in the moonlight, Cari had smiled at him and without thinking he’d kissed her. It lasted a mind-blowing split second before he realized what he was doing and pulled away. Cari had never shown a romantic interest in him. Her career was her life. She gave Dalton’s one hundred percent of herself and he wasn’t jeopardizing that. They had a business relationship. Period.
In a rush he’d said, “Happy Fourth of July.”
She’d smiled and wished him the same.
Her reaction was a relief. No way was he dating a woman who worked for him even if his sister wanted him to. He steered clear of setups. His parents were constantly trying to fix him up with the perfect woman. Their attention to his marital status made him feel pressured and restless. It was important to him that he make his own choices, especially in women.
At times, though, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped kissing Cari.
“Darling.” Daphne laid a hand on his arm. “Is everything okay?”
He looked into her beautiful eyes and was so grateful he’d finally found the woman for him. It had been a whirlwind courtship and at the end of four weeks he’d proposed.
Marriage had never been on his list of top priorities. His parents had a marriage from hell and his friends were all playing marriage roulette. He had to admit that Marisa and Colter were happy, and as he grew older he realized he wanted that—to find the perfect woman, if there was such a person, to share his life and to raise a family together.
His parents had manipulated him and Marisa all their lives and the last thing Reed needed was a woman his parents had picked for him. Ironically a business acquaintance of his dad’s had been invited for dinner and his daughter was in town. His mother was a fanatic about her dinner parties and the proper seating. She’d begged Reed to attend so the young woman wouldn’t feel out of place.
To his surprise he and Daphne had hit it off from the start. She was independently wealthy, so she wasn’t after him for his money. She was a ballet dancer and had just returned from touring France. That threw him at first because his mother had been a dancer, but Daphne was different. She donated a lot of her time to children’s charities and put on special shows to entertain many of them. He admired everything about her. Also, she wanted a home and family like he did. They were perfect for each other.
The date hadn’t been a setup. His parents hadn’t even known Mr. Harwood’s daughter was in town until the last minute. So it was a nice surprise for all of them.
“Yes.” He kissed her cheek. “Everything is fine.”
For some reason though he couldn’t stop himself from staring at the doorway where Cari had stood.
CARI RUSHED through her secretary’s office to reach her own, not bothering to go through her private entrance. “Get me a tall mocha frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, please,” she said to Heather.
“Yes, ma’am.” Heather was instantly on her feet.
“I already have it.”
Cari whirled around to see Marisa standing there with two coffees. She quickly reached for one. “I knew I loved you for a reason.” She took a sip and glanced at Heather, who was staring at her with wide eyes. At twenty-four she looked like a teenager. Cari knew she must have looked the same years ago.
“Please get me the itinerary for the El Paso trip.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Marisa followed her into her office. “I see you’ve heard the news.”
Cari took a big swallow of coffee. “If you mean about Reed and the debutante, yes, I just heard.”
“I’m sorry. I tried calling but you didn’t answer.”
“Oh.” Cari patted her pockets with one hand. “I’m not sure where my cell is. I guess I left it at home.”
Marisa gave Cari’s disheveled appearance the once-over. “What happened?”
“Don’t ask.”
“Okay,” Marisa said slowly, watching her. “I tried to get here earlier, but it’s a mad rush to get the kids off to school, and this morning Ellie was having a fit about her hair. Since she’s become a teenager, the naturally curly hair has become more of an issue. We seem to spend every morning taming it.”
“No big deal,” Cari replied with a wave of her hand.
She could feel Marisa’s eyes on her. “I know how you feel about Reed.”
Her eyes flew to meet her friend’s. “That’s just between you and me.” With a sigh, she sank into her chair and took another gulp of coffee. Setting the paper cup on her desk, she asked, “Where did she come from? Has he been dating her long?”
Marisa sat in a rose chintz chair, placing her purse on the floor. “My parents hosted a dinner for them last night and Colter and I met her for the first time. She’s a daughter of a business acquaintance of my dad’s.”
“You’re kidding.” Cari sat up straighter. “I would have thought Reed would have avoided her like toxic waste.”
It was a well-known fact that Richard and Vanessa Preston had ideas about who Reed should marry—someone with their social standing and assets. But since the fiasco with Marisa, Reed ignored his parents and chose his own women.
“Me, too.” Marisa crossed her legs and took a sip of her coffee. “I think it was love at first sight. One of those wham-bam things.”
“Mmm.” Cari twisted her cup, feeling the warmth against her thumb. She thought that strange when she felt so cold inside.
“Cari, I’m sorry.”
Cari looked into her friend’s honey-warm eyes and saw all her concern and caring. Marisa was one of those women who was beautiful on the outside as well as within. Looking at her delicate features and curly hair, one would think she was fragile and weak, but Marisa was one of the strongest women she knew.
“Hey, don’t feel sorry for me,” she told her. “Reed and I weren’t meant to be together. We’ve had a number of years to connect and we haven’t.”
Marisa glanced at her over the