Champagne Kisses: A Timeless Love Story (2 page)

"I heard about Daniel," he said, stepping back into the kitchen. "How are you doing?"

His blue eyes held genuine concern. I wished that he could just wrap me up in his strong arms and tell me everything was going to be okay. I wished that we could have a chance at being together, but I knew that just wasn't going to happen. For one moment, I just wanted my heart not to feel torn.

"I'm okay. It doesn't feel real. I keep expecting him to bounce down the stairs with a naughty grin and tell us all that it was just an elaborate, horrible prank." I gave him a weak smile.

I could see the hesitation in his body language. He wanted to come and comfort me, but we both knew that would be a bad idea. There was too much potential energy between us.

"Did Emma tell you about Kaylee?" Dean asked. I wanted him to leave so that I didn't have to think about him, but I also really just wanted him to stay. He took a step closer to the table, leaning his tall frame against the empty chair Emma had been sitting in. I could barely smell his cologne, masculine and clean, from here. My heart started speeding up in my chest.

"She did. You know Kaylee better than I do, but she seems like she will make a great mother." It still surprised me at how easy it was to talk to him. The few times we had been left alone together, Dean always outmaneuvered my initial awkwardness and made it easy to talk to him. The last time we had started talking like this, we ended up picking Emma up late because we lost track of time.

He gave me one of his notorious smiles and nodded. "She is going to be great. Owen too."

I brushed a strand of hair off of my cheek, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my appearances. I knew I shouldn't care, but I did. I wanted to say something incredibly witty and funny, something that would make him laugh and make his blue eyes sparkle. Just as I was about to speak, Dean's phone beeped.

"Excuse me," he said, clicking the headset in his ear. He stepped out toward the hall, leaving me with my thoughts. I may have watched his ass as he walked out, though.

I could hear him in the hallway as Emma came back into the kitchen.

"You should go talk to him," she said, sitting back down in her chair.

"Daniel's awake? I didn't want to disturb him."

Emma gave me an exasperated look. "Not Daniel. Dean."

"Why would I want to do that?" I tried my best to sound aloof, but I could feel a blush starting to warm my skin.

"Because, Ms. Blushy-Face, I see the way the two of you look at one another. I see the way his eyes gravitate to you when you walk in a room, the way you suddenly start blushing and fixing your hair whenever he's close. Anyone who knows you could see there is something between the two of you." She crossed her arms and gave me a look that dared me to deny it.

"Emma, it can't happen. The Saunders have a strict no-dating policy between employees. It's a clause in our contracts."
A clause Daniel made very clear to me when Dean was hired
, I thought to myself. I crossed my arms and gave her a equally stubborn look. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure Jack would give you an exemption from the policy if you asked," Emma answered.

"It's in every employee's mandated contract. That's not something that Jack can change without approval from the board of directors. Even if he wanted to, Jack would have to jump through some serious hoops to do it, with no guarantee that the board will even allow it." I fiddled with the pad of paper on the desk next to my computer.

Emma made an exasperated noise. "Rachel, it's obvious that the you two have feelings for one another. Screw the policy and follow your heart."

I turned slowly and gave Emma my full attention. "That is a sweet and romantic notion, but it isn't a feasible one. We breach our contracts, and w
e'd never be hired in this town again. My non-disclosure agreement would make it impossible for me to switch clients, and Dean's considered a 'loose cannon', especially after the incident protecting your sister in Dubai. If he was fired for messing around with the boss's personal assistant, he would be un-hireable, regardless of the reason. That's not a risk that either one of us is willing to take."

Emma pouted her lips. I knew she would be contemplating a way around our employee contracts, but I wasn't going to try and stop her. I hoped she would just forget the whole thing and let Dean and me handle this ourselves. Despite our "obvious attraction", what we were doing was working. It involved a lot of ignoring one another and simply making sure we didn't put ourselves in tempting positions. It had worked so far.

"Fine. I get it. You signed a contract, and losing your job is a bad thing." Emma glared at me, but I held firm. This wasn't something she could change. It was how it was.

"Thank you. I know you mean well, but just leave it alone, please." I gave her a serious look. She sighed and nodded.

