“So you’re now in the army?”
“Part-time Guard, but yeah. I have drills over in Fort Riley once a month and then two weeks’ training during the summer.”
“Is that common, for a marine to join the army?”
He laughed. “I got some shit for it, that’s for sure. Like I said, we marines like to think we are the most badass of all the military—which we are, by the way—but I’m not the only one in the Guard. There are several other guys who are marines. It’s fine.”
She appeared contemplative, twirling her bracelet. Their server set down their drinks and Reeve watched as Emily smiled and thanked her. He enjoyed watching her when she didn’t realize it. Had ever since that first night when she’d stuffed her phone down her dress. Emily was one of those women who were effortlessly beautiful. The way she moved, talked, carried herself: It was all classy and feminine.
As soon as they were alone again he reached out and grabbed her hand. “So tell me exactly why you had that no-military-guy rule.”
She twisted her lips, staring at their joined hands. “Well, obviously it’s because of my stepfather. Brigadier General Strickland.”
Reeve nearly bristled just thinking about it. He didn’t have a whole lot of experience with officers that high ranking, but he knew a lot of them were rather unpleasant people. Then again, many of his superiors had been really good men. Most, in fact. Yeah they could all have their moments—it was the marines for Christ’s sake—but he’d seen some of them interact with their wives and children, and they’d softened instantly. Apparently this guy wasn’t one of those. Reeve was sorry for that, for Emily’s sake.
“What’s he like?”
Her laugh was bitter. “Even thinking about him makes me angry. Let’s just say he’s a male chauvinist asshole that for years I assumed must have drugged my mother in order to convince her to marry him.”
“Wow. That sucks.” He wouldn’t press her for more, now. But he hated the thought that this asshole might have hurt her physically.
She shrugged. “I’m over it. Mostly.”
He smiled and squeezed her hand. “Your real dad no longer around?”
“He died when I was nine.”
“I’m sorry, that had to be hard.”
“It was. He was a good guy. Not perfect, but good. Kind. He always wanted the best for me, told me I could do and be anything I wanted.” She cleared her throat and pulled her hand from his. “Tell me about your family.”
He took a drink and then a deep breath, trying to decide what to share.
“Not a lot to tell. My mother lives here in Manhattan. She’s a little . . . eccentric.” He huffed out a laugh, knowing how odd that had to have sounded. But how did you tell someone that your mother lived between piles of trash and hadn’t seen her entire bed in five years? And that he’d had to live that way through most of his childhood. Had slept sharing a couch with boxfuls of junk all through high school. You didn’t say those things, was the correct answer. He skipped over to something much easier to admit. “My father left us when I was about twelve.”
“Oh, my . . . I’m sorry.” Emily’s eyes were wide, and for a moment he was almost certain she was going to reach for his hand again. She didn’t, instead gripped her glass.
Reeve shrugged. “I heard from him a few times in high school, saw him twice, but not since I was about seventeen. Honestly, I don’t even know if he’s aware I joined the marines. Doesn’t matter, really.”
“Of course it does. I’m sure if he knew he’d be proud.”
“He might.” Reeve cleared his throat. “That conversation took a depressing turn, right?”
They smiled at each other and quieted when the food was delivered. Thank goodness for strawberry bruschetta, because Emily’s face lit up with delight when she spotted it.
“You really love that stuff, don’t you?”
“I really do. Try it.”
“Okay, but you have to eat some of these sliders.” He placed a little burger on a plate and handed it to her.
“I have no problem with that. You also know we can’t leave here without chocolate chip cookies.”
“Really. I’ve never had them here.”
“Oh my goodness, seriously? Your employee over there is holding out on you. They’re the best.”
“Then I guess we’ll have some.”
They tried all of the food and he had to admit, the strawberry stuff wasn’t something he would have ever chosen on his own, but it was tasty. Though not nearly as good as watching Emily eat it. She didn’t hold back, didn’t try to be cute or girlie as she ate the Kobe slider.
“Okay, those little burgers are really, really, good,” she said. “We have to order some more.”
Reeve laughed and signaled the server. They continued to eat, talk, and drink for another hour. He’d known from the first night that he was attracted to her, and then sleeping together cemented the fact that they were compatible, at least in that regard. He’d liked her, knew that, but after this he just wanted more. More of her laugh, her voice, her body. More time together. However, he was afraid if they just ended up back in bed tonight, it would send her an unintended message. He wanted this to turn into something beyond that. This was no longer about just sex, and he wanted her on the same page.
“So tell me about your job,” he said when their plates were cleared.
“Oh . . . well.” She was back to fiddling with her bracelet. Odd, considering they’d now talked about everything from first kisses to basic training. “I, uh . . . have a job at the LAM corporate office.”
His head jerked back. “You’re kidding. My crew and I just spent nearly two weeks doing a landscaping job there.”
“Oh really? How funny. If only I’d known.” She smiled.
“Did you not ever notice the work going on outside on the patio?”
She shrugged. “I might have seen some commotion, but I’m usually kind of in my own world there.” She put her hands parallel to her eyes and motioned. “Tunnel vision at work. But I did hear the patio looks really nice.”
