CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Juliana
How. Dare. He.
The sweetness dazzled my tongue, momentarily blinding me from right and wrong. It brought back memories of days gone by when cakes like that were a source of great comfort to me. It tasted good, I couldn’t deny it.
But it was also impossibly horrible for me. The source of all my teenage woes.
It was bad enough that I’d had to deliver a presentation with my one-night stand right behind me, a one-night stand who’d just revealed himself to be the enemy. After my horrible sex dream, I kept expecting to feel his hands on my waist, lowering my pants before sinking into me from behind.
No wonder I stumbled over my words like an idiot.
And then? Then the bastard had to go and question me, attacking me from all sides, relentlessly, without mercy.
Asshole.
Before the yellow, sticky sponge of cake could get comfortable on my tongue, I was already pushing it out of my mouth and into my hand. I’d never been an athlete, never played a game of softball in my life, but I landed that damn cake right in the center of his forehead.
A clump of it fell off, right on top of his gleaming shoes, and it took everything inside me not to laugh. The crowd laughed for me, cheering for him or me, I wasn’t sure. Either way, I felt like a total idiot. As gracefully as I could manage, I turned on my heel and walked off, grateful I didn’t fall down the steps or break into a run before I shoved the door open.
Before it even slammed shut behind me, I broke into a run down the hall, moving as fast as my clip-cloppy smart heels would carry me. I needed to get away, to go back to Healthy Steps and lick my wounds and pray to wake up from this nightmare.
“Jule!”
I knew it was him. His low, deep voice had a way of hitting chords all over me, in even my most secret places. I steeled myself to keep running because I knew if I stopped and those eyes caught me, I’d be captured. His prey.
I tried to speed up, but he caught me a second later, whirling me around.
“Jule,” he repeated as I looked anywhere but at those hypnotizing eyes. “Hey, Jule. I’m sorry. I got a little out of hand there.”
I let out a short laugh. “You think? I think you got a lot out of hand.”
His hand pushed into my hair, circling the back of my neck, holding me in place. “Yeah. A lot. I’m sorry. How about a little peace offering?” He took my hand and placed a package of Heigh-di-Hos on my palm. It was so stupid of him, I did something I didn’t think I’d ever do again after my humiliation. I laughed. “And there’s more where that came from, if you play your cards right.”
I stared at the package of cakes like it was a grenade before groaning, shaking my head miserably. “I thought you sold toilet paper.”
He gave me a quizzical look. “What?”
“You said fast moving consumer goods, so…” I wrinkled my nose and reached up to wipe some cake from his forehead, “I thought that meant toilet paper.”
“So, you’re upset that I don’t sell toilet paper?” he asked and wiped something from my chin. My stomach twisted when he lifted the crumb covered thumb to his lips and licked it. “We actually do have a division that sells—”
I turned from him, found a garbage can, and dropped the snack cakes in. “You don’t understand. Those Heigh-di-Hos are pretty much the bane of my existence. They destroyed my teenage years.”
“They’re fucking snack cakes. Not heroin.”
I laughed, but it sounded bitter to my own ears. “To some people, they’re just as bad as heroin.”
“What do you mean? Oh, you mean…” He pointed back toward the auditorium, where I’d revealed my childhood shame in front of my one-time lover. I’d thought about going without it in the presentation, to spare myself the embarrassment, but it was too late. It’d already been loaded. “That? You were still beautiful.”
He had to be kidding me. Even if he was serious, did it matter? “But I was unhealthy.”
He nodded, and I was glad he didn’t try to contradict me. “Jule. Juliana…” My full name came off his tongue in a drawn out, unfamiliar way. It hit me like a shot in the heart. “I have a proposition for you.”
I clenched my teeth. That sounded dirty. Even though we’d slept together, he was a stranger. And he was my enemy. Now. Forever. Everything in my world had just shifted and then shifted again, and I had no idea what was up and what was down.
