Raising her hand as if they were in a schoolroom, Beth asked, “Does Nick passing out on top of me afterward count?” Everyone started laughing. “Nick is amazing in bed, but since Henry keeps us up half the night now, instead of the marathon sessions we used to have, we’re more into short, hot bursts and then collapsing for an hour before we have to get up again.”
Suzy groaned. “Please don’t tell me how wonderful Nick is in bed again. I have to look at the man over the dinner table at family gatherings. It’s bad enough that Gray’s mother never fails to mention what a stud Gray’s father is in the bedroom.” Laying her head in her hands, she added, “There are just some things you shouldn’t know about family . . . like ever.”
When their food arrived, Emma let everyone take a few bites before putting down her fork. “I do need some advice about Brant. I thought we were in a good place last night when he dropped me off, but this morning I walked into his office to find him hugging an attractive woman. He introduced her as a friend, but when Declan walked in, he asked Brant what his ex was doing there.”
Claire’s fork froze on the way to her mouth. “Was it Alexia Shaw?”
“Um . . . yes, I believe so. Why?” asked Emma.
“I . . . Jason mentioned Brant being engaged before to the daughter of a friend of his father’s. I was surprised at the time because I just couldn’t picture him getting married; he’s so . . . reserved. I think it was a while back, though, and I’m not sure what happened.”
Always the voice of practicality, Suzy said, “Well, honey, she’s old news. You’re the here and now. They didn’t have their tongues down each other’s throats, right?”
“Er . . . no, not when I walked in.”
“Did it look like they had at any point?” Suzy asked.
“How would she know that?” Beth asked curiously.
Before Suzy could answer, Claire spoke up. “Oh, you’d know. Men just have that crazy, ‘I’m so close to having sex look’ that they can’t hide, especially with little notice. I agree with Suzy; if he and Alexia had been doing anything other than sharing a platonic hug, you would know it.”
Surprisingly, Ella nodded her head in agreement. “Whenever we have unexpected visitors like my mother, she always knows when she’s interrupting something. The last time she actually said, ‘I’ll make this quick since Declan looks feverish.’ We all knew she didn’t think he was coming down with anything. It was just her way of pointing out that she knew what we had been up to. If my mother can spot something like that, you would have been able to as well.”
“Well, crap,” Emma sighed. “I guess I should stop acting like such a teenage girl then. I should have known it was innocent. I mean, I’ve seen Brant . . . excited and that wasn’t it.”
“Well, either that or you’re just way better than this other woman.” Beth clapped her hand over her mouth, seeming to realize how wrong her sentence sounded. “Damn, I didn’t mean it like that. You are better, of course, but there was nothing there to start with, so . . .”
Suzy interrupted her sister. “Let me put you out of your misery before you dig yourself in any further.” Turning to Emma, she said, “So everything is fine and if you want to continue with Brant, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t.” Then, drilling Beth with a look, she added, “Just please don’t do it in anyone else’s house like some people . . .” Beth responded with a grimace and Emma had to wonder what she was missing. “Hey, speaking of sex and exes, I have a new and interesting friend, Beth, with ties to one of your exes.”
Looking surprised, Beth said, “Really? Heck, I don’t have much of a dating past, so who could that be?”
“Well, you only went out with him a few times . . . but you remember Seth Jackson, right?”
“Oh my God,” Beth moaned. “That man had a front-row seat to one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. Please tell me he isn’t your new best friend now.”
“Hardly.” Suzy smiled. “But you’ll be happy to know he’s moved on . . . to someone very close to home.”
Beside Suzy, Claire smiled. “Oh yes, that’s right. I had forgotten that you went out with Seth.”
Holding up her hand, Emma said, “Whoa, let’s take this back a little for the benefit of those of us who don’t know. Who is Seth and what embarrassing moment did I miss?” Ella was trying to stifle a giggle under her hand, so Emma knew it must be a good one.
Beth took a breath and said, “I met Seth through a dating service. He works at the Oceanix.”
