underling should only be informative, involving the plans they already had for promotion of the radio division.
At least, that was what Evan thought. Until David’s underling actually appeared at his office for their one o’clock appointment.
Meredith Waters.
Gleaming chestnut hair, with tinges of red that shone like copper in the sunlight; pale Irish skin that she’d inherited from her mother; green eyes; and a wide, generous mouth. Evan had never seen a smile so bright that could turn, in an instant, to a heart-aching sensuous curve that would drive any man to distraction.
He would have recognized her anywhere, anytime, even though he hadn’t seen her in … well, twelve and a half years. It was marked indelibly in his mind since it was the night he’d left the United States.
The night of their senior prom.
He hadn’t actually made it to the prom, of course, which was one of the reasons this meeting now was so … awkward.
The last time he’d seen Meredith Waters, it had been through her bedroom window as she’d sat in front of her vanity mirror, putting the final touches on her makeup and hair for a prom date that wasn’t going to show up.
Evan.
The image had haunted him ever since. Meredith, in a thin-strapped deep-blue dress, her pale shoulders creamy and tempting. He could feel the curve of them in his empty hands.
Even then, but certainly now, he recognized what a sweet, innocent beauty she was. Hers had been a difficult life, with a lot of hard knocks, despite her best efforts. Her parents, too, had suffered at the hands of fate, and, unfortunately, at the hands of George Hanson, even though they were good people who deserved better.
Evan thought she’d do better without him around.
Apparently, it hadn’t turned out that way. And by the time he knew what had happened, it was far too late for him to come back and make things better.
He wished he’d had the advantage of wisdom then that he had now.
Instead of rising to the occasion, he’d left. It was soon after his mother had died, and the rawness of that loss probably contributed to his confusion. No one to run interference for him. No one to offer even an iota of warmth to the house that had never entirely felt like home.
Evan knew if he’d stayed he would have gotten as bitter and mean as the old man—they were so much alike in other ways it was practically a shoo-in—so rather than doing that to Meredith and himself, he’d just moved on.
Until this moment he hadn’t stopped to regret his decision.
“Hello, Evan,” she said, her voice smooth and modulated. It was familiar but, at the same time, unfamiliar. “It’s been a long time.”
He was as paralyzed with surprise—no, shock—as he would be if he’d been looking at a ghost. In a way, in fact, he felt like he was. He felt like he should say something profound, but only one word came to mind.
“Meredith?”
She nodded, but no smile touched that beautiful mouth. “You recognize me.”
“Of course I recognize you. You look.” Beautiful. Stunning.
Haunting.
“You look the same as you always did.” But she didn’t. She didn’t look the same at all. She looked like a sleek, sophisticated version of her old self.
This was awkward. Really awkward.
But Evan still didn’t know what to say. Unfortunately the momentary uncomfortable pauses weren’t buying him enough time to come up with something pithy.
She smiled. And for just a moment, he could see the high-school girl inside the woman.
“Clearly you weren’t expecting to see me.” There wasn’t a trace of self-consciousness in her voice. “I was hoping Ms. Hanson would have let you know I was coming.”
This wasn’t making any sense. “Ms. Hanson?”
“Yes, Helen Hanson.” Meredith nodded. “She just hired me in PR and has asked me to assist you in promoting this division.”
A pause dropped between them like a tennis ball and bounced awkwardly into several silent seconds.
“Are you serious?” he asked after a moment. How was this possible? Of all the people Helen could have hired, and all the places within the company she could have placed a new employee, how on earth had it happened that she’d hired Meredith and wanted her to work with Evan?
Meredith’s smile froze a little. “Yes. Will that be a problem for you?”
Damn right it was a problem. It was hard enough to be back in Chicago and working in the Hanson offices. He was running up against memories—including lots of unpleasant ones—at virtually every turn.
But this? This was too much.
“No, it’s not a problem at all,” he lied. Then he forced what he hoped looked like a casual smile, though it felt more like he was grimacing. “I’m sorry, I must seem rude. It’s just that it’s been more than twelve years since I’ve been in Chicago, and I’m still trying to orient myself. Needless to say, I’ve been seeing a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time and it’s disconcerting each time I get one of these blasts from the past.”
“I understand,” Meredith said, her tone cool, professional. Clearly she’d grown far, far beyond the awkward kid he’d once known. She was detached in her interaction with Evan now. It was very clear that this wasn’t personal for her.
Hell, maybe she didn’t even remember what they’d once been to each other.
For that matter, maybe he’d imagined it. Maybe this thumping in his chest at the sight of her was just the remembrance of a dream he’d once had. His life had taken so many surreal turns at this point that he wasn’t sure of anything at the moment.
“I do hope we’ll be able to get past any awkwardness and work effectively together,” Meredith went on, but for the first time her voice betrayed the merest trace of a waver.
“Absolutely.”
“Good. So let’s get to work on our plan to raise the profile of Hanson Broadcasting.” She glanced at her watch. “Do you have time to talk about it now? I’d like to get up to speed on your plans so I can start my work as soon as possible.”
There was no way Evan could just leap into this now. He needed a little time to collect his thoughts.
He’d begun outlining a mission already, of course, but it would have taken some time to prepare to discuss it even if it wasn’t Meredith waiting for it, but the fact that it was. Well, he just needed a little time to get used to the idea.
“I’m about to have a meeting,” Evan said, trying to sound regretful rather than unprepared. “Are you free later this afternoon?”
Meredith shook her head. “I told David