“Thanks, yeah, I’m really happy with how it all turned out. There’s this big willow tree out there. I guess it’s special to the owner, a memorial. Anyway, I still feel like the tree should have come out. Still a chance it will need to eventually, but hopefully everything works out.”
“Huh, yeah I’m sure everything will be fine.”
A thought occurred to Reeve and he suddenly felt panicked. He quickly debated if he should say anything and decided that since he’d already basically laid all his cards on the table, he might as well not stop now. “This is really awkward, but do you know Natalie Jones?”
Her eyebrows went up and she looked . . . startled. “I do . . . yes. We aren’t close friends or anything.”
“This is a little weird to mention here, but she hired my company to do some landscaping at her house. She actually asked me out yesterday.” He looked into her eyes, trying to decipher her thoughts on that. “I said no. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
He laughed, feeling like a complete idiot. There was probably no way she’d find that out in a company so large.
“What made you say no? Natalie’s very pretty.”
“She is. Yes. But I, uh . . . I just knew that it didn’t feel right. Especially after you drunk texted me.” Emily rolled her eyes, her blush traveling across her cheeks. Reeve continued. “I just knew that what I really wanted was to spend time with you. Only you.”
Their server laid the check down and Reeve’s eyes went up when he saw Emily’s hand go for it. He reached out and swiped it before she could get a grip.
“Seriously?” he asked. “Do you really think I would let you pay for this?”
“Sorry, habit I guess. I’m a little rusty at dating.”
Reeve smiled. “Then that means we need to do it again, get you back in the saddle. I’m ready to be your stallion.”
She let out the prettiest laugh. “That was horrible
. So horrible.”
“It was, I’ve had too much strawberry toast,” he said, laying some cash on the table.
Emily shook her head. “You loved the strawberry toast.”
“Ha, I knew I could get you to call it that.”
Her mouth dropped open and she faked indignation, but there was no threat behind her expression. Damn, he really liked this woman. She was everything: gorgeous, smart, and sweet. Most of the time. But that little bit of spice was what made it all the perfect challenge.
“When can you go out with me again?”
“Oh, I don’t know. When would you like me to?”
“How about next weekend? We can take my bike out to Milford Lake. Bring some lunch with us.”
The happiness on her face was all the answer he needed, but her reply was the icing on the cake. “That sounds perfect.”
“You ready, then?” he asked, nodding toward the door.
“Sure.”
He took her hand and led her back through the restaurant, waving to John and then finally heading out the front door. The sun had set and the air was growing muggy. The moon was shrouded by low-hanging clouds, and even in the dark of evening he could tell that rain threatened.
They made their way back down the sidewalk, and as they rounded the corner toward the parking lot, Emily turned to face him.
“We completely forgot chocolate chip cookies.”
“Aw, we did.” Reeve stopped and grabbed her hand. “Want to go back?”
“Oh no. It’s fine. I’m really not even hungry at all. Maybe next time.”
He liked that she’d said that, next time. He should plan on picking some up to go with their picnic next weekend. He’d could ask John to bring some to work on Friday.
They continued walking and just as they hit the parking lot it began to sprinkle the lightest bit.
“Oh gosh,” Emily said, picking up her pace.
She had on another pair of those heels that did ridiculously amazing things for her legs, the sight of which did ridiculously inappropriate things to his midsection. One thing was certain, though. Tonight he was not having sex with her. That’s all they’d done, and all they’d been. A sexual relationship—which, damn, had been so good. But he wanted her to know how serious he was about her. Because he was, even more now than he’d been several hours ago.
When they reached her car she pulled her keys out of her purse and he heard the locks click open. She turned to face him, a small smile teasing her lips. “Thank you so much for tonight. This was really nice.”
He wanted to say that it was much more than nice. Wanted to tell her that this was just the beginning, but he didn’t. Instead he let go of her hand and slid his around her waist, pulling her into him before covering the fullness of her red lips with his.
She instantly reciprocated, her mouth warm and pliant as she sipped at his bottom lip. He loved the way her hands went to his neck and pulled him closer, as if she couldn’t get enough. That was exactly how he wanted her to feel, needy.
Emily’s mouth opened in invitation and he didn’t hesitate to slip his tongue inside, sliding it against hers slowly. She tasted like whiskey sour, tangy strawberries, and the fresh rain that was falling on her face. They kissed for a long moment, savoring each other. He wanted more, so much more, but he lifted his hand to brush her cheek and forced himself to pull his mouth away from hers.
She looked up at him, her eyes lit by the reflection of the rain on the cars surrounding them. “You are stunningly beautiful, Emily.”
He could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips and he was dying to kiss her again, but he didn’t.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Reeve chuckled as the rain began to increase. “You better get in your car before you’re soaked. Can I call you this week?”
“Yes.”
He ran his knuckles once more down her damp cheek. “Talk to you soon, Whip.”
