroom. It was their sweet secret.
Before long, they’d managed to work their way back to each other. Matt smiled at her as if to say, at last.
“How’d you do?” she asked him.
He fanned business cards like a poker hand, showing them to her in a way no one else would notice.
“Excellent,” she said, then turned to introduce him to the women she’d been chatting with. “I’ve been talking about Ledger Lite Personal, Matt. Sylvia thinks it would be a great idea.”
Matt turned to Sylvia. “I’m glad to hear that…” Candy was pleased to see him use the techniques she’d taught him while he talked with
the woman about her needs as a real-estate broker.
All of a sudden, Candy was being yanked into the perfumed arms of a woman who was hugging her. “Candy Calder, am I glad to see you.”
She pulled back and recognized Claudia Stern, a woman who owned a mail-order infant-wear company. Candy had met her at a luncheon months ago. “You still with that computer firm, are you?” The woman hardly paused when Candy nodded. “Because I was wondering if you could squeeze in some freelance work. A bunch of us start-ups want to pool our cash and buy some ads and such. We’re all knees and elbows and where-whichever about it, and I bragged I knew people and here you are-people!”
“I wish I could help, Claudia, but SyncUp keeps me pretty busy. I’m not doing any freelance work.”
“Well, damn. That’s a drag. Could you refer us to someone? Could you do that for us?”
“I’d be happy to. I’m sure I can suggest someone.” They exchanged cards and Claudia pointed Candy’s SyncUp card at her. “You call me now. I’m counting on you! We all are!”
“Did that woman just try to poach you from us?” Matt asked.
“I’m happy where I am,” she said, then hesitated, realizing this was the perfect lead-in. “But now that you mention it, I did want to talk to you about ways I could be most useful to SyncUp. I’m ready for a new challenge and I was thinking that-”
“Matt? Is that you?”
They both turned to find a tall, sleek blonde smiling in surprised delight at Matt.
“Jane?” Matt said. “What are you doing here?”
This was Matt’s Jane? She reminded Candy of the young Kathleen Turner. In a tailored pin-striped suit, pink silk blouse and subtle jewelry, with her hair in a soft braided twist, she was the picture of classic elegance.
“More importantly, Matt, what are you doing here? This is a women’s luncheon,” Jane said, in the same whiskey voice Turner was known for. The woman was direct and sexy as hell.
Matt turned to Candy, then to Jane, flummoxed about what to say, she could tell. “Jane Roston, I’d like you to meet a colleague of mine, Candy Calder, who brought me here.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jane said, but her gaze returned immediately to Matt. “You look great, Matt. All tanned. Great suit. Good haircut and…contacts? Are you wearing lenses?”
