The Relationship Coach (19 page)

Always doing what he wanted to do, but that was about to change, and he just didn’t know it yet. For their next date, she’d bought tickets to a musical.

“You deserve someone special,” Lacey said, her gaze focused on Amanda.

“The verdict is still out on whether or not he’s the guy for me. I’m still investigating him,” Amanda acknowledged, knowing she wasn’t sure.

“Don’t rush it, Amanda. I thought Dean was the one and look how that turned out. Make sure Jason’s right for you.”

“I’m in no hurry,” Amanda said, knowing how uncertain she felt about her relationship, but not ready to share that information with her best friend.

Lacey leaned back in her chair and pushed the rest of her salad away. “I think I’m going to focus on getting that television show I want so much, and the way to get that is for me to finish this documentary.”

Amanda smiled. “Yes, let’s both focus on work. We don’t need men to make us happy.”

Chapter Eleven

R
eed knew he was just looking for an excuse to talk to Lacey, but still he wanted to see her. He knocked on her office door.

“Come in,” she called.

He stepped in and saw the phone held to her ear.

“No, Dean. My mind is made up. We’re through.”

Reed raised his brows at this piece of information.

She frowned. “Now, you’re just talking mean. I need to go. Someone is waiting for me here in the office.” She rolled her eyes and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, she sat straight up in her chair. “If you think making threats will get me back, you’re wrong. This conversation is at an end.” She started to hang up, then stopped. “Dean, don’t call me again.”

She hung up, took a deep breath, and stood. Then she began to pace the room, folding her arms across her chest.

“Trouble in paradise?” He couldn’t resist asking, while a zing of pleasure at the thought of her alone flashed up his spine.

Her watery gaze brimmed with anger. “Paradise has gone to hell. I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

“I heard you use the word
threats
. What kind of threats is he making?” Reed asked, concerned for her safety.

Lacey paused and gazed at Reed, her blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “Nothing physical. Dean is not a physical kind of guy. He’s threatening my business, my livelihood. He threatened to go to the tabloids and tell them how I’m a relationship cripple. How I can’t commit.”

Reed started to laugh. “Now, that is funny. From the one time I met him at your office, he seemed very conscious of how others see him. I doubt he’s going to want anyone else to see he failed at this relationship. In fact, tell him go for it, but you’ll tell your side of the story, and it could get ugly.”

Lacey laughed softly and wiped a tear from her eye. Reed walked over and gave her a hug. “Don’t cry. You’ll ruin my image of you as a tough lady who tells people how it is.”

She leaned into his chest, and his body flashed heat that had him thinking thoughts of the two of them in bed naked. Not the kind of thoughts he needed right now.

“Thanks, but even tough relationship coaches hate it when they fail at something.”

“It’s really over between the two of you?” he asked. The scent of jasmine in her hair, the feel of her breasts against his chest ignited his male hormones.

“Yes, I ended it last night,” she said.

He leaned back and caught a brief glimpse of a woman hurt and vulnerable. She stepped out of his arms awkwardly, grabbed a tissue, and blew her nose.

“If you ended it, why are you crying?”

She shrugged as though she didn’t care, but it wasn’t working. “I’m not sad about the relationship. His threats of ruining my business got to me, though. I’ve spent the last five years building this business and to think one person could ruin it is frightening. This business is my life.”

Reed smiled at her, his mind going in ten thousand directions, his conscience reminding him his documentary would spotlight her business in a negative way. If she were crying over Dean’s little threat, how would she handle the truckload of misery headed her way?

His stomach knotted, and a pang of guilt rattled him. He reminded himself the audience would draw their own conclusions about her business. But he knew how he regarded her profession. Relationship coaches were nothing more than witch doctors. Or were they?

He refused to consider how this would affect her. “What happened between the two of you? I mean, weren’t you about to move in with him?” He studied her closely.

She took a deep breath and gazed at him. “Several things showed me Dean was selfish. Plus, there were some issues that were deal breakers for me.”

