DID I LET Penelope Wainwright talk me into organizing a formal tea?” Mia asked, grateful to be back in the office before Monday was completely over. After showing her client three potential venues in the Roswell historic district, Mia had lost an hour plodding behind school buses and swearing at afternoon traffic. “High-society crap isn’t my area.”
Shannon Diaz, receptionist and one-woman IT department, closed a drawer in the metal filing cabinet. “You agreed because she caught you after a weekend of binging on Downton Abbey episodes,” the brunette reminded her. “And because Penelope is one of our best paying clients. And the tea is a fund-raising event for a good cause. Not to mention, you secretly adore her.”
“Ha! Well, I admire a couple of her qualities,” Mia relented. The sixty-year-old woman did not suffer fools, for instance. “But she’s a pain in the ass to work for—demanding, opinionated...”
Shannon shot her a pointed look over the top of her playfully retro multicolored horn-rimmed glasses.
Mia scowled. “Is it wise to imply I’m an opinionated pain in the ass when your job security is in my hands?”
“You’d be lost without me. My job security is just fine.”
“Too true.” Pausing at Shannon’s desk before heading into her office, Mia added, “You know, as wonderful as your professional confidence is, don’t you think that—”
“Want to hear your messages? No point in wasting office time on my personal life.”
“You’re brilliant and beautiful and not without a sense of humor. Plus, we already know she likes you. All you have to do is ask her out.”
“When I’m ready,” Shannon mumbled.
Timing had been a major hurdle between Shannon and Paige. The woman who ran the French café on the third floor of the office building once asked Shannon on a date, but, emotionally raw from recent heartbreak, Shannon had refused more abruptly than intended. By the time she changed her mind a few weeks later, Paige was seeing someone.
“You’re both single now,” Mia said.
“I’m aware. But what if it’s too soon after her breakup? Besides, it’s been ages since she asked me out. Who knows if she’s even still interested?”
“You—”
“So about these messages.” Shannon waved squares of pink paper at her. “A prospective client set up a meeting to get price quotes, Wren had a brainstorm about the venue for her sister’s engagement party and Dara Abrams returned your call about flower deliveries.” Mia was trying to set it up so that, rather than being thrown out afterward, any remaining live flowers from events she coordinated could be donated to nursing homes. “And a man called after lunch.”
Mia arched an eyebrow at the vagueness. Shannon was usually a stickler for details. “Did the man have a name?”
“One assumes. But he didn’t leave it.”
Even though it was an illogical leap, Mia’s mind immediately went to Daniel Keegan. It had been a shock to run into him for the first time since college. There were millions of people in the Atlanta metropolitan area; she and Daniel didn’t exactly run in the same circles. He’d looked so damn good. That part wasn’t unexpected—his physical appeal had always made her lady parts twitch with interest—but she’d been startled to find that he was even more attractive than she’d remembered. For a few brief, titillating moments, she’d believed the attraction was mutual.
But even if he thought she looked drop-dead sexy in a corset—which, frankly, she did—it was difficult to imagine him contacting her. In the past, he’d wanted as little to do with her as possible.
His loss. She banished all thoughts of Daniel and his mesmerizing eyes and the corded forearms that made her yearn for a look at the muscles hidden beneath his well-tailored clothes. She didn’t need mental images of him for fantasy fodder. She had cable.
Mia took the messages. “So what did the mystery caller say?”
“He asked to speak with you and seemed disappointed to hear you were out of the office. In lieu of leaving a message with me or on your voice mail, he asked if I knew when you’d be back. Maybe he’s planning to call again. Maybe you have a secret admirer!”
“I’ve never found the idea of a secret admirer romantic. It actually runs the risk of being a little stalker-y, if you think about it. Someone lurking on the edges of my life but without the nerve to walk up and say hi directly? I’m attracted to people who put their cards on the table.” She paused a beat. “Maybe Paige appreciates the direct approach, too.”
Shannon sighed. “I’m not ready. And you may sign my paychecks, but you are not the boss of my love life.”
“Sorry. You’re right.” Mia hadn’t meant to push so hard, she just wanted to see her friend happy. “I won’t bring it up again, I promise. But one last general piece of advice? To get what you want, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” said a masculine voice from behind them.
Daniel. Mia spun around, stunned to find him entering the office. Her mouth dropped open, but she couldn’t think of anything to say other than what the hell are you doing here? which was hardly a polite, professional greeting. She swallowed. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Stepping out of my comfort zone.” He flashed a self-deprecating grin. “I thought maybe I could buy you dinner, if you’re not busy after work.”
Tempting. Dressed casually in well-worn jeans and a black sweater, he looked every bit as good as he had Friday night. Where’s your pride? The man had insinuated that she couldn’t hold a grown-up job. If she were a petty person intent on making a point, she’d name-drop wealthy Penelope Wainwright. But she didn’t care about Daniel’s opinion, she just wanted him to go away and take his assumptions with him.
“Actually, tonight I...” She sighed. Fibbing wasn’t in her nature. Besides, Shannon was watching with acute interest. After all of Mia’s encouragement to take some risks, wouldn’t dodging Daniel be hypocritical? “Dinner sounds—” confusing “—nice. But I have at least another hour’s worth of work to do here.”
“No problem.” He held up a briefcase. “I noticed on the building directory that there’s a café upstairs. I can grab a cup of coffee and get some work of my own done.” He wrote down his number so she could text him when she was ready. Then he was gone, leaving her bemused over the turn of events.
“Well.” Shannon leaned back in her chair, grinning. “At least one of us has a date.”
“I wouldn’t call it a date, at least not in the romantic sense. Just two former classmates catching up. Daniel and I went to college together.”
“And you never...?” Shannon waggled her eyebrows. “I mean, he’s not my type, but damn.”
Mia resisted the urge to fan herself. Damn, indeed. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Diaz.” There’s not room for both of us. Even back in college, when Mia had told herself she couldn’t like anyone as closed-minded as Daniel Keegan, she’d had more than her share of dirty thoughts about the man. Seeing him again stirred up each and every