* * *
Emily was now officially the living, breathing epitome of pining desperation, because at some point she’d become obsessed with Reeve. It was Wednesday, and she sat at her desk staring out the window. All she could think about was her dinner with him Saturday night.
This was it. The reason why she’d avoided men for so long, because not only did they have the potential to be heartbreaking assholes, they cast a spell on you. Distracted you from your work, made you think about them constantly, and made you wish for silly things.
She didn’t have time for that and hadn’t thought herself truly capable of falling for that claptrap. Thousands of employees counted on her, money was on the line, and yet here she sat, wishing one man would just call her like he damn well said he would. Didn’t that mean before seventy-two hours has passed, at least? She did not know the rules of dating, but surely if you were into someone, you called them before half the workweek was over. She felt like this entire relationship had been a series of ups and downs. Passion and then waiting. Agonizing.
With a sigh, Emily laid down her phone and went back to her email. Summer was just around the corner, the company’s busy season. In addition, they rolled out their new Luxury Experience theaters at five houses on Tuesday and the new independent film line the following week. She had way too many things to be thinking about right now to spend this kind of time having a pity party.
She called Daniel’s desk.
“Hello, Emily. Did you get the email I forwarded you regarding—”
“I did get it, Daniel. Thank you. Would you please call Dave and let him know our entire itinerary for next week’s travel? And please note there will be four of us total.”
“I actually finalized those plans with Dave on Thursday last week,” he said.
“Oh, well thank you. Looks like you’re ahead of the game. I appreciate it, Daniel.”
“That’s my job, Ms. Phillips.”
They disconnected and Emily instantly felt irritated with herself. Her head was way out of the game and that was not normal. On that note, she went to the third-floor kitchen and got herself a cup of coffee and some junk food, then forced herself to put her nose to the grindstone for a few hours. It was almost three when she checked her phone again. Still no call.
Standing up from her desk, she walked over to the window and gazed down at the beautiful new patio. A few people sat at one of the tables, obviously having a small meeting. She recognized a couple of faces from her human resources department.
She sucked in a cleansing breath and focused on the present. Then another. Finally she smiled, loving that feeling she got when she stopped to think about how this was all hers.
When she’d gotten the shocking news of her grandfather’s heart attack it had been such a mix of emotions. Devastation, because he had been one of her favorite people on earth and it had hurt to lose the one man left in the world who loved her. Fear, because now a multimillion-dollar business was hers to run, improve, and carry on. But after the initial trauma and grief had subsided, there had also been an undercurrent of excitement, because she knew without a doubt that she could take over the business and make it thrive.
That was exactly what she’d done. She knew that if her dad and grandfather could see her now, they’d be proud. It was their memories that helped her get through the long days, hard decisions, and incredible stress that came with the position.
Staring at her father’s willow outside, she thought about how Reeve mentioned it would still have to come down in due time. He’d informed Daniel and Natalie that willows could be invasive and didn’t have a terribly long life compared with other trees. He knew that, but he had chosen to try to keep it for his client. Reeve was a good guy. He’d started out as her trying fantasy on for size but had turned into something else. She wasn’t sure what the ending would be, and maybe it would all backfire, but it just didn’t feel right to continue lying to him.
Emily was proud of her work, her job, and her accomplishments. She’d been beyond hesitant about him being in the military, but
as she’d listened to him talk about his experience, and seen the look of pride on his face . . . she’d changed her mind. Would he be the same? If a man wasn’t capable of dealing with her position and wealth, she’d be better off knowing now than later. And if she continued to conceal the truth, when he finally found out, he would feel betrayed. She knew that.
Suddenly she felt that if she didn’t tell him right away, she wouldn’t be able to stand it. Pulling out her phone, she texted him. So much for waiting on a man. That wasn’t her style anyway.
EMILY: Hi. Any way we could get together for a little bit tonight? Get a drink or something?
She waited a few moments. Then ten. After twenty she plopped back down at her desk. It was still work hours and he was no doubt busy. When her phone dinged an hour later she snatched it off her desk.
REEVE: Of course. Is something wrong?
Emily sighed. How intuitive he was. She reread her initial text, realizing that had he sent her the same one under the circumstances she might have assumed the same. So how did she respond now without making things seem awkward or being too forward? Deciding that since they’d already spent the night together, forward wasn’t a big deal, she opted for that.
EMILY: Nothing’s wrong, just wanted to see you.
REEVE: Like hearing that. Want me to come to you?
Shit. She could have him over, and that would certainly send a message. But she’d really like to have this conversation on common ground, and since they’d already been to his house so many times, it seemed the best place.
EMILY: Or I could just come to you. My place is kind of a mess.
She added a winky face just because it felt right.
REEVE: Okay. Sure. How about 6?
EMILY: See you then.
Leaning back in her chair, Emily swallowed. She would tell him what she did for a living tonight, and then they would go from there.
* * *
Emily left the office at five thirty, hating how even this late the air was still muggy, sending her hair into uncontrollable waves around her forehead. Luckily she’d worn a light-teal dress and nude flats so the rising temperature wasn’t too uncomfortable, but clearly summer was on its way.
All I Ask Page 15
