Blake had been working harder than he ever remembered working, partly to get caught up from his four-day absence, but mostly to keep his thoughts from drifting to Jill. Friday was one of the longest days he’d experienced since his mother’s scandal broke. Those days had been interminable, but with nothing to look forward to. At least now, there was definitely a reward at the end of the wait. He knew not to expect her until sometime in the late afternoon, but the tension settled in his shoulders, making them ache.
The distinct sound of heels rang through the tile hallway, approaching his office door. He looked up sharply, all too aware that his pulse had revved into high gear. He glanced at his watch. It was three o’clock. Jill could be back from Mississippi by now. He pushed back from his desk and stepped around it, determined to take her in his arms, regardless of where they were. He ached to have her in his embrace again.
But when the door opened, it was Ivey who appeared, not Jill.
Caught awkwardly in mid-stride, he stopped and released a long breath, trying not to look as disappointed as he felt. Especially to Ivey, who had been all too glad to have him back in the office. “Yes,” he asked, as neutrally as possible.
“I have some papers for you to sign.”
Blake went back behind his desk and sat down, picking up his ballpoint pen. “Give them to me.”
Ivey handed the papers across to him, and leaned over his desk while she waited, her hands braced on either side of the papers. Blake looked up, surprised, and found himself staring into the deep ravine of her cleavage. A hint of black lace peeked out from the open neck of her blouse. Uncomfortable beyond words, he signed the remaining papers as quickly as possible, then pushed back from the desk, leaving the papers for her to pick up.
“I heard something interesting from Camden just now.”
“Camden? They’re back?”
“Yes. Just a few minutes ago. He said that Jill went to dinner with Trevor Walton last night.”
Blake felt as if someone had slugged him in the stomach. “Did she? And?”
For a moment, Ivey fumbled for words. “I just found it interesting, that’s all. When I heard that you were leaving her behind with three attractive men, I admit that I wondered who she would spend her time with.”
Gritting his teeth, Blake crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m still not sure why you’re telling me all this.” He knew her game, but he wasn’t going to play it with her. Besides, he wanted her to leave so he could go find Jill. Did it mean something that she hadn’t come straight to his office? Anxiety ate at him.
“Oh, well, no reason I guess, if you don’t care. By the way, I’m still available the night of the charity ball. We haven’t had a chance to discuss it again.”
“Thank you, but I have someone else in mind. I prefer to keep my dates more personal. You understand.”
“Of course,” she said before pressing her lips tightly together and slipping out as quickly as she’d come in.
It looked like a change in his PA would be necessary in the near future, but he didn’t have time to worry about it now.
Why had Jill gone to dinner and why hadn’t Rick told him anything about it?
Leaving his office, he strode past his secretary’s desk, then stopped and turned around. “Have you seen Ms. Harris? I heard that she’s back.”
“Oh yes. She brought me this chocolate. Wasn’t that so sweet of her?”
Blake glanced down at the pile of chocolate on her desk and realized they were the left-overs from their sample trial. The memory of tasting that chocolate when he’d kissed Jill for the first time made him smile. “Very sweet.” He cleared this throat. “And do you know where she is?” he prompted again.
“She headed to her desk.”
“Thank you.” Blake walked away, sure that his reputation for always being in control was in danger. At least he knew where to find her. Now he just had to figure out how to keep himself reined in when he saw her.
But she was not at her desk.
Looking around, he couldn’t see her at any of the desks in the area. Was she in the bathroom? She had just gotten back from a long trip. Blast it. He couldn’t just hover around her desk like a heartsick loser. Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he swiveled around on his heel and decided to take a walk around the office, maybe chat with a few of his employees. That would be good for morale, right?
But all thoughts of talking to anyone fled when he glimpsed a tall, beautifully proportioned brunette passing by on a perpendicular hall to the one he was in. There she was.
Picking up his stride, he rounded the corner and looked around for her. She now stood over Camden’s desk with a binder in her arms. He walked toward them, and Jill looked up. Their eyes met and a warm smile flashed over her face, until she bit her lip, trying to control her reaction. He kept his gaze on her as he closed the distance between them. The faint blush spreading across her face was not lost on him. Even if she had gone to dinner with Trevor the night before, her reaction to seeing him proved where her interests were.
