Savin' Me (11 page)

Did Elise give you my message?

Why would Kat send a message with Elise,
rather than calling herself? He frowned and looked across the
table. “Were you supposed to give me a message from Kat?”

Elise froze with her wineglass against her
lips. “No.”

Yeah, he was going to have to call bullshit
on this one. He glanced at his mother, then to Annie. Okay, maybe
not. “Are you sure?”

She set the wineglass on the table and glared
at him, sending a silent message.
Drop it.

Oh, this ought to be good. A smile pushed at
his lips. “Then why did she send a text asking if you’d given me
the message?”

Elise’s lips puckered like she’d sucked on a
boatload of lemons. “She asked me to give you her condolences.”

Condolences? What the hell? “Excuse me?”

She huffed. “Since you’re having dinner with
me, the bitch asked me to give you her condolences.”

Erik burst into laughter at the same time
Elise’s mother went into a rant about Elise acting like a lady.
Elise rolled her eyes and drained her wineglass, while Annie leaned
over his shoulder and whispered, “I like her already.”

Chapter Seven

Things were beginning to get complicated.

Erik was smart and honest enough to recognize
the shift taking place within him, and that had him concerned.
Despite his denial and excuses, the no-touching rule hadn’t been
implemented by a man intent on seducing Kat, then moving on with
his life. It had been an attempt to spend more time with her.
Period.

For the past ten years, his emotions had
wandered, untouched, in a veritable wasteland. But since meeting
Kat, he noticed signs of life here and there, and that was
disconcerting as hell.

In an effort to gain control over the
situation, he forced himself to stay on the south side of the river
and away from Kat for the past two days. He still felt out of
control, but business brought him to Riverside, and that made
staying away from her impossible.

Which in itself was another clear indication
of how much trouble he was in.

When he pushed through the door of SMG and
found Luanna on the phone, he waved and motioned toward Kat’s
office. He probably should’ve waited for Luanna to announce his
presence, but he wanted to see Kat in her natural environment, when
she wasn’t expecting company and putting on a front.

He rounded the corner, stepped into her
office and… stopped dead in his tracks.

The sight and smell of a half-dozen massive
flower arrangements bombarded him. It looked more like a funeral
home than an ad agency, and memories and scenes from the past
assaulted him at breakneck speed.

His head spun. Spots flashed before his eyes,
and somewhere in the distance he heard Kat calling his name and
asking if he was all right.

He closed his eyes and shook his head,
literally trying to shake off the impact of the floral explosion.
He opened his eyes and forced his lips to turn into a stiff,
awkward smile. “I’m fine.” He took a few steps toward the chair,
just in case he started to go down, and glanced around the room.
“Someone’s popular.”

Kat dismissed the flowers with a wave of her
hand. “Hardly. They’re all from media reps and other vendors. You
know, trying to suck up and gain an edge on their competitor.”

She studied him another moment, then
apparently convinced he was okay enough to stand on his own, she
let go of his arm and said, “Have a seat.” As she moved around the
edge of her desk, he snuck a peak at her feet. Shoeless, just as he
expected.

“I was just getting ready to call you,” she
said, wriggling in her seat, probably slipping her feet back into
her shoes. “What are you doing here?”

Her smile was bright and genuine and made him
believe she was truly glad to see him, which worked like a giant
vacuum, sucking the tension out of his neck and shoulders. It
infuriated him that the memories he tried so hard to leave behind
could rush back that quickly and violently.

But if he was completely honest, it wasn’t
just the memories that had gotten to him. Thinking Kat’s admirers
had sent those flower, or at least some of them, had caused a
terrible stench in the room. Something that smelled a lot like
jealousy. Never in his life had he been jealous, and now that he
had a good whiff of it, he decided it stunk.

Get the hell out of Dodge.

That’s what he should be doing. He should cut
and run before he got in any deeper. However, his feet were planted
in place, his gaze was transfixed on her face, and he heard himself
say, “I came to see about taking you to lunch.”

Her beaming smile was like a sucker punch to
the gut. He felt like a damn teenager again, asking a girl out for
a first date. Terrified she’d say no. Petrified she’d say yes.

