a valley that, despite its name, wasn’t really made out of silicon. Frustrated by how little he’d done all day, he returned to his desk but only to check the time on his computer again.
It was only one minute since the last time he looked.
What the hell was he doing? He was behaving like some love-struck teenager and he didn’t appreciate the feeling. That’s not what this visit was about. This was a test—for both of them—nothing more.
Four days to determine their compatibility and their adaptability. Four days to see if the service had correctly matched them based on their personalities and life goals. There was absolutely nothing to be nervous about. They had e-mailed and spoken on the phone for several weeks now. This was just the next step.
Abruptly he opened the drawer of his workstation and removed the manila folder inside. Flipping it open, he caught his breath as her picture smiled up at him. Beneath it were copies of their exchanged e-mails. He wasn’t sure why he’d felt the need to print and save them, but he had. He lifted the photo and studied it. It hadn’t changed since he’d first gotten it. It still captivated him.
Dear Dominic,
I enjoyed our conversation last night. I hope you don’t mind the follow up e-mail. Words tend to fall easier from my fingertips than they do my mouth. I know I hesitated regarding your offer, but I have had a chance to think about it and I will accept. I would feel more comfortable paying for my ticket. I have some revisions to finish up on my latest manuscript, but, say in two weeks?
I suppose it’s time we met.
Caroline
Dominic cursed, put away the folder and checked the time again. He wasn’t pleased to see that it hadn’t changed.
She had to be at the house by now. He had his secretary, Serena, call the airline to verify that the plane had landed on time. It had. Given that information, then factoring in the time it would take for her to freshen up, meet Henry at the baggage claim, get underway, and allowing for the traffic at this time of day, he calculated that she should be arriving at his home a little after five.
It was 5:01.
Perhaps he should leave now. It would take him a little more than an hour to get home in the rush hour. Plenty of time for her to get settled, maybe even take a nap to fight off the jet lag. Or maybe he should call first to see if she was there yet.
He picked up the phone and then put it down. Just like he had at least a dozen times this past week. Once she’d made the decision to come, he hadn’t felt the need to continue calling her. No, that wasn’t true. He’d wanted to talk to her; he just hadn’t wanted to give her an opportunity to change her mind. He had, however, sent another e-mail.
Caroline,
I must insist on paying. You’re making the trip. Let me at least do this. I’ve booked your ticket, first class. Attached is the itinerary.
Dominic
No, calling would have been overkill. If he’d missed the sound of her voice after talking nearly every day for a week, then it was a small price to pay for not jeopardizing this meeting. Dominic hoped his strategy paid off. After all he knew the plane had landed. He just didn’t know if she’d been on it.
Impatiently, he hit his intercom. “Serena.”
“Yes, Mr. Santos?”
“Get Henry on his cell phone, will you? And put him through to me.”
“Yes, Mr. Santos.”
Dominic turned back to his computer and tried to focus on work, but gave up when his eyes once again strayed toward the clock. This was insanity, and frankly it was pissing him off.
Maybe this was all a big mistake.
His intercom beeped. “That’s Henry on line one, Mr. Santos.”
Dominic snatched up the receiver. “Where are you?”
“Just leaving Half Moon Bay, sir. Ms. Somerville’s plane arrived on time. I dropped her off at the house a few minutes ago. Was there anything else you needed today?”
“No. That will be all.”
He hung up the phone and tried to convince himself that the overwhelming relief surging through him right now had more to do with his plans and less to do with Caroline. He’d started on this path with a very specific goal in mind. He wanted a wife. He wanted a child. He’d taken the most expedient path to obtain the first objective by hiring an exclusive matchmaking service. Caroline’s had been the third profile he’d received and the only one he considered making contact with. At first he’d been wary of the idea of a long-distance situation. She lived in Virginia, on the other side of the country from San Jose, California.
It was the picture. She wasn’t strikingly beautiful, but she was pretty. And there was serenity in her face that appealed to him. It made him imagine that she was someone people found easy to be with, easy to look at. He’d gone to her Web site to see the photo she used for the back covers of her books. In that shot she looked even prettier, but the soft smile wasn’t there. Instead she looked very studious.
He preferred the other picture. His picture. Now, he wanted to see the real thing.
Dominic beeped Serena again. “I’m going to be leaving in about thirty minutes. No more calls get through.”
“Leaving for the day, sir?”
He heard the incredulousness in his employee’s voice. In the ten years she’d been working for him, he’d never left his office before eight.
“Yes.”
“Denny wanted to meet with you.”
Denny. Damn.
His partner and senior programmer had sequestered himself in his office for the past few weeks working on a project that he said was explosive. Of course he wouldn’t give any indication about what the hell that meant. Worse, his behavior was starting to alarm their newest partner. But Dominic had assured Steven this was Denny’s way. All or nothing. And the end result had always been worth it.
Apparently he was finally ready to reveal the big secret.
Not tonight. “Tell Denny I’ll catch up with him. And no more interruptions for the rest of the day.”
“Yes, sir.”
Now all he had to do was concentrate on work for thirty minutes. He checked the clock.
It was 5:07.
Chapter 2
She was asleep on his bed with Munch pressed up against her back. That was how he found her. Their first introduction in person and she wasn’t awake for it.
Her blond hair brushed over her cheek and he could see the steady in and out of her breathing. Just like her picture. Easy to look at. A sudden and surprising surge of lust flooded him.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought
