She sneaked a peak at him. Once in a while they’d pass under a streetlight, and she glimpsed at his features. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back with a leather tie, and his groomed goatee was slightly darker in color. The only other thing she noticed about him was his heart-warming smile.
Before she could avert her gaze, he turned and caught her looking at him. Her heart hammered at being caught. She managed a smile, regardless.
“You see,” he explained, “I haven’t planted my feet in one place, yet. I wander all over.”
She nodded. “Oh.” She paused, and then asked, “All over where?”
“All over the world.”
She blinked with wide eyes. “What do you do for a living?” She didn’t quite understand why his friend chose that moment to laugh, but she kept her attention centered on the man with the great smile.
He chuckled. “A little of this, a little of that, but in my spare time, I model.”
Suddenly the man’s leg muscles beneath her hardened and her imagination ran wild. Men who modeled had tight, perfect bodies. What did he look like underneath his expensive tailored coat? Quickly, she stopped her train of thought. It didn’t matter what he looked like. It was inside a man that counted.
“Is that why you travel?” she asked.
“No, I travel because I can’t stay in one place for very long.”
She nodded, not impressed at all. Why did he look wealthy when it was obvious he didn’t have a steady job? “Is your family here in New York?”
“Yes. I was born and raised in this great state. How about you?”
“No.”
“Where were you born?”
She turned her head and looked out the window. “Texas.”
“Really? You don’t have an accent.”
She shrugged, keeping her gaze out the window. “When I was eight, my parents were killed in an automobile accident. Eventually, my brother and I came here to live.”
“I’m sorry. Did you live with your relatives after the accident?” He stroked her leg in a tender gesture. His warm hand nearly melted her jeans.
She looked at him, and then just as quickly, dropped her gaze to her fingers as she absently toyed with the zipper of her jacket. “No. For two years after my parents died, my brother and I were shipped from relative to relative until we ran out of family members. Finally the state put us with a foster family, and that’s where we grew up.”
A stretch of awkward silence spread between them. Mentally, she kicked herself in the butt for giving away so much information. What made her do it when she’d never been so open before? Was it because she actually enjoyed talking with him, and especially sitting this close to such an attractive man?
“Hey.” The man’s finger touched her chin and lifted her face so she could look at him. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Tell me what I can do to bring back your pretty smile.”
My pretty smile? Surprise washed over her from his comment and she almost laughed out loud from the hilarity of it all. Nobody had ever told her she had a lovely smile. Obviously this man couldn’t see very well. Without being able to control it, the corners of her lips stretched upward. Her cheeks burned and she knew they shone inside the cab like beacon lights.
“There it is,” he cheered.
She chuckled and turned her face to the window. Her heart raced. It’d been quite a while since she experienced this kind of unsettling emotion. It reminded her of when she was in school and had a crush on a boy. So why did she have it now?
The man named Montgomery turned to his friend, and for the remainder of the ride she was content to listen to his soothing, deep baritone voice. When he laughed, flutters bounced in her stomach. He shifted her on his lap a couple different times, but his arms remained around her. By the end of her journey, she’d relaxed against him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to mind.
The cab driver dropped her off first. Montgomery opened the door for her and helped her out. He followed.
“Hey, thanks for the exciting ride, sweetie.”
There’s that name again! Although she loathed cutesy nicknames, her cheeks grew warm. “Thank you for letting me share your ride. How much do I owe the cabbie?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it taken care of.”
“Why?”
He grinned. “Because I like you.”
The temperature in her face shot up.
“Well, have a good life,” he told her.
She smiled. “You, too.”
“Maybe I’ll see you around some time.”
She shrugged. “Manhattan is very large.”
“You never know, though.” He gave her a wink before climbing back into the cab.
She kept her eyes on the back of the cab until it disappeared down the street. Strange that her body would react in such an odd way to a total stranger. She’d been with Tom for over five years, but during the past hour as she sat on a stranger’s lap, she was more relaxed than she ever had been with Tom.
Shaking her head, she cleared the confusing thoughts. It was a good thing she wasn’t going to see that man again. Her heart might be in big trouble.
TWO
“Hey girls, Brad is coming!”
The starling announcement that rang through her office, shook Breanna from her deep thoughts and made her jump in her seat. The loud voice of her co-worker could have raised skeletons. Breanna placed her hand over her crazily beating heart and calmed herself. Pushing away from her desk, she turned in her swivel chair and glared at Amanda. She wished her friend could have kept her enthusiasm to a dull roar in the large cubicle-filled room.
The co-worker in the cubicle next to her sprang to her feet, knocking over her office chair in the process. “Brad is coming? When?”
Amanda threaded her fingers through her lustrous red tresses, looking as if she were holding her head together. “Any moment now, but look at me. I’m a mess. I can’t have Brad see me like this.” Amanda ran to the cubicle and peeked in the girl’s small mirror fastened to the wall. “Of all days to have a bad hair day.”
Patty ran to Amanda and also checked herself through the mirror. “Oh, no! I’ve got a zit.”
