A Lifetime to Find Love (4 page)

An hour and a half later, Tessa sat on the couch in her office going over the details that Dominick had given her a short time ago.  Apparently, there was a fundraiser coming up that the paper was hosting to benefit the local hospital in Long Beach.  They planned on doing a calendar with local doctors for each month with Tessa  taking  pictures of each doctor.  Susan, one of the staff writers, would go along with her so that she could interview each one.  The event was surprising, since Rowan had never mentioned it.  However, if he hadn’t been chosen as one of the doctors, he wouldn’t have had a clue about it either.  Dominick would be emailing her a list of each doctor so that she could set up times to photograph them.

 Unfortunately, they were on a time crunch since he dragged his ass on the project.  Dominick had a habit of doing just that and then expecting Tessa to get the job done quickly. Her work load had been very light lately, so had she known about this job, she could have had it done already.     Thankfully, she was a good enough photographer that when she did get a job, it paid her well enough that she could go months at a time without work.     She had had a couple jobs back to back in Hawaii shooting some surfing contest and a magazine cover and  made great money from it, allowing her to pay for her house in full .   The money wasn’t the only good thing about her chosen profession, so were the perks.  Watching all those fine toned surfer bodies had done her good.  Most days she loved her job because it allowed her a pretty flexible schedule.  During those times when she felt rushed to complete an assignment, were the only times  she thought of a career change.  She was not only a perfectionist when it came to her photography, but there was not a bigger critic of her work than her.  Tessa liked to take her time to get that perfect picture, so being rushed  didn’t do anything for her mood.     She wouldn’t have that luxury this time around, however.

With all the information in front of her, she began to go over the paper work.  In her frustration, Tessa threw the crumpled paper that held the names of the doctors across the room that was her office.  To say she was upset was an understatement.  Initially, she had glanced at the list when she opened it on her laptop and hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary.  Once she printed it, she began to separate the doctors by those who worked for the hospital and those who worked in private practice.  When she told Dominick that she would take on the job, she never once thought that Cade would be on that list.  But there it was in big bold letters: CADE MCARTHUR.  It took everything within her not to scream.  The job that she was counting on to take her mind off Cade had only brought her back to him.  She could get another photographer to take Cade’s picture, but that whole perfectionism problem wouldn’t allow her to let someone else do her job.  She would have to suck it up and get the job done quickly.  A couple pictures wouldn’t be that big of a deal and then she would move on to the next doctor.  Get in and get it done, that’s what she would do.  First things first though, she needed to get the times and places set up.  She quickly called Susan to set up a time for them to get together so that they could coordinate their schedules.

Tessa waited for Susan at the Sea café on 88
^th
Street contemplating not the job she had ahead of her, but Cade.  It had been a week since that day at her home and she’d not heard from him once.  Apparently, Cade realized the mistake they had almost made.  Maybe Rowan was right.  Maybe Cade did have a commitment issue, but Tessa wasn’t looking for a commitment.  Her intentions had been purely physical at the time.  Now was a different story.  She had enjoyed her night out with Cade and wanted more time like that with him.  Had she given him the wrong impression?   Why hadn’t he contacted her?  It really bothered her, even though it shouldn’t have.   So caught up in her thoughts, Tessa didn’t immediately notice Susan stroll up.  .

“Hey, Tess,” Susan said cheerily.

“Hey, Susan. Thanks for meeting me today.  I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.  The sooner we get these dates and times down, the quicker we can get this done.  It was so nice of Dominick to throw this in our laps on such a short notice.”

“You’d think we’d be used to him dragging ass on projects by now,” Tessa said jokingly. 

The waiter came over and took their order, so while they waited for their food they began to go through the list of doctors that Tessa brought with her.

“Tessa, I really appreciate you asking Dominick to put me on the project with you,” Susan said with entirely too much excitement.  “I haven’t been this excited about a job in a long time.”

“Susan, why would you be so excited about this project?” Tessa asked, completely confused by Susan’s reaction regarding this particular job.

“Are you kidding?  While you are photographing half naked hot doctors, I get to watch.”

“What?  Half naked wha…what are you talking about?  They aren’t going to be half naked!”

“Oh, hell yes, they will be.  You don’t think they’re going to make money off a calendar with fully dressed hot doctors do you? I did mention that they were
hot doctors
right?”

“Yes, Susan you did.  But I didn’t, you know, I just didn’t realize that they would be…well, you know…half naked,” Tessa respond with a lump in her throat.

Her great day just hit the shit meter in less than sixty seconds.      Not only was Cade on her list, but she would have  to  photograph him half naked.  Dear  God, just the thought made all the heat in her body pool in-between her thighs.  Yes, trouble awaited her in the form of one Cade McArthur. “Tessa, why would you be so freaked about seeing half naked hot doctors?  Hell, I’m beside myself.  I haven’t seen a naked man in so long I think I forgot what the male species actually looks like under clothes.  Okay, well, that’s not entirely true.  I do have cable, but I’m talking in the flesh.  And I do mean flesh. I’ve seen some of the names on that list and some of those doctors are beyond hot.”

“Susan, seriously, you need to focus.”

“Oh, I’m focused.  Did you see that Cade McArthur was on that list?  I would give up my first born to be with that man for just five minutes.”

“Susan!” Tessa couldn’t keep the  shock from her voice that Susan not only knew of Cade, but that she would even think of him that way.  Part of her wanted to jump over the table and totally bitch slap her for thinking of Cade that way.  The thought of another woman even looking at him  in a sexual way brought on feelings she didn’t realize she had.  Tessa had never been a jealous person, but all of a sudden that particular feeling raged throughout her body.