“Hmm…deal breakers sound serious.”

She ignored his comment. “You came here to talk to me about something,” she said, returning to her desk and sitting down.

“Oh yeah, I was checking to see what time your flight to Corpus Christi was tomorrow.”

“I didn’t know you were going,” she said, her eyes widening with surprise. “I’m flying out at five thirty tomorrow afternoon.”

Coming to her office had only been an excuse to see her today. “I thought maybe we could share a cab to the hotel, but my flight lands at three. That will give us time to set-up for Saturday,” he said, his gaze taking in the way her blouse clung to her breasts and how she’d felt in his arms. She was free… He had to stop thinking of her this way.

“When did you decide to go with us?”

“At the last minute, we decided to film one more lecture on the road. We didn’t get enough film on the last one and wanted to get some more interviews with attendees.”

“Are you guys spending the night?”

“We’re flying back Sunday morning.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you at the hotel.”

He smiled and walked to the door. “See you then.”

“Bye,” she said and returned to the paperwork on her desk.

Reed stepped out of her office and closed the door. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face. The relationship coach was once again an available woman. Her relationship had gone south and for some reason that pleased him.

Yet, his conscience pricked at the thought that he was the one who she had to worry about ruining her business, not Dean.

***

Saturday afternoon at the conference hotel, Lacey stood in front of the crowd of people and bowed. The day had gone very well, and the audience had been responsive. Amanda said they had a lot of new members for the dating service, and several people had expressed interest in her couples counseling.

Overall, it had been a great day, and now she could relax. She had no plans for the evening. Amanda was going to visit an old friend from college, who lived here, but Lacey had plans to walk down the beach and go to a little restaurant she enjoyed.

She had a good book up in the room and promised herself after the last few days, she deserved some downtime. Some time to herself to regroup and focus on her life goals, to feel the sand between her toes and think about the future.

Two hours later, wearing a new short sundress and strappy sandals, she headed out the hotel door and down the boardwalk to the beach. She loved the wind blowing in her hair, the sound of seagulls, and the pounding of the ocean on the beach. The boardwalk took her over the sand dunes that protected the hotels, and then, there it was, the Gulf of Mexico, sparkling blue, reaching out forever. She stood on the wooden planks and breathed in the fresh salt air, letting the soothing sounds of the ocean wash over her.

“And just where are you going, looking like a goddess in that dress?”

She turned, her body somehow drawn to the sound of his voice. His deep baritone timbers washed over her like a wave from the gulf, the tow tugging at her heart.

Reed stood staring at her, while warmth spread through her like the setting rays of the sun. “I’m walking down the beach to a restaurant. What are you doing?”

“Going down the beach to a restaurant I love to eat at when I’m here.”

“Antonio’s?”
“That’s the one.”

She laughed, feeling giddy at the sight of him. “And who are you meeting there?”

“No one. Who are you meeting?”

“No one.”

“Would you care to have dinner with me?” he asked.

A little zing of anticipation zipped through her. Gone were her plans of a quiet dinner alone, but this seemed more interesting. “Yes, I would.”

He took her by the elbow, and they moved down the boardwalk to the sandy beach. She stopped and slipped off her sandals and walked in the warm sand, letting the soft grains caress her feet. She went closer to the water and let the surf wash over her ankles.

“I’ll never get all the sand off my feet, but I don’t care,” she said. “The water is cool against the warm sand.”

He slipped off his sandals and joined her. “Maybe we should just skip dinner and go swimming in the gulf,” he said, glancing around. “We could go naked.”

She smiled, the image of the two of them naked in the surf, a pleasant one. “A trip to jail is not what I had in mind for tonight.”

A rogue wave, bigger than the others, had her scrambling further up the bank, not looking at where she ran. She watched the water chasing her and ran smack into him. He held her while the water hit the back of her legs, splashing up nearly to her knees.

Laughing, she slipped out of his arms, her heart beating rapidly. “I think we should eat.”