A grin tugged on Breanna’s mouth from her friend’s comment. She quickly covered her smile with her hand before anybody noticed. It seemed the other women in the room worried only about themselves.
Jackie came out of her cubicle. “Do we know how long we have to get ready? I need to redo my make-up.”
“No,” Amanda answered as she grabbed her friend’s hair spray and began to restyle her hair. “But I heard he’s upstairs with his father.”
Breanna decided to find out what all the commotion was about. She stood and walked over to the end of her cubicle. “Excuse me, but can I ask a silly question? Who are you talking about?”
The bunch of women gathered around Amanda turned and looked Breanna’s way. Amanda grinned and stepped away from the group.
“That’s right, you haven’t been here long enough to meet Brad.” She laughed. “Brad is Todd’s son.”
Breanna creased her brows. “Todd, as in our boss, Todd Montgomery?”
“Yes, the owner of the magazine, Todd Montgomery.” Amanda took a quick breath. “Anyway, Brad is his son, and he’s the sexiest man alive.” The other girls giggled and sighed.
Breanna cocked her head. “I’m assuming you’re referring to the son being the sexiest man alive and not the father, correct?”
The girls laughed and came toward her cubicle. Amanda remained the ringleader. “Yes. Brad is so dreamy. A girl can lose herself in his intoxicating baby blue eyes.”
“He wears his dark hair a little longer than most guys,” Jackie quickly cut in, “almost like a beach bum, but we absolutely adore it.”
Eve placed her hands on her cheeks, her eyes drifted heavenward. “And I love his groomed goatee.”
“Let’s not forget,” Amanda added, “his amazing muscular body.”
The girls gave anoth
er round of giggles and awes then Becky stepped forward. “He’s not only drop-dead gorgeous, but he’s very funny and charming.”
The girls agreed wholeheartedly.
Amanda touched Breanna’s arm. “Brad comes in here once in a while, and it’s the best time in the world. Sometimes we all get together after work and go do something.”
“Or we have a party at somebody’s house,” Eve added.
“We’re all good buddies with him, although we dream about becoming more.” Jackie sighed.
After hearing the description, Breanna shook her head in disbelief. Sounded to her like this man was a figment of their imaginations. No man could be that perfect. “Okay, now I know why you’re all acting like a bunch of escaped lunatics, so I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.” She turned to her chair and sat, hoping to concentrate on the article she had to finish editing, but the voices of her co-workers disturbed her thoughts.
She cleared her throat loudly. “Could you please simmer down your enthusiasm just enough so that I can think over here?”
Within minutes, the cackling geese settled and Breanna finally was able to get back to her article. She glanced at the clock hanging on her wall. She had only thirty minutes remaining. She groaned. The closest she’d ever come.
Placing her fingers on the keyboard, she continued with her work, expertly picking out the mistakes and correcting them. Her title as the magazine’s text programmer gave her no room for errors. The magazine, Upbeat, had a reputation to uphold, and she wasn’t going to be the one to destroy it.
She finished the last sentence and leaned back in her chair. She breathed easier now. Clicking the save button on her computer, she then emailed the file to her supervisor. As she turned around, she caught the pitiful glances of her co-workers. When they realized she was looking, they quickly moved their gazes.
It didn’t take a genius to know they were talking behind her back.
With eyes downcast, she walked past them toward the hallway. She wished they could accept her for who she was.
Passing the twin glass doors entering into the receptionist area, she caught her reflection. She wore her normal drab colored dress and low-heeled shoes. As always, she pulled her hair away from her face and secured it with a rubber band. Squaring her shoulders, she yanked her gaze back to the floor and dragged herself toward the supervisor’s room.
She knocked on his open door. “Terry?” He looked up from his work and met her stare. “I just wanted to let you know I’m done, and I emailed you the file.”
Her middle-aged boss shook his head. Running his fingers through the receding hair that would turn him bald in a couple of years, he glanced at the clock on the wall. “Ahead of schedule, once again.”
“Well, today I’m cutting it short. The girls in the office distracted my concentration.”
He nodded. “Yes. I couldn’t help but overhear that Todd’s son is in the building.”
“I don’t understand why everybody is going berserk.” She shrugged. “They’re acting like it’s the end of the world if their hair is not orderly, or their makeup is slightly smudged.”
A loud laugh escaped him. “I take it you haven’t met Brad Montgomery?”
“No.”
“Then save your opinion until you meet him, because I’m sure it’ll change. I don’t know one woman who hasn’t gone gaa-gaa over him.”
She shook her head sadly. “Don’t count on me being one of them.”
“Well, now that you’re done with this assignment, would you hate me too much if I gave you another? Todd threw me for a loop this afternoon, and I need this article done by the end of the day. Can you handle it?”
She smiled. “What do you think?”
“I’ll email it to you.” He smiled. “And thanks, I owe you.”
“This is my job, remember?” She left without hearing his answer.
When she entered her office, the giggling females finally mellowed and had sat at their desks, but Breanna doubted they had accomplished much. Pity they weren’t workaholics like herself.
Just as her bottom touched the cushioned seat, the glass doors by her cubicle opened and someone walked in. Before she had time to look, a man’s musky cologne caught her off guard...and smelled vaguely familiar.
