Turnaround (3 page)

*****

Becca was practically glowing with happiness and
didn’t give a damn. A few days earlier she’d had the best date of her life, and
though it had been hard to coordinate their schedules, she and James were
getting together later to have dinner and…who knew? She was so excited that
sitting through this staff meeting was pure torture. Come to think of it, why
didn’t the CIA use all-day meetings in Corporate America as a way of extracting
information from enemies? They’d start talking simply to end the Buzzword Bingo
before their heads exploded.

Finally the meeting ended and Becca could fly
home to take a lightning-quick shower and then put her hair up in a bun, since
she didn’t have time to dry it. She didn’t normally wear much make-up, but put
on a little blush and a light pink lip gloss she’d found hiding below the blush
in her bag.
Yeah, I need to go through that bag soon, so the stuff doesn’t
walk into the garbage on its own.
James had insisted on picking her up, and
when the bell rang she’d just put her cell phone and wallet into a smaller
purse than the gargantuan messenger bag she carried to and from work.

She opened the door and smiled.
God, he’s
gorgeous.
James was slim but not skinny, and clad in dark jeans and a
bright blue button-down shirt. His short, dark hair curled the slightest bit
and Becca had already noticed he ran his hands through it a lot, as if he was
nervous or maybe his hair was annoying him. It was kind of adorable to see him
do it and know he wasn’t perfect, since in so many ways it seemed like he was.

“Hey, you ready?”

“I am. Let me lock up.” With that task
completed, Becca preceded him down the walk to his car. She’d told him to pick
the restaurant, as she’d chosen the one for brunch, and yet he hadn’t said a
word about it except to tell her it was upscale casual, whatever that meant.

James steered them into the heart of the city and
swung into a parking ramp. They walked down to street level and soon came to a
wine bar Becca had been dying to try. They served a variety of appetizers, each
paired with a wine, and she couldn’t wait to see what was on the menu. James
put a hand on the small of her back as he led her to the table. A waitress
appeared, as if summoned from thin air, and presented them with the night’s
offerings. Becca didn’t need much time to pick, deciding on a Sauvignon Blanc
from the Alsace Valley, along with side plates of cheese and spreads, mussels
and a Chinese chicken salad. James chose a Shiraz with beef tartare, spicy
calamari and sweet and sour meatballs.

“So you were stuck in a staff meeting all day?”
James said, when they were alone once more.

“Yeah. Not much fun, but I guess management
feels they’re necessary.”

“Management usually likes to hear themselves
talk, in my experience.” He smirked and Becca agreed with a nod and a smile.

“How was your day?”

“I got the coolest project. It’s a puzzle box.
You have to solve it to find the product inside. The awesome thing about the
box is that it’s one big piece, folded to become the puzzle. And the company
wants a different fact about their product on each square, so when it’s
completely opened it reads like an FAQ.”

“Wow, that does sound really interesting. Better
than hearing about how the glossy magazine we send to clients is going from
twelve pages to eight, along with extensive discussion about what would be
included in the more condensed version. That by itself took over an hour, while
the heads of the different departments played ‘my stuff is more important than
your stuff’. My co-worker, Grace, and I were ready to stab our eyes out with
the sporks from the catered lunch. I kept wishing I had a flask.”

James threw his head back and laughed. She loved
that he seemed to think she was funny. Most of the things she said sounded
dorky to her. Just the fact he laughed at her jokes was a reason to date the
man. Becca eyed him surreptitiously.
Certainly not the only one.

“Been there. We had a client a few months ago
who spent most of a morning describing how he wanted his annual report laid
out. After a while I felt like saying, ‘Dude, we’ve done about two hundred of
these. We’ve got it,’ but of course I couldn’t. You know, that flask would’ve
been helpful right about then.”

The server was in the process of dropping off
their glasses of wine, and gave James a strange look. Becca giggled.

“If I’d had one I would’ve given to you.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t know you then.” He held
up his glass. “Here’s to getting to know each other now.”

“Cheers!”

They both drank and Becca let the fruity flavors
meld into the acidity of the wine to create the delicious experience that was
Sauvignon Blanc. She’d only taken a couple more sips when their plates began to
arrive, and soon conversation was slower as they both enjoyed the food and wine
combinations. At the end of the meal they waved off dessert and coffee and
James paid, despite her protestations, as she knew he was working at the bar to
support his mom. Then they made their way back to and got into his car.

Before he started it, she said, “I’d like to
spend a little more time with you if you can. We can go to my place, but, um,
I’m not ready to sleep with you.”

James reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’d
never expect that. We’ll take things slow. I go to bed late and only need about
six hours of sleep, so sure, I could come in for a while.”

When they got to her place, she opened the door,
hoping her eclectic decorating style didn’t put James off. As she’d gotten
older, Becca had started accumulating whatever looked interesting to her, which
had resulted in a hodgepodge she loved but could see someone else hating. But
as he went around her living room, asking her about different pieces, it was
obvious he liked what he saw and her heartbeat sped up. Watching him made it
hard to take things slowly. Hell, the fact he thought her cat cuckoo clock was
as awesome as she did made her want to climb him like a tree. Instead, she
offered him a drink and then they both sat on the couch.

“Do you want to watch something? Talk?” She held
up the remote.

“Tell you what. Do you have any music stations?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so. I have a huge cable
package.”

“Good. Can I have the remote?”

He located the music channels and she watched as
he flipped back and forth between a few before settling on one. Then James
rose.

“Dance with me?” He held out his hand and, with
a grin, she took it. Deep down, this is what she’d wanted all her life–to have
a man to dance with in her living room, someone to try new places and things,
travel and discover all the fascinating parts of the world with. James had
already mentioned a few of the places he’d been and they’d compared notes on
others.

