“That’s nice.” She liked knowing he would be in town for a little longer, even if she wouldn’t be seeing him. They wouldn’t be separated by so many miles. Yeah, she was definitely developing a crush on Adam Templeton.
She really needed to get a bead on how he felt about her. She thought about the old days, when fathers collared the men who were dating their daughters and demanded to know their intentions. She could use a custom like that right now.
Except it was totally impractical in this day and age. When she’d been in high school, her father had been more than happy to interfere in her love life, but she’d lived on her own for many years and that dynamic had gone by the wayside. She couldn’t very well ask her dad to drive up from Houston and question Adam about his intentions.
She pushed back her chair. “Thank you for lunch. And give Will my best when you see him.”
“Are you walking out on me?” He said it with a teasing grin as he stood.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, but you said you have business to take care of, so I thought I’d get out of your hair.” After standing, she took her purse from the back of her chair.
“My business isn’t that urgent. I figured on walking you back and riding up the elevator with you, unless you don’t want me to.”
“Well, then, I’d love that.” She wouldn’t be seeing him again until Wednesday afternoon, so any added moments today would be a bonus. “I just didn’t want to monopolize your time with my elevator phobia.”
He paused. “It was a great excuse to see you, Valerie,” he said quietly.
“Oh.” Her cheeks warmed. “That’s good to hear.”
“Twice a week doesn’t seem often enough.”
Her breath caught. “It doesn’t?” She cautioned herself not to read too much into that statement. A guy could say that kind of heady thing and still only be interested in a no-strings affair.
“No. In fact . . . will you have dinner with me tonight? I know it’s short notice, but—”
“Yes.” Well, she certainly wasn’t playing hard to get, now was she? But she was impatient to find out if this flirtation would lead anywhere. She wanted him to be her knight in shining armor, but she didn’t know if he wanted the role or not.
“Great.” He smiled. “I’m meeting Will around five, but I’ll hustle him off to his wife by six. I can pick you up around six thirty.”
“Okay.” Anticipation shot through her, making her tingle all over.
“It won’t be too fancy.” He waited until she’d started for the café’s front door, yet he somehow managed to get there in time to hold it open for her. “I didn’t come prepared with a dinner jacket.”
“I don’t care about fancy.” And the more she thought about it, the less she wanted to be waited on in a public place. And it had nothing to do with any concern that panic would set in. After today’s lunch, she wasn’t so worried about that.
But eating in a restaurant would mean more polite conversation about their likes and dislikes. Been there, done that. She was ready to take things to the next level. Until they did that, she couldn’t broach the subject near to her heart—namely, his motives for pursuing her. What she required was a bit more privacy.
She wasn’t a great cook, but she could manage spaghetti, and during their lunch conversation he’d already confirmed that he liked that. If she used one of the really good sauces in a jar and grated her own cheese, it should be decent. Add a bagged salad, a bottle of wine, and voilà!
They held hands on the way back to the office, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. In her heels, she was only a few inches shorter than he was. She wasn’t sure if he matched his stride to hers, but they walked well together. That meant something, right?
“How did the visit with Bubba’s owner go?” she asked as they approached her building.
“He worries me a little. That’s why I’m checking with my lawyers this afternoon to make sure the amended contract will hold up.”
She squeezed his hand. “You’ll be able to protect that little guy. I have faith in you.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
In the lobby of her building, an empty elevator stood open. “Come on!” She hurried toward it. “We can make it.”
He laughed and lengthened his stride. They dashed through the doors, barely making it before they closed.
Catching her other hand in his, he faced her as the elevator started up. “You okay?”
“Yes. Yes!” She launched herself into his arms and whisked off his hat. “I feel great. Kiss me, Adam.”
With a groan he pulled her tight, and this time his mouth was more demanding. Gratifyingly so. The thrust of his tongue told her exactly what he was thinking, and he boldly cupped her bottom so that she could have no doubt about his immediate intentions.
Her plan for tonight was a very good idea. They’d get down to the nitty-gritty and then she’d know whether to dive into this relationship headfirst or pull back. As the heat of their kiss intensified, he backed her against the elevator wall and pressed his thigh between her legs. The elevator pinged to a stop, and he released her with a soft curse.
Straightening her clothes and taking a deep breath, she looked into his passion-glazed eyes. “Don’t make reservations for tonight. We’ll eat in. I’ll text you my address.”
His sharp intake of breath and the searing glance he gave her provided all the encouragement she needed to follow through with that plan. When she walked out of the elevator, she knew he’d watch her leave. She deliberately twitched her h*ps and smiled at his moan of frustration before the doors closed and the elevator started back down.
She was playing with fire, and she knew it. She’d pretty much promised him sex tonight, which raised the stakes for her and might be simply a fun romp for him. But hav**g s*x was the only way she’d find that out. She’d know by his behavior afterward where she stood.
As for her elevator phobia, thanks to Adam and his sexy kisses, she had it on the run, perhaps forever.
* * *
“I figured you might like a report on how your matchmaking efforts are progressing.” Adam studied his friend sitting across the small table.
“I wouldn’t call it matchmaking, exactly.” Will took a sip of his draft. “Sending her out to the Triple Bar was a logical move. I knew she was a good candidate for working with your horses.”
“And a good candidate to draw me out of my shell?”
“Maybe. Do you like her?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you two would—”
“My feelings go way beyond like. She’s the sexiest, most interesting woman I’ve met in a long time.”
“See there?” Will sat back in his chair and smiled. “I had a feeling she’d appeal to you. And for what it’s worth, I’m very encouraged by her progress. How did the elevator ride go?”
“You knew about that?”
“She told me today was the day, and then this morning she called to say you were riding with her. She wondered if she was wimping out, but I urged her to go with whatever worked. She needed to get on that elevator.”
“Well, she rode it. Twice.” He didn’t dare think too much about that second time while he was sitting here with Will.
“That’s great.”
“After the first elevator ride, we went to lunch and sat at a table in the middle, fairly far away from the door. I didn’t even think about it until she mentioned passing another milestone.”
“Excellent.” Will took another swig of beer. “You two could be very good for each other.”
Adam nursed his beer. He was only allowing himself one, because he wanted to be completely sober when he arrived at Valerie’s apartment. “There might be an issue, though.”
“What’s that?”
“She seems to think I’m some kind of hero.”
Will laughed.
“Yeah, I know. Funny, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not at all. I’m laughing at the way you said it, as if you couldn’t possibly be any woman’s hero.”
“Hell, you of all people know I’m not hero material.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, buddy.”
“Oh, come off it, Will. I should never have taken the CEO position, and marrying Elise was a huge mistake. She had every right to kick me to the curb after I changed the rules of the game. Valerie’s put me on a pedestal and I don’t deserve to be there. I’m going to disappoint her, and then what?”
Will leaned forward. “Sure, you might disappoint her, but not in the ways that count. You’ve made mistakes, sure, but we all do when we’re trying to figure out where we fit in the world. You’re a good man, and that’s what she values in you. She might be the first woman who sees who you really are and likes what she sees.”
“I wish I believed that.”
“I wish you did, too. I’m sure it’s damned unfamiliar, unfortunately.”
“I don’t know, Will.” Adam sighed and picked up his glass. “I just have the awful feeling she’s built an image of me that I can never live up to.”