“Hello, ladies.”
She glanced the man’s way and heard the heavy sighs of her co-workers. “Brad.”
So, this was the man everybody thought held the title for most sexiest man alive. Since he hadn’t noticed her, it was easier to assess him, and so far, her friends hadn’t been mistaken in their description. As his fans flocked around him in an uproar of eagerness, Brad’s pearly white smile broadened.
Without being able to stop it, she let her gaze wander over him. His sleeves were rolled up just below the elbow, and her attention drew to the white cotton stretching against his bulging biceps. He had the broadest chest she’d ever seen that narrowed down to what looked like a tight waist.
Breanna’s jaw dropped open in complete awe. A spark of charisma surrounded him. Yes, this man was definitely the most perfect man she’d ever seen. His handsome looks and charm radiated like a two thousand-watt light bulb. Good thing he didn’t turn his radiant smile on her.
“It certainly makes my day to see your beautiful faces and be in your company,” he greeted with a knee-buckling grin.
Casually, he turned his back to her so she couldn’t see his face any longer. But something oddly familiar struck a chord in her head. Where had she heard that voice before? Before she could recall, her co-workers began talking loudly and disturbed her thoughts.
Brad held up his hands for silence. “It’s just me. You don’t have to yell.”
Each girl glanced around the group, looking like they couldn’t decide who would speak first. Brad turned his attention to the woman on his left. “Okay, Jackie, darlin’, you first. What’s been happening with you?”
In annoyance, Breanna listened to each girl around the circle tell Brad about the recent events in her life. She could have screamed at them to move away from her desk, but she knew their loud voices would still disrupt her present assignment.
Her gaze roamed lower to his faded jeans that looked worn throughout the buttocks—and oh, what a backside. Shame washed over her. She shouldn’t be checking him out like this. Didn’t she despise men who did that very same thing to women?
Quickly, she looked up to his face to make sure he hadn’t been watching. When she met his stare, shame quickly changed to humiliation and her face burned with embarrassment. The corner of his sculptured lips rose in a teasing grin. She swung around in her chair toward her computer, not wanting to look at him anymore.
Her ears picked out every little sound he made, and she prayed he wouldn’t say anything about her rude stare. Why had she felt the urge to check him out like that? She’d always known beauty came from within. Besides, she had Tom, although his looks couldn’t compare to Brad. Poor Tom wasn’t even in the same league.
She tried to concentrate on her work, but Brad’s baritone voice bothered her. Strange, but she still felt as if she knew him, or at least heard his voice before. Her mind scrambled to remember why he sounded so familiar.
He laughed, and warmth spread throughout her body. At that moment, her memory returned. The man in the cab! His friends that night had called him Montgomery, and the girls in the office said he was Brad Montgomery.
She closed her eyes and let out a small groan, hoping he hadn’t recognized her.
Behind her, she heard the group discussing a party. How long until he leaves? Would she be able to get her assignment done before five o’clock today?
“So, where are we going to have the party?” Brad asked.
“We had it at my place last time,” Becky said. “How about having it at your place, Amanda?”
“Can’t. I’m having my carpets cleaned. How about you, Eve?”
“No, not tonight. My ex-husband had to go out of town for a business trip, s
o he won’t be picking up the kids.”
“How about you, Jackie?”
The questions circled the group, and the answer remained negative. Suddenly the conversation grew quiet and Breanna couldn’t hear what was being said. Good. Maybe they’ll leave so she can concentrate on her work.
A few minutes passed, and she calmed her temper and went back to her assignment. Suddenly, through her computer screen the image of a man drew her attention.
“Hello again, sweetie.”
She froze. He had recognized her from one week ago, after all! Now she had to face him. The problem was, she didn’t think she could without acting like a complete idiot. With a sinking heart, she wasn’t looking forward to his disappointment when he saw her in the light of day. What would he think of her now? And why did it suddenly matter?
* * * *
Brad draped his arm over the wobbly cubicle and waited for the woman to turn his way. He remembered her from the cab ride the other night, and at first, he thought she didn’t recognize him. Now as he detected her hesitation, instinct told him she did in fact, recall that evening. Why then was she acting so shy right now?
After a few awkward moments of silence, the woman lifted her shoulders and turned in her swivel chair, her gaze meeting his. He blinked, not believing what he saw. She looked so different from what she’d been in the cab. Although it was dark, he remembered her smile had lit up her whole face.
It’d been quite a while since he’d seen a person wear those style of glasses, and even longer when he saw a woman in such plain clothes. The overly-large brown dress didn’t do a thing to enhance her figure. It probably made it worse. Her body wasn’t large because he remembered when she sat on his lap she’d been light as a feather.
She smiled and her cheeks held a pink tint. “Hello, again.”
“You do remember me.”
“Yes, although it took me a little while.”
He chuckled. “I told you I’d see you around.”
“I didn’t believe you.”
He pulled away from the cubicle wall and moved closer. “I guess we should introduce ourselves the proper way now.”
You Are My Everything (Your Every Day Hero Book 3) Page 2