“He owns the Oceanix,” Suzy added. “Big difference.”
“Wow,” Emma breathed. “I’m impressed.” The Oceanix was the most elite resort in Myrtle Beach and that was saying something. Her parents had insisted on taking her there for lunch on their last visit. She probably wouldn’t have been able to afford more than a crouton without them paying.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t know he owned it at the time. He just said he was the manager there. Not that it would have made any difference to me. Seth was a great guy.” And wiggling her eyebrows, she added, “And very easy on the eyes. We had only been out a few times when things with Nick started to . . . heat up. I had a very bad and temporary lapse in judgment and decided I was going to continue dating despite finding out I was pregnant.”
Suzy opened and closed her mouth. Emma had to give her credit for holding in whatever comment she had wanted to make.
“So, um, how did that work out?” Emma asked.
Beth started laughing. “Not very well. I met Seth for dinner one evening and Nick showed up. He introduced himself as the father of my child and also let Seth know he was living with me. When Seth asked me if it was true, I had no choice but to tell him that it was. Have you ever had a gorgeous man look at you like you were a complete and total train wreck? Let me tell you, it’s not a good feeling. It was completely humiliating and I have prayed that I would never see him face-to-face again.”
Ella squeezed her friend’s hand in sympathy, saying, “It could happen to any of us.”
Suzy laughed out loud before telling Ella, “Unless you are planning to start dating now, it’s probably not gonna happen to anyone at this table again.”
“I almost hate to ask,” Beth said, “but what were you saying about Seth?”
“Believe it or not,” Suzy said, “he’s dating someone at Danvers . . . again. With a little more success this time, though. She works in installations and her name is Mia Gentry. She’s actually pretty cool; I think you’d all like her.”
“Small town, small world,” Claire offered.
“Should make for a hell of a good Christmas party, though, right?” Suzy smirked.
As the other women gathered their things to leave, Emma was surprised when Ella pulled her aside. Ella gave her a shy smile before saying, “If Brant is what you want, then never stop until you get him. That whole family is so . . . closed off. Declan is better now, but he still has times when he wants to shoulder everything on his own. I’ve gotten to know Brant a bit since Declan and I got together. I can see that there’s a lot more to him than he lets most people see. Ava—she has been a bit tougher. I don’t think she’s ever gonna call me wanting to have a girls’ night. Evan is crazy about both of them, though, and they say kids are the best judge of a person’s character.”
Emma smiled her gratitude. “Thank you, Ella, and for what it’s worth, Declan is damn lucky.”
Brant was waiting for her near her desk when she returned from lunch. She looked at him uncertainly for a moment before putting her hands on her hips and breaking the silence. “What? Don’t tell me you wanted your slave to bring you back some lunch?”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise before a smile curved his gorgeous lips. “Now why would I want yet another sandwich that you had left sitting on the table for an hour before bringing it back to me? I’m sure you have been sorely disappointed that I haven’t succumbed to a bad case of food poisoning yet.”
Dropping her purse on the desk, she said, “
It hasn’t been from a lack of trying on my part.” Suddenly Brant gripped her hips, pulling her bottom back against him. She felt his erection nudging against her and wiggled against it, eliciting a groan from him.
“God, you’re turning me on. One more nasty comment from you and I’ll have you lying on your desk with your panties on the floor and my cock driving hard inside you.”
Holy shit! Emma felt the moisture pooling between her thighs as erotic images of the two of them together ran through her mind. As he reached up to pinch her taut nipples, she groaned, “You . . . have . . . an . . . appointment . . . soon.”
“Fuck.” Brant cursed against her neck. He kissed her ear before stepping unsteadily back.
“Let’s go to your place after work,” Emma whispered seductively. Was it her imagination or did he suddenly look uncomfortable?
“How about your place? I’m . . . having some work done at mine.”
Emma felt herself relax. Things had seemed so awkward for a moment that she had been afraid he was going to turn her down altogether. She knew that her apartment was still a wreck with luggage lying around the living room, but she didn’t care in the least. If they had to make out on a pile of laundry, it was something she’d have to live with. “Sure, that sounds good. Do you want to grab some dinner first?”