“I wish I could, but I can’t.” As if to make
her point, she glanced around her piled-high desk. At the same
time, her stomach cut loose with a grumble loud enough to hear
around the block. She laughed and bit down on her lower lip.

His gaze dropped to her mouth, slick with
moisture, and hunger of a different kind took root in him.

No touching.

To hell with that. There hadn’t been any time
constraints placed on that stupid-ass rule, and as far as he was
concerned, the statute of limitations had expired. “Obviously, you
haven’t eaten. You said you were getting ready to call me. Let’s
make it a working lunch.”

She laughed and crossed her arms over her
chest. “I don’t know about that. I’ve seen your idea of a business
meeting. Yours and mine are not the same.”

Jesus, she was such a delight and being with
her made him feel a hundred pounds lighter. “Nothing funny, just
lunch.” Although, if he had his preference, he’d be dining on her.
He’d start with her full bottom lip, then nibble a path along her
jaw to her neck and then down to her breast. He cleared his throat
and shot his gaze back to her face. “Have you been to Mel’s
Deli?”

“No. Seth talks about it all the time, but I
haven’t been there.”

“Let’s change that.” He flashed the perfect
smile, and after a moment’s hesitation, she began grabbing file
folders from the top of her desk.

As she shoved them into her bag, she paused
and glanced at him. “I’m not setting foot on a boat. At least not
today.”

He laughed and made a mental note about that
“today” exclusion. Another good sign he was in bad trouble.
“Agreed. No boats. Today.”

***

A few minutes later, Kat sat in Mel’s Deli,
questioning her sensibilities in agreeing to have lunch with Erik.
A cute, petite blonde arrived, carrying two glasses of water and
menus. Smiling flirtatiously at Erik, in a way that indicated she
knew him well, she said, “Hey, sugar, what brings you into town
this early in the day? I don’t normally see you until the sun’s
gone down.”

Erik relaxed in his chair and returned her
smile with an easygoing one of his own. “Just grabbing some lunch.
Candy, this is Kat.” Looking at Kat, he tilted his head toward
Candy. “Kat, this is Candy.”

Sparing Kat a glance that lasted a
millisecond, Candy said, “Nice to meet ya.” She obviously didn’t
mean it.

Kat smiled halfheartedly, and said, “Same
here.” She didn’t mean it either.

Erik kept his gaze locked onto Kat’s, making
it clear to both women where his interest lay. As heat began to
build around her, Kat took a swig of her cold water and gulped it
down.

Candy sighed. “Be back in a minute,
Shug.”

“Candy?” Kat said, resting her elbows on the
table and leaning forward.

He seemed to think on it for a minute, then
chuckled and shrugged. “Yeah, as far as I know that’s her real
name.”

“Close friend of yours?” Kat grimaced and bit
her tongue. Dammit. Why did she ask that? She didn’t want to
know.

Not really.

And she certainly didn’t want Erik to think
it mattered to her one way or the other.

Because it didn’t.

Not really.

Erik smiled. “Candy’s also a bartender, so
she’s friends with everyone. She works it for the big tips.”

Kat paused with the water glass to her lips,
afraid she’d choke if she took a drink. Why did everything with him
carry a sexual connotation?

Probably because he oozed bucket-loads of
sexuality from every pore, and she knew firsthand it wasn’t just an
act. “Uh-huh. I don’t think a ‘big tip’ of the monetary kind is
what she’s after from you.”

He flashed a bad-boy-to-the-bone grin, then
picked up his menu.

His obvious lack of denial was like a fist to
the chest. Cara and Maggie laid his reputation out before her like
a red carpet—hell, deep down she knew it the night they met. But
being confronted with it like this caused her lungs to refuse the
oxygen being sent their way, and her chest constricted
painfully.

But what did it matter? She was the one who
kept insisting he remain a client and nothing more.
Put on your
big girl panties and deal with it.

Following his lead, she reached for her menu
and perused her options. However, her thoughts were scattered, and
after looking over the entire menu three times, she still had no
idea what they offered.