"I won't press it again. I'll let you get back to work. I'll see you at dinner, though, right?" Emma gave me a hopeful smile. I nodded. Everything was back to normal.

Emma wandered out of the kitchen, and I could hear the stairs creak as she made her way up to the guest room she used as an office when she stayed out here. I turned back to the computer screen, the blank page still mocking me. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then tried to dive into my work and forget the way Dean's eyes crinkled when he smiled.

J
une 5
^th
, 1990

An old man walked by wearing a Speedo swimsuit that left nothing to the imagination.
You've got guts, dude,
I thought, and then snickered in my head.
Yup. You’ve got guts- and that's the problem!
The man continued to strut up the beach, but my eyes didn't follow him. I was pretending to read a book, laying on my stomach facing the ocean, but really I was just people watching. I had read the same paragraph four times and hadn't turned the page yet. The tourists were just too interesting.

Granted, I was a tourist too, but that wasn't going to stop me from people watching. My roommate, Jenny, nudged my beach chair with her foot, tipping her head toward the man who had just walked by. I peeked over the top of my Ray Ban sunglasses just in time to see him scratch himself.

"Thanks, Jenny," I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She gave me a innocent smile and made sure the long brown hair in her side ponytail was still tight against her head.

"No problem, Rachel. I thought you would appreciate that," she said with a laugh as I rolled my eyes at her. "Even with a view like
that
, I am having a great vacation. This was a great idea, Kimberly."

Kimberly leaned forward on the opposite side of me and adjusted her big floppy hat with a satisfied grin. This trip had been all her doing. Her aunt owned a little vacation condo a few miles from the beach and was renting it to us three girls for practically nothing. Pooling our money together for gas, we had taken a road trip in Jenny's beat-up station wagon and were now enjoying a week of fun in the sun. It was the perfect way to celebrate our graduation.

"Hey, would one of you put some more lotion on my back?" I asked. "I think I can feel it starting to burn." I pulled myself into a sitting position and dug under the chair for the bottle of sunscreen. Kimberly opened her hands like a football player so I could toss the bottle in her direction. I pulled my long dark hair out of the way as she squirted the white goop onto her hands and began working it into my skin.

"Are you painting on her back?" Jenny asked, watching Kimberly draw designs into my skin with her fingertips. I didn't mind; it felt nice, and I knew she would rub it all in eventually. If she left it and gave me weird tan lines, she knew I would get her back.

"Just seeing a pattern in her freckles," Kimberly said as she traced a circle on my skin. I looked at Jenny and the two of us began to giggle. Kim was renowned in the art department for her abstract art pieces. She had a tendency to see things very differently. All three of us had just graduated from college with our Bachelors of Fine Arts degrees. I sported a new Fashion and Design specialty, Jenny was Marketing, and Kimberly had Drawing and Painting.

"You get me burned with one of your abstract designs, and I will put cockroaches under your pillow," I warned her. Kimberly laughed, but she hastily rubbed her design out and focused on making sure I didn't burn. Jenny snickered and settled back into her beach chair with her book. It looked like she was getting as much reading done as I was.

"There, all done." Kimberly patted my back gently, and I turned and gave her a smile. She was small and petite with light blonde hair and green eyes. She fixed the floppy hat on her head, then rubbed some extra sunscreen into her pale arms before handing the bottle back to me.

I settled back down with my book, glancing out at the waves. Blue water glistened along the shoreline. It was a quiet beach attached to a small town on the gulf side of Florida. The sand was white and fine, the waves soft and refreshing, and the town warm and friendly. It was probably going to be the last time the three of us would be together, now that we had all graduated.

"You get any responses on those internships?" Kimberly asked me. I shook my head.

It was kind of a sore spot for me. Kimberly had a job lined up in California. Jenny had an internship in Chicago. I had applied for several positions with designers in New York, Chicago, and even Paris, but so far I hadn't heard any responses.

"I talked to my aunt last night, and there haven't been any phone calls," I said. "She checked our mail, but all we have is an electric bill." I shrugged my shoulders. My senior design piece was created with a pregnant woman in mind, and while my professors loved it, it wasn't exactly what high-fashion designers were looking for. I had meant to make something that would appeal more to the industry, but the fabric had just sewn itself together. The dress had willed itself into being. At least I had gotten an A.