She continued walking down the beach, and they passed families who gathered up their children, sand buckets, and inflatable water toys, trying to get everything together to head for home. The children appeared worn out, their parents sun-burned and exhausted.

God, she wanted this.

She wanted a family with children and a loving husband. She wanted long days building sand castles on the beach and evenings bathing and tucking little ones into bed.

But the man who she could spend forever with had yet to materialize.

Lacey sighed.

“That sigh sounded like it held the weight of the world. You’re at the beach. What could be so bad?”

She gazed at him. The wind had blown his dark hair into his emerald eyes, and he brushed it away. She was attracted to this gorgeous man, but something warned her away from him, and she wasn’t certain what it was. But tonight, her soul felt empty. “I’m releasing all the tension from the last week.”

“Well, you have had a hell of a week.”

“Let’s not talk about that tonight. How was your week?”

He shook his head. “Not much better than yours. Ty got caught filming some girlfriend half-naked, and after she beat the tar out of him with her purse, I thought I was going to have to get him out of jail. Fortunately, she agreed not to press charges as long as she could have the film.”

Lacey started laughing. “Does he do this kind of stuff often?”
“No, and I’m hoping he learned a lesson this time,” he said. “Let’s see what else went wrong this week. The airport lost a piece of equipment but found it in San Antonio. My mother called to tell me I’d forgotten my father’s birthday and gave me hell about it, but other than that, not too bad. I think with this trip, we’ve gotten all the film we need for your speaking engagements. We’re on schedule to wrap this up in four weeks.”

“You definitely had a better week than me,” she said, taking his hand and running to the restaurant.

When they arrived, Lacey dusted her sandy feet and slipped on her sandals.

The maître d’ led them up a flight of stairs to an open patio area that faced the ocean. As she took a seat, she gazed out over the ocean as the sun descended behind the horizon, bathing the sky in golden orange. “God, look at that view.”

“I think you like the ocean,” he said, leaning toward her.

“Love it. If I were wealthy, I’d own a home right on the water, where I could look out and see the ocean every morning and fall asleep to the sound of the waves at night.”

Reed ordered a bottle of white wine, and their waiter poured it into their glasses. Then Reed raised his glass in a toast. “To you owning that oceanfront property someday.”

She laughed. “Cheers.” She sipped the wine and felt herself relaxing. “Mr. Hunter, where would you like to live?”

“Costa Rica.”

She gazed at him in surprise.

“The living is inexpensive, they have a health care system, and the country is in good financial shape. A lot of Americans are retiring there or buying second homes,” he said, his gaze warm and lingering.

“You’d move away from America,” she asked surprised.

“I’d always be an American, but the world is my work place and I travel quite a bit.”

“What about when you get married? Would you live there?”

He gazed at her, a frown on his lips. “Again, I’m never getting married.”

She’d had just enough wine that she wanted to say, really? But refrained herself. How many men had she cured of being unable to commit to the right woman?

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you’re the commitment-phobe who’s watched everyone around him, except his parents, divorce, and you’re not willing to take a chance,” she said. Somehow she wanted to dig deeper into his psyche. Most men did not want to live alone.

“Again, I’ve not met a woman who has impacted my life in such a way to where I would consider changing my marital status,” he responded, gazing at her, his eyes twinkling with merriment and warmth. “Now you, on the other hand, have gone the exact opposite way. After having spent the better part of your childhood as a step-sister and watching your mother marry countless times, you are willing to give the institution a chance.”

“But only after I spend quality time getting to know that person and I’m certain we could overcome any obstacles life might throw at us.”

Tonight, even that seemed impossible. How could you prepare for each and every obstacle? But she wasn’t ready to give up on her theory just yet.
“Even an affair?”

“Probably not,” Lacey acknowledged. “That’s a deal breaker.”

“What about a medical condition?”

“For better or worse.”

“A job situation?”

“For better or worse.”

“What about family members moving in, having to be taken care of, loaned money, etc?” he said, giving her obstacle after imaginary obstacle.