was constant with Garrett, keeping her intensely aware of him in a physical manner. Despite her concerns, she couldn’t deny that she loved being with him, hearing about him, learning about him. In some ways, she, too, felt as if she had known him a long time. They talked until one and she promised herself by half past she would end the evening. Finally, when it was almost two, she stood.
“Garrett, I must get home.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want.” He waved his hand toward his house. “Needless to say, there is plenty of room here. Take any bedroom you want. Close to mine, far from mine or in mine with me,” he teased. “I’ll even promise to not wake you in the morning. Particularly if you make the last choice.”
Shaking her head, she laughed. “It does seem silly for you to drive me home, but that’s what I want. If I’m going to Colorado to ski, I want to go home and get some things.”
“All right. Home it is. I told my chauffeur we’d take you home tonight.”
“See, I should have driven.”
“I would insist on taking you home even if you had driven. It’s way too late for you to be out driving around by yourself.”
“That’s an old-fashioned notion.”
“It’s not the first time someone has accused me of having old-fashioned notions.”
“I think old-fashioned is rather nice if it isn’t overdone. Edgar gets a little carried away— I’ll probably have a text waiting from him when I get in. He’s probably running background checks on you as we speak.”
She expected a laugh but Garrett merely gave her a smile and stood. “Shall we go?”
When they arrived at her house, the limo waited while Garrett walked with her to her door. He stepped inside, waiting while she switched off the alarm and then pulling her into his embrace to kiss her.
With her heart racing, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him in return, pouring her feelings into her kiss, wanting to spend the rest of the night with him, wanting to touch and caress and make love, yet knowing she should do little more than what they were doing unless she wanted to risk losing her heart.
How much time passed, she didn’t know or care. They were breathless, wanting more. Need became a raging fire. When Garrett’s hands began to roam over her, she stopped him and stepped back.
“We’ll say good-night,” she stated. Her voice was breathless as she gulped for air. “Garrett, tonight has been so much fun,” she said softly. His gray eyes had darkened to slate, desire burning in their depths. “Thanks for a grand evening.”
“I’ll see you in the morning, Sophia,” he said, giving her a smile that nearly stopped her heart. He turned and left, the lock clicking in place behind him.
For a moment, she could barely move, resting against the door, trying desperately to catch her breath, wondering if she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life.
Garrett swore under his breath. He liked Sophia more than any woman he had known. He wanted to call Will immediately and tell him that he hated deceiving her and it had to end. But he knew that as soon as he told Sophia the Delaneys had sent him, she would break it off.
He was torn between admitting the truth to her and running the risk of losing her, or continuing the deception until he felt she liked him enough that they could weather the storm that would break when he told her the truth.
More than once he had mulled over resigning from Delaney Enterprises and devoting himself to building furniture. Sometimes he thought of working with his hands, living in a place near the ocean, creating instead of acquiring. He often wondered if the notion of changing careers was merely a pipe dream, yet Sophia had successfully done just that.
Only her situation had been different. He had been raised to do this kind of work and he felt he owed the Delaney family his services. Argus Delaney had taken his father out of poverty, given him a job and paid for his education because he said he saw potential in his dad. His father had worked hard and risen fast and Argus had helped him all along the way, opening doors and paying him well. In turn, his father had absolute loyalty to the Delaneys and had raised Garrett to feel the same. If he left Delaney Enterprises, Garrett felt he would be turning his back on all his father had wanted for him, and on Will’s friendship. And he was inheriting a fortune from Will’s dad.
Even so, the thought was tempting. Especially after being with Sophia.
For the first time he considered actually going through with telling Will he was resigning. If he resigned, he might have hope of some kind of future with Sophia.
How tempting. He could tell Sophia everything with a clear conscience.
Could he do it?
At his estate he glanced at his watch and picked up his phone to call Will. “Sorry for the early hour.”
“I hope it’s because you have good news.”
“I don’t, and I don’t know whether I ever will. She told me more about your dad. She’s incredibly bitter.”
“Are you making any progress?”
“We’re flying to Colorado to ski for the weekend.”
“I call that progress. Just hang in there—sounds as if you two get along fine,” Will said, his voice rising with enthusiasm.
“We do,” Garrett said in clipped tones. “I don’t know what will happen when I tell her the truth. Will, I hate not being up front with her on this.”
“You’re doing her a favor, too—don’t forget that.”
“Dammit, Will, she’s been hurt. She isn’t going to change easily and I can’t keep up this deception,” Garrett said, startled by how deeply concerned he had become over Sophia’s feelings. He cared more for her than he would have dreamed possible when he first took this assignment.
“You don’t need to feel guilty. You’re doing your job. Do your best is all we all ask—your best is mighty damn fine. We’re counting on you.”
“I know. I’ll see how it goes today.”
“Don’t rush. Get her so close she’ll do what you want.”
Garrett hated the sound of that. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow or Monday,” he said.
“Have a real good time.”
He hung up, wondering why he’d even bothered to call Will. He stared at the phone with Will’s words echoing in his thoughts. We’re counting on you. All his adult life they had counted on him. He couldn’t toss that aside.
Doubting if he would sleep at all, he skipped bed and headed to the shower, thinking of being with her again, of her dark eyes and midnight hair, her laughter, her kiss. A whole weekend. By the time they flew back to Texas, he hoped to be closer to her.
The big question was: What would happen if he told her the truth? Would he lose her forever?
Sophia rummaged in her closet for