"You'll hear something soon. Your stuff is good. You know I wouldn't be able to get dressed without you half the time," Jenny said. I laughed. Jenny loved the flamboyant colors and patterns so prevalent in the current trends. She would wear so many colors it would make my eyes hurt to look at her if I didn't tell her to at least tone it down a little. Maybe not wear the flannel with the neon blue and pink patterned shirt.

"Well, at least I've still got my job at Charlie's." I tried to sound upbeat, but compared to my roommates' successes, it was hard to be happy about my art-supply store job. Neither of my friends said anything, but just gave me supportive smiles as we all settled back into quiet. The gentle murmur of the ocean shushed at our feet as we all pretended to read.

I turned a page, finally making it past that last sentence, when I saw
him
. He was tall. And handsome. And just a whole handful of
whoa
. I was very glad I had dark sunglasses, because I was most definitely staring.

Just down the beach, the most beautiful man I had ever seen was emerging from the water. His dark hair was cut short, and he ran a hand through it, sending a spray of crystal drops through the air. I could see every perfect muscle from my chair, his body lithe and lean. His muscles weren't bulky, but instead were toned and perfectly proportioned. A tattoo of an eagle with spears clutched in its talons screamed out from his delicious-looking shoulder.

He glanced over, and I felt my heart stop. His eyes peered right at me, and I could feel a blush starting to form as that Adonis of a man looked at me. I pretended to be very interested in my book, not wanting to be caught looking. When I glanced back up, he was greeting two more perfect specimens of the male species standing at the water's edge. All three of them had the same tattoo on their respective shoulders and all three were drool worthy.

The three men walked casually down the beach and away from us. I was sad to see them go. They were so much better to look at than Speedo Guy. My beach chair shook as Jenny kicked it hard.

"Did you see those hot military guys?" she asked, excited.

"The ones with the tattoos? Yeah. Why?" I could hear the wheels turning in her head as she began plotting.

"I think the one with the dark hair was looking at me." She gave me a sly half-smile.
He was looking at me!
I wanted to yell at her, but it wouldn't matter anyway. For all I knew, she was right. He could have even been looking at Kimberly. "I think we should find them tonight."

"You're boy crazy," I told her with a roll of my eyes. She licked her lips, and I knew that tonight, we were going to be in for a man hunt. Jenny had a thing for men in uniform, and there was no way she was going to be talked out of having a good time trying to find them tonight.

"Yeah, but you know that you're going to benefit from it," she answered with a grin. "Besides, it's a vacation. We deserve a little something nice."

Kimberly groaned softly. I just shook my head at Jenny, but I knew we were going to have a good time.

J
une 5
^th
, 1990- Evening

That night, in the tiny beach town, Jenny, Kimberly, and I were dressed to kill. Jenny wore shiny black leggings that emphasized her dancer-like legs with a purple and gold shirt, while Kimberly chose some amazing acid-washed jean shorts with a neon green tank-top. I had on a hot pink mini skirt with an oversized teal t-shirt hanging off one shoulder. We had used up a bottle of hairspray getting ready, so our hair looked fantastic, despite the humidity. We were ready to have some fun.

We headed down to the main bar in town. It was called "The Pirate's Revenge" but everyone knew it as just "Revenge." Half of the venue was open to night air, music blasting out and the lights twinkling into the darkness. It was the place to be. Jenny giggled and grabbed my hand, pulling me urgently toward the welcoming lights. If those military boys were anywhere tonight, they were at this bar.

We stepped inside, adjusting our eyes to the revolving colored disco lights, and there they were. All three of them were leaned up against the bar, their jeans showing off perfect asses. Their t-shirts were ripped, and I could see how muscular they were underneath their clothing. One guy's shirt was a particularly bright shade of red and another had a gorgeous mane of blonde hair. However, "Blondie" and "Redshirt" weren't the guys that I was really checking out. The dark-haired one I liked was laughing at a joke Blondie had told. I did a quick check, and while there were no girls currently hanging on them, hungry looks abounded. We would have to move fast if we didn't want competition.