“Oh, come on, Tess.  I don’t even have a first born, besides everyone knows who Cade is.  You can’t tell me you’ve never seen…”

“He’s my brother’s best friend.  I’ve known Cade since I was a kid.  Look, I don’t want to talk about Cade.”  Tessa rushed the words out hoping to get this meeting over with.

“Oh. My. God!  Tess you have to introduce me to him.” 

“Well, hello!  You are going to be interviewing him; of course you are going to be introduced to him.”

“Oh, hell no.  I mean
introduce
me to him.”

Cade sat in Rowan’s living room waiting for him to finish getting ready for their night out.  He really needed to get out and relax.  He hadn’t been out to the bars since his night out with Tessa and, honestly, he needed to put that whole situation behind him.  If it weren’t for Rowan, he would be sitting at home alone sulking.  He still couldn’t believe that he had left Tessa’s house the way he had and how things in general were left undone.  He hadn’t gotten a chance to explain things to her and he really wasn’t sure exactly what he would say to her anyway; that’s why he hadn’t called her or gone over to her house again.  He felt like the biggest idiot and just couldn’t face her.  Usually when it came to women, he just didn’t put too much stock in the outcome of a night.  He wasn’t egotistical; but if he worried too much about his relationships with women, he’d never get any rest.  But Tessa wasn’t just any woman.  Over the past two weeks, he’d felt an aching in his chest.  He desperately wanted to spend time with her again; he craved her company.  He just wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it.  Everything inside his head screamed for him to walk away from her and not look back. However, his heart and body and soul ached for her.  To hear her laughter, to smell that honey and lilac scent that was specifically Tessa, and to be able to just touch her if even for just a moment.  He wanted to touch her in so many ways, but mostly just to feel the brush of her hand against his arm as she told a story, or to feel her breath on his skin as she laughed over a joke.  He wanted her company more than anything he ever desired in his life.  Cade had to pull himself from his thoughts.  If he kept thinking of Tessa, he would drive himself crazy.

Realizing that Rowan was taking too long, he yelled from the living room, “What are you doing, Rowan?  You are worse than a woman when it comes to getting ready.”

“Hey, perfection takes time. Just calm down.”  After a short pause, Rowan yelled out, “So, Cade. When was the last time you talked to my sister?”

“Not since that day that we promised we’d never talk about it again.”

“Yeah, well about that…” Rowan began.

“No way, Rowan. I am not talking about that night or about Tess with you.  You nearly broke my jaw, remember.” 

“Hell yeah, I remember, but that was just because I wasn’t prepared for…you know… that whole thing with you and my sister,” he said awkwardly as he walked into the living room.

“Oh and you are now?”

“Not really, but I can tell that you both are miserable without each other and I was just thinking that maybe you should give her a call.”

“It’s not going to happen, Rowan.  The last time you suggested one of us call the other, the outcome was not so favorable for me.”

“Cade…”

“I’m not doing it, Rowan, so drop it.  Let’s just get out of here.  I hear a cold beer and loud music calling my name and I need some down time.”

“Most definitely, let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later, Rowan and Cade arrived at The LaunchPad, their favorite hangout.   When on the prowl for hot
forget everything going on in the world
sex, they found themselves here.  Tonight was one of those nights for both of them.  Cade so desperately wanted to get Tessa out of his head.  The only way he knew to do that was to get a woman, who was not Tessa, in his bed.  After making the rounds, Cade found himself standing at the bar, beer in hand and thoughts of her running through his head.  He wanted, no, he
needed
to get her out of there.  If he didn’t find a way, he would be mad with insanity. 

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a  brunette walked past him.  Tall, slender, her jeans clung to her hips and left little for the imagination.  As she passed him, her hips swayed temptingly, calling out to him.  Cade found he was following her and knew if he could bury himself deep inside her, he would be able to leave all thoughts of Tessa behind.  Slowly, seductively the woman led him down a hallway that led to the back of the bar; glancing over her shoulders with a
come fuck me
look in her eyes.  Before she got too far, Cade grabbed her arm and pulled her into his body.  He had no care for where they were. He needed relief, physically and emotionally, as quickly as possible.  He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her ferociously, bruising. Her mouth opened to his without hesitation, their tongues dueling.  He tangled his fingers in her long hair, taking what he wanted.  His hand found its way to her breast; her nipple hardened under the thin cotton material from his touch.  Just as quickly, he replaced his hand with his mouth, pushing up her shirt, biting at the peak that pressed against the black, silk bra she wore.  Moans of pleasure echoed off the walls, filling  the small hallway.  He placed a hand behind her leg and lifted it up to his hip so that he could press his erection into her center.  He ground against her, her own need evident as she began to rock her hips against his hardness.  Pulling away from her breast, he turned her and pressed her against the wall, intent on taking her there, intent on burying himself deep inside her.  He pushed her hair away from her neck, placing kisses at the nape of her neck as he reached around, unbuttoned the tight denim jeans.  With one hand against the wall, the other in her pants, images of Tessa filled his mind.  Suddenly, this woman before him tasted wrong; smelled wrong.  She felt completely wrong and the erection he’d planned on burying deep within her quickly diminished.  He couldn’t blame this woman.  No, the blame lay in the images of Tessa that clouded his mind.  This woman in his arms was beautiful and sexy, someone you’d see on the cover of a magazine.  She was all wrong;  wrong for him though.  Maybe a few weeks ago he wouldn’t have given a second thought to having his way with her, but Tessa had already been seared on his soul.  He hadn’t realized before this moment just how much he was affected by Tessa’s scent, her laughter, her voice, everything about her moved him.  Although he had never tasted her, he knew that she would be sweet on his tongue, not the sour taste that was in his mouth now.    Unexpectedly, his stomach clenched with regret.  Regret for tasting another woman, for taking another woman into his embrace when all along he wanted one…Tessa.  He pushed away from her and moved to the opposite side of the hallway.