“Jill, can I speak with you for a moment?”
“Absolutely.” Then she waited expectantly.
That wasn’t what he meant. “Somewhere more private.”
One of her eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
Blake was out of patience. Luckily, Camden’s desk was in tech land where none of the brainiacs ever lifted their heads from their screens. He took the last few steps toward her and put his arm around her to lead her the rest of the way toward a conference room.
“We’ll be right back,” Jill called over her shoulder to Camden.
“No, we won’t.” Blake took the binder out of her hands and dropped it on an empty table. With an insistent hand in the small of her back, he led her around the corner into a small conference room, tucked away from the rest of the office. He closed the door behind them and took her face in his hands.
“Blake, we…”
Whatever she was going to say would have to wait. He bent and pressed his lips to hers, reacquainting himself with the sweet perfection of every texture and contour. Her response assured him that she was as into the moment as he was so he shifted his hands, running them down her smooth arms, then around her waist. As he pulled her flush against him, she turned her head, breaking the kiss.
“Blake, we said we were going to save it for Saturday. For tomorrow.”
“Yeah? Well, it turns out I missed you like the devil, and now you’re here with me again.”
He held out a hand and she stepped forward to take it. “You make all my good intentions fly out the window.”
Pulling her close, he wrapped his arms around her. She didn’t resist. In fact, she leaned into him. “Was eating dinner with Trevor part of your good intentions?”
She frowned. “That big lummox of yours swore he wouldn’t tell you.”
“He didn’t. A little bird told me.”
With narrowed eyes, Jill thought for a moment, her sharp mind quickly finding the answer. “You mean a parasitic vine told you.”
Blake laughed. “How’d you come to that conclusion?”
“Only two people knew—Rick and Camden. I know Camden hadn’t seen you yet, but he did mention seeing Ivey when he came in.”
“Okay, Detective Harris,” Blake said, content to draw this out as long as he could hold her. “You still haven’t told me why you ate dinner with Trevor.”
“Why not? It was a business dinner. And anyway, it’s not like you and I are…”
“Yes, we are.”
“Since when?”
“Now.”
Jill pushed back, stepping away. “I think we should hold off on making this formal.”
Not liking this at all, Blake folded his empty arms across his chest. “Why?”
Jill turned and walked over to stare out the windows on the far side of the room. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Because I want to finish this job and look at this with a clear head.”
Blake walked up and wrapped his arms around her, taking in the view with her. The flat landscape was crossed by the wide, eight-lane freeway which was already busy with cars. People were going home early for the weekend. “You know, I haven’t had a clear head since the first time I saw you sipping iced tea on Nate’s veranda.”
He saw by the way her cheeks rose that she had smiled. She turned her face toward him. “Me too, if I’m being honest. But Blake, I have a lot to figure out and I need to stay focused.”
“Can you tell me what it is? Maybe I can help.”
“Not yet. It’s too…volatile… right now.”
That gave him pause. What would she not be able to tell him? He decided not to press her though. Whatever it was didn’t matter. Only this mattered. “What happens when you’re done? Do you have another job lined up?”
Jill turned, and he loosened his hold on her to let her, then pulled her close again. She played with the collar of his shirt, which drove him crazy, and bit her bottom lip, which was worse. Then she took a deep breath. “I don’t yet, but I’m sure I will. I’ve put off contacting my dad for that exact reason.”
“Would you ever consider changing jobs?”
Jill frowned. “You mean quit from the company that’s supposed to be mine someday? The one my grandfather started over fifty-years ago? That’s a serious question best left for a serious relationship.”
“Which we don’t have?” He didn’t want to hear her answer.
Shaking her head, she whispered. “Not yet. But yet is a hopeful word.” She rose up on her toes and kissed him.
Taking the chance, he kissed her back, deep and hard, though he knew she’d only meant it to be a brief token. She responded with a fervor that matched his, easing his anxiety. “I won’t press you. We both have work to do. But this weekend, we’re going to talk.”
Jill trailed her hand down his arm as she stepped away. “If you have a few more of those kisses in your pocket, I hope we’re going to do more of that too.”