Fate, that bitch, kept throwing us together in the most excruciating ways and throwing up all over me.
“I wondered if you’d present in front of my R&D department,” he said, his expression serious. “They’ve actually been looking into developing a line of healthier snacks. They haven’t come up with anything new on that front since our fat-free line bombed in the nineties. Maybe having you talk to them will… I don’t know. Light a fire under their asses.”
I blinked. That was definitely not the proposition I was expecting. I looked at him, just in time to be captured by those emerald eyes, so earnest and sincere. He meant this.
“What do you say?” he asked, hunching himself over a bit to be level with my eyes. “Come on. You’re perfect for the job.”
I nodded. Even if he and his snack cakes were the devil incarnate, how could I possibly turn down that opportunity? It was the chance to actually make a difference, even if it did involve consorting with the enemy.
An enemy who smelled amazing. Who looked just as tasty as his devilish snacks.
Ugh. Stop it, Jule! Focus.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I need to think about it. You just stuffed a…” To my horror, my eyes began to burn.
His hands moved to my shoulders, and he pulled me to his chest. “I know. I’m sorry. Please, let me make it up to you.”
I pushed away, looking down, noticing the glob of snack cake still on his shoes.
Who knew, maybe it would change the way they did business. Maybe he just wanted to get in my pants again, or maybe he felt bad for treating me like dirt, but it was an in. And that was what I needed.
“We can talk, but I won’t make any promises.”
“All right,” he said, handing me his phone. “Give me your number.”
I rolled my eyes as I took it from him. “Again?”
His brow knitted. “What do you mean, again?”
“I left my number for you at the hotel.” He just stared blankly at me, so I elaborated. “On a piece of paper, near the coffeemaker?”
“Coffee…” he murmured, and then snapped. “Shit. I spilled the coffee, then I had to clean it up, and I must have… shit.”
I stared at him. So wait, Leah was right? “Are you telling me that you really lost my number?”
He pressed the heel of his hand to his eye. “It appears so.” A smile lit up his face, and he laughed. “Holy shit. I thought you never wanted to see me again. I mean, I thought you left without any contact.”
“I didn’t. I don’t do that,” I said, feeling stupid. Like, of course, I didn’t do that. Didn’t he see what a wreck I used to be, only a few short years ago? I rarely had the chance. I mean, beautiful? I looked like I ate half the city! He had to know this was all new to me. “I thought you just ditched me.”
“No. I definitely wanted to see you again,” he said, digging his hands into his pockets. “I want to see you now, even if you are a health freak.”
Really? This had to be a dream.
And when his eyes met mine, they were warm and heavy, and I could practically feel the lust radiating off them.
My heart caught in my throat. “So… you were waiting for your blind date too? That night?”
He looked at me, and what looked like uncertainty flashed across his face. “Oh. Yeah.”
“What a crazy coincidence. My blind date was also named Zach, and I learned later that he had been hit by a taxi on the way to meet me.” He was looking at me like I must have been pulling his leg, so I added, “I’m serious. I mean, it’s terrible. But if he’d showed up, I never would have…”
My eyes drifted to my toes, and I felt my face heat. He moved closer so that I could see his ruined shoes. His suit must have been expensive and custom because it fit him like a glove. Dammit. If I owned a snack cake factory, I’d weigh a thousand pounds. How does he do it?
He put a finger under my chin and dragged my face up until our eyes met. “You never would have… what?” he murmured softly.
All the breath left me as we gazed into each other’s eyes, the attraction pulling at us both. “Had that incredible night,” I said softly. “With you.”
He smiled slowly, seductively, then lifted my chin higher. His smell, warm and male and strong, intoxicated my senses, leaving me dizzy as he leaned down, capturing my mouth with his.
He devoured me softly, dragging me closer to him, his tongue flicking over mine, urgently devouring me as I leaned into him, wanting more.
“If everything tasted as sweet as you, Jule,” he murmured against my lips, “I would be out of business.”