Erik had the distinction of being the sexiest
man she’d ever met, and the chemistry between them teetered on
explosive. He haunted her dreams, and at work, she struggled to
keep him out of her mind. Since Rusty had taken away her excuse for
not getting involved with Erik, she began to wonder if a quick
fling, just to get him out of her system once and for all, wasn’t
the answer.

The slut brigade stormed from the basement,
cheering their cause.

Common sense screamed,
Don’t be an
idiot!

“Hey.” Erik’s gentle tone stepped in the
middle of the fray and quieted her warring thoughts. His smile was
relaxed, but his eyes held an oddly serious expression. “She’s not
a close friend. I’ve known her for years, but never that way.”

The relief she felt knowing Candy was nothing
more than a sticky blob with an obvious attraction for Erik, much
like Kat, was staggering. Simultaneously, she was mortified she’d
been so transparent he’d felt the need to offer an explanation.
Deciding the best course of action was to feign nonchalance and
pretend she hadn’t just acted like a jealous high school
girlfriend, she returned her attention to the menu without
comment.

When Candy returned to take their orders, Kat
still didn’t have a clue what she wanted, so she picked the first
thing her eyes settled on, then quickly redirected the
conversation.

She pulled her notes from her bag and said,
“While still in Charlotte, I read an article about Mazze Builders
and a huge subdivision they’re planning in Myrtle Beach. It’s not
your average subdivision. Along with a first-rate golf course, a
requirement for any Myrtle Beach property, it’ll also include an
air strip, clubhouse, and four-star restaurant. With all of those
amenities, it’s a major undertaking.” She glanced up from her notes
to make sure Erik was following.

He nodded. “Go on.”

“They’ve suffered harsh criticism because the
subdivision is located along the Intercoastal Waterway. They’ve
been accused of violating some of the wetlands protections acts,
but from what I’ve been able to find, they haven’t done anything
wrong. I’d say most of the criticism started with a competitor
trying to squash the project.”

Erik laughed around a sip of water. “That’s
probably a good bet.”

“SMG used to handle Mazze’s marketing, but
they stopped all advertising several years ago. While touring your
plant, I saw the acknowledgements from the Coastal Preservation
Association. I started thinking about ways to cross promote.” She
put her hand up to cut off any potential protests. “Here’s what I’m
thinking. It’s rough right now, but if the three of you—Monteague
Boats, Mazze Builders, and the CPA—partnered, it would create a ton
of exposure for all of you.”

She pulled out her rough copy points for the
ads and press releases and handed them to Erik.

“To take full advantage of living on the
Intercoastal, the homeowners are going to want boats.” She paused
and smiled. “Or new boats, if they already have one. We’ll feature
your boats in his ads, and both of you agree to make contributions
to the Coastal Preservation Association.” She leaned back in her
chair and gave him a moment to look over the material. “You make
contributions to them anyway. It’s not screaming ‘look how
wonderful I am.’” She paused again and laughed. “Yeah, I’ve talked
to Rusty about this and I know exactly how you feel on this
subject. But what you’ll actually be doing is bringing attention to
the CPA and the good work they do.”

He laughed. “You’re good.” His gaze dropped
to her mouth and his eyes grew smoky. After a brief pause, he shook
his head and leaned back in his chair. “You’ve sold me. Have you
talked to Kevin yet?”

Kat released the breath she’d been holding
and got her head back onto the subject of Kevin Mazze and the
project and off of the way he’d just devoured her mouth with his
eyes. “Yeah, I have. He’s coming to the office this afternoon. He’s
in agreement that they need to heavily promote this new
development, and he liked the idea of working with you and the CPA.
I think the plan is for me to go to Myrtle Beach with him
tomorrow—”

“Oh, hell no!”

Startled by his outburst, Kat jerked back in
her seat. “What?”

“Nuh-uh.” Erik had such a white-knuckle grasp
on his water glass, Kat feared it would shatter in his hand.

She had no idea what had caused his anger, or
what his objections were, but unless Kevin Mazze was a convicted
felon or rapist, she didn’t appreciate Erik telling her what she
could and couldn’t do. “What’s the problem here?”