James put his arm around her waist and drew her
close. Whoa, some muscles underneath those clothes. He didn’t even seem to mind
she was nearly a head taller, even in her stocking feet, just put his other
hand around the back of her neck and then leaned his forehead on her cheek.
They danced to several songs, and then James kissed her. It was hungrier than
their kiss in the park had been, since they didn’t have an audience to worry
about, and soon Becca had to pull away, fighting to force air into her
screaming lungs.

“Couch? James croaked out.

“Oh hell yeah.”

They fell onto the couch with Becca against the
corner, James pressing his body into hers as his tongue sank into her mouth.
She clutched at his back as he devoured her, taking her closer and closer to
insanity. Nowhere outside of actual sex had Becca felt something like this.
With impatient hands, she pushed him back and began to unbutton his shirt. When
two buttons were undone he growled and then pulled it off over his head,
leaving him in a tight black T-shirt.

He kissed down her jaw to her neck, sucking
lightly on her riotous pulse point. Her head fell back against the cushions and
James took advantage, leaving wet kisses over her collarbone and lower. When he
reached her cleavage and the V-neck of her top, he looked up.

“Can I?”

Nodding, she bit her lip as James untied the
wrap blouse she was wearing, leaving it hanging open when he dropped his face
into the valley of her breasts and licked and sucked his way from one to the other.
His hands bracketed her head on the couch and never strayed from there. While
she admired his self-restraint and gentlemanliness, Becca wanted his hands on
her.

As soon as he left off his exquisite torture,
she maneuvered her hand between her back and her shirt and unhooked her bra.
When James appeared to understand what she was doing he groaned, shifting
restlessly.

“Take off your shirt. I want to see you too,”
Becca urged him, as she removed her own restrictive clothing, tossing both
blouse and bra on the coffee table nearby. His T-shirt hit the floor and she
held him at arm’s length to get a good look. He was hairier than a lot of guys
she saw in the movies and on TV lately and, as she teased him with her fingers
before bending to lick his nipple, she moaned her appreciation. James jerked,
cursing. He was breathing heavily and an erection was evident through his
jeans, but still he made no move to take over. Becca teased the other nipple
with her fingers before moving back up and biting his earlobe.

“Shit,” he pushed out through what Becca guessed
were clenched teeth. Gently pushing her back into the corner once more, he
moved over her. “My turn to play.”

“Have at it.”

“You’re so beautiful.” James cupped her breasts,
skimming over the nipples with his thumbs as he kissed her again. She was sure
she couldn’t take even a second more of that light touch and, as if he could
read her mind, James rolled one nipple, watching her face. “Do you like that?”

“Yes, oh God…more.”

“How about this?” Her breast was sucked into his
hot mouth and she arched into him, inadvertently rubbing their pelvises
together. James’ breath caught and she didn’t want to tease him, so she made an
effort to stay on the couch, no matter what incredible things James did to her
with his lips and mouth. She’d never known a man, at least in her limited
experience, who bothered to spend this kind of time and attention on a woman,
seemingly without expecting to take things further. Between the dirty things
James said as he worshipped her body and the way he didn’t pressure her to have
sex, James was the perfect combination of sexy and caring.

I could fall in love with him.

His lips landed on hers once more. Becca moaned
and James pushed farther into her mouth. She didn’t want to think about anyone
else James had been with, but wow, the man could kiss.

A few moments later, James backed up and said,
“I’m sorry. I need to stop.” He gripped the back of his neck, massaging, as
breath sawed in and out of his lungs. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to
continue. Undoubtedly that erection wasn’t comfortable.

“It’s okay.”

He met her gaze. “I can’t believe what you do to
me.” James’ tone sounded bewildered and Becca had to suppress a laugh, which
would surely kill the mood.

His chest was flushed and Becca was sure she’d
never seen anything so sexy. “I can’t think of anything more intelligent to say
than, ‘ditto.’”

James barked out a laugh. “That’s okay, my brain
is like mush.” He glanced at the clock and then back at her. “I should let you
get to bed.”

“Yeah, unfortunately. And hey, you need a good
night’s sleep. I can’t imagine you get many of them after working and then
being at the bar ’til late.”

“Fortunately I often work the early shift and am
usually home by eleven, but yeah, I tend to be keyed up and don’t sleep
soundly. One of these days I’ll get used to the schedule.” He paused, his
eyebrows drawing down. “Or Mom will get better.”

Becca had hastily tied her blouse as he spoke,
covering herself up but foregoing the bra. What was the point when she was
putting on pajamas as soon as James left?

Now she placed her hand over James’ chest. “She
will.”

“I hope so.” James put his button-down back on
and held the T-shirt in his hand. “I’m going to give you a quick kiss or you’ll
never get rid of me.”

Like that would be a hardship.

She rose to walk him to the door. James stepped
outside and then turned back. She pulled him in, planting her lips on his jaw.

“There.”

“Woman, you’re killing me.”

Becca laughed. “Good night.”

“Good night, Becca.”

She closed the door and then leaned her back
against it.
Yeah, I could fall in love.

Chapter Three

James spoke to Becca on the phone at least once
a day and several times over text when they weren’t able to see each other.
Even though they’d only been dating about two weeks, she’d ingrained herself
into the fabric of his life. And he liked it. She took him to an artisan
pizzeria one of her coworkers told her about, and he brought her to a UT
basketball game where he discovered she could be a rabid fan if she got riled
up. UT was her alma mater and it wasn’t hard to get Becca upset about a blown
call or a stupid foul. Every time they spoke, every time they discovered more
common interests, every time they kissed, James fell a little harder.