Brant smacked her sharply on the butt, something he seemed to love doing, and said, “Have a snack this afternoon to tide you over. I can’t sit across from you in a restaurant without wanting to fuck you. After we’ve released some . . . tension, we’ll order a pizza.” Emma was more than happy with his plan since she didn’t think she could last much longer without feeling him against her. Being this close to him for the rest of the afternoon was going to be hell. She had never been so glad to have a full schedule; otherwise, she would have ended up doing something she never had: beg Brant to meet her in the supply closet before she exploded.
Brant had just walked back into his office when the owner of the company, Jason Danvers, walked in followed by Mark DeSanto, Brant’s next appointment. The DeSanto Group had been a partner in some projects with Brant’s previous company. Brant had maintained a friendship with Mark and wanted to introduce him to Jason. He thought there were some interesting possibilities for projects between DeSanto and Danvers.
“Emma.” Jason smiled, holding out his hand. Emma shook hands, returning the greeting. She had met Jason on only a few occasions and each time she found herself blushing like a schoolgirl. Claire Danvers had hit the jackpot and it had nothing to do with his wealth. He was tall, drool-worthy handsome, and what a body. What Emma found the most attractive, though, was that he didn’t use any of that to get what he wanted. He was like a gorgeous geek. After speaking with him on any subject for a few moments, it became apparent that the man was brilliant. With so many attributes to admire, his intelligence had always been what really stood out to Emma.
Mark DeSanto gave her a look that was frankly appraising and appreciative as he dropped a kiss on her hand. Emma smiled at the gesture. There wasn’t a lot of hand kissing in Myrtle Beach. Mark had raven-dark hair and reminded her of a younger Andy Garcia.
When Brant walked out of his office to greet his guests, Mark took the opportunity to ask her if she would be interested in joining him for lunch one day. She could tell by the tightening of Brant’s mouth that he had also heard the question and didn’t like it. She didn’t think it would look good to Jason Danvers if he saw her making dates with their business associates. Just as she was trying to phrase her rejection nicely, the telephone rang and she jumped on it like a lifeline. Brant also took advantage of the call to usher Mark away from her desk and lead them all into his office, shutting the door firmly behind them.
As Emma was getting ready to leave for the day, the men finally came out. “Emma, Jason, Mark and I are meeting up with Declan, Nick, Gray and Ava for dinner. Could you possibly make us a reservation at Ivy for seven, please?” Ivy was a favorite among the executives at Danvers and as such, there was always a last-minute table available to them there. Emma smiled at him as Mark and Jason walked into the hallway and she picked up the phone. Brant leaned over her desk to sign some papers and whispered near her ear, “I’ll drop by your place after dinner, okay?”
“Er . . . sure,” she replied, suddenly feeling like more of a booty call than a date, which she knew was silly. Did she think that Brant was going to announce to the CEO of Danvers that she was his girlfriend and include her in the dinner arrangement? “Will any of the wives be joining you this evening?”
“Ah, yes, Em, thanks—please also include a plus-one for Jason, Gray and Declan. I don’t believe Nick’s wife can make it.” Emma couldn’t help but think that if Brant were still with Alexia, he would definitely have a plus-one for the evening. He brushed her hand fleetingly before murmuring, “I’ll see you soon.”
Emma quickly made the reservation before locking up for the evening. She was walking through the lobby when she saw Brant’s sister, Ava, staring at the elevator. Thinking that Brant may not have passed the dinner information along, she approached her. “Hi, Ava, were you looking for Brant?”
Ava gave her a look of surprise before answering. “No, should I be?”
Emma verbally kicked herself. She liked Ava fine, but she was now stuck delivering the required five minutes of small talk when she could have walked out the door and been on her way. “I just thought since you were meeting the rest of the team for dinner tonight that you might be riding together.”
“Oh . . . No . . . I’m just . . . I thought Mac would still be here and I was going to walk out with him.”
Like most of her friends at Danvers, Emma had wondered more than once about the relationship between Ava and Mac. She knew he was an old friend of the family and that Declan had served in the military with him, but she had always thought there was something else there.
“Do you want me to check and see if he’s still in the building?” Emma offered.
Ava looked down at her watch and then back at the elevator as if willing Mac to appear. “No, that’s okay, I probably just missed him. Thanks, though.”
Emma couldn’t help but notice how sad the other woman looked as she walked away. Maybe they had more in common than she thought, because it appeared that they were both waiting on a man.
Chapter Fourteen
When Declan caught him looking down at his watch yet again, Brant tried to hide his guilty expression. It was already after nine and he knew that Emma was expecting him. As if taking mercy on him, his brother cleared his throat. “Ella and I are going to have to get home. She’s a bit tired tonight and needs to rest.”
Clearly, pregnancy did have its advantages, Brant thought. He shot Declan a grateful smile as the dinner meeting came to an end. He said a quick good-bye to everyone, noting absently that Suzy had been unusually subdued during dinner. She had also left the table several times, so Brant wondered if she was sick. Gray seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he kept a firm arm around his wife¸ leading her toward the door. When his cell phone rang as he was walking toward his car, Brant was momentarily surprised to see his home number on the caller ID. He had completely forgotten about Alexia.
He hit the CALL button, answering, “Stone.”
“Hi, Brant, it’s Alexia. I . . . er . . . just wondered when you were going to be home.”
He was a little surprised by the question. When he had invited her to stay at his home, he hadn’t imagined that he would need to check in with her. Although he supposed it was a common courtesy when you had a houseguest, no matter what the circumstances. It would be rude to burst in during the middle of the night and scare her. “I just finished a dinner meeting and I . . . have plans, so I’ll be late. Was there something you needed?” Oh fuck, was that a sniffle he heard on the other end of the line? “Is everything okay?”
After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Oh sure, I . . . Carter called tonight and we had a fight. He wants to see me and I refused. I jus
t . . . needed to talk, but it’s not important.”
Brant closed his eyes as he felt the guilt jumping up to choke him. Alexia was clearly upset and had been waiting for him to come home so that she wouldn’t be all alone. Sometimes he really hated his constant sense of responsibility because he felt an overwhelming obligation to go straight home and try to solve Alexia’s problems for her. It was nothing to do with love and everything to do with a—misplaced—sense of duty. On the other hand, he wanted nothing more than to be with Emma. All day long he had missed having her in his arms.
It hadn’t even been a full day and already the weight of helping Alexia was dragging on him. He needed to tell Emma that she was staying with him, even if he couldn’t tell her the reason why. There was nothing going on that he should feel guilty about. He’d give her a call and then head home. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Really?” He could hear the hope in Alexia’s voice as he told her he’d be there in twenty minutes. Next, he dialed Emma’s number, putting it on speaker before turning his car toward home. A spark shot through his body when he heard her voice. She sounded so damn close he almost expected to see her in the seat next to him. “Hey, Em.”
Before he could go any farther, she said, “You aren’t coming, are you?”
He couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice when he asked, “How did you know that?”
Sounding tired but faintly amused, she said, “Because you’d be here now and not calling. Did you decide to hit a bar or something with the guys after dinner?”
God, how simple it would be to just agree with her and let it go for the evening. Sadly, though, he didn’t often take the easy way out in life and tonight would be no exception. “No, I’m on my way home now from the restaurant.” Letting out a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding, he said, “Em, I need to tell you something.” When there was nothing but silence from her end of the line, he quickly jumped in before he could chicken out. “The woman you met in my office this morning, Alexia, is actually my ex-fiancée and she’s staying with me for a few days. That’s why I didn’t want to meet at my house tonight. She’s . . . having some problems with her current fiancé and asked me for somewhere to stay.” The silence continued so long after his revelation that he looked over at his phone to make sure the call was still connected. “Um . . . Em?”
No Denying You Page 13
