So, filling the bucket with ice for her, and leaving it on the alcove table, he boarded the elevator. He headed for the Wild West saloon-themed bar and ordered a beer. Nursing it, he argued with himself about what he was doing, trying to persuade himself to give up, get a cab to the airport and get on the first plane back to L.A.
But he couldn’t. He’d come this far, and had been so close—close enough to touch her, smell her, share her warmth and hear the voice that haunted his dreams. No, he wasn’t leaving. Not without having his say.
By the time he’d finished his drink, he realized the dinner had already started. Feeling calmer, he headed for the banquet room, which he’d mapped out earlier. When he got there, he immediately scanned the room, spying her at the correctly numbered table…the one where he’d arranged to be seated, too.
Not only had she come, she’d put on her female armor, obviously preparing herself to face him tonight.
She looked absolutely beautiful, almost as perfect now as she had when flashing him from beneath that robe. Not that she hadn’t been practically perfect in his eyes when they’d bumped into each other this afternoon, of course. Nothing could hide the natural beauty of Lauren’s heart-shaped face, the jewel-blue hue of her eyes or the thickness of her golden-brown hair, now hanging around her shoulders in thick waves. But unlike earlier, when she’d appeared frazzled and weary, she was absolutely put together now, wearing tasteful makeup, not a hair out of place, dressed in a blue cocktail dress that clung to her perfectly.
He’d bet she was wearing heels. Lauren wasn’t short. In fact, she was of average height. But she’d always worn high-heeled shoes when she needed to build up her self-confidence.
He leaned his head to the side and swept his gaze downward, noting the long, shapely, bare legs. And her feet.
Four inches. At least. Spike-heeled power shoes that were supposed to make her feel tall and in control but just made her look sexy as hell.
He smiled as he wove his way toward her table. A few people recognized him and said hello, others merely raised curious brows, but he didn’t pause. No way was he giving Lauren a chance to spot him and leave. She couldn’t very well get up and march out the second he sat down, right?
He sat down. “Hello, everyone.”
She stood up. “Goodbye, everyone.”
Damn. She startled a laugh right out of him. But knowing better than to try to reason with her, he simply muttered, “Chicken.”
She glared. “I’m not a chicken.”
“What do you call running away?”
“Self-preservation.”
“You don’t have to protect yourself. I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“Why not? It’s what you do best.”
“Ouch,” somebody muttered.
They both looked around the table at the other half-dozen people, all of whom were watching them.
“Sit down, sweetie. Don’t let him spoil your night,” said the woman sitting on the other side of Lauren. Seth recognized her as Lauren’s best friend.
“Hello, Maggie. Nice to see you.”
The pretty blonde grunted. “I thought you were in prison.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“Oh, you’re good at disappointing people.”
Another ouch. Lauren had an army of defenders, it appeared.
“It’s all right, Maggie,” said Lauren, slowly sinking back onto her chair. “He doesn’t bother me.”
“Certainly not intentionally,” he insisted.
She rolled her eyes.
A guy Seth recognized from his senior English class offered him the first genuine smile he’d seen since he’d entered the room. “Nice to see you, Crowder.”
“You, too, Josh.”
“How’s life? Where are you living these days?”
“West Coast.”
Beside him, he saw Lauren yawn, as if she were completely uninterested. He didn’t believe that, though. Tension rolled off her. Ambivalence usually didn’t cause stiff shoulders, clenched fists and a defiantly uptilted chin.
“What do you do?” the other man asked.
“Actually, I’m a sports agent.”
“Get out,” the other man said, immediately intrigued as anyone with testosterone always was when they found out what he did for a living. If he mentioned the names of some of his clients, Josh would probably fall over.
Waving a hand to gloss over what was, if he did say so himself, a pretty cool job, he said, “I couldn’t make it into the pros myself. Next best thing, I guess.”
“We always thought you would,” Josh replied, earnest and loyal as always. He smiled cautiously, casting an apologetic look at Lauren before adding, “I sometimes wondered if that’s where you went—if you got drafted into the bigs and they wanted you in training right away.”
“If only,” Seth said. Then, aware he had Lauren’s full attention—and also aware this might be the only time he had that attention, since she would be looking out for him now, knowing he’d manipulated himself into the seat beside her—he went ahead and came out with the truth.
“Nothing nearly as great as the NFL,” he explained. “The real story is…”
Lauren shifted in her seat, leaning perhaps a hairsbreadth closer, as if she wanted to hear in spite of herself.
And he wasn’t about to disappoint her with anything except the whole, utter truth.
“I disappeared because my crooked parents had to get out of the country fast, so they dragged me and my sister to somewhere without an extradition treaty.”
LAUREN HADN’T WANTED to listen to Seth. Well, she’d wanted to listen, she just hadn’t wanted to hear any of his excuses. It wasn’t that she was scared, despite what he might think about the way she’d been avoiding him. The truth was, she’d always assumed there were no excuses worth hearing.
But the one that had come out of Seth’s kissable mouth stopped her heart from beating for a few seconds. She couldn’t breathe, could barely remain sitting upright. Because of all the things she’d imagined—good and bad—this definitely wasn’t one of them.
“Holy shit, man, seriously?” asked Josh, taking the words right out of Lauren’s mouth.
Seth reached for his water glass and lifted it. Lauren noticed the way the water sloshed on the top, and realized Seth’s hand was shaking. He might be projecting a smooth, everything’s-all-right attitude, but deep down, Seth was a mess. This confession, made so baldly in front of all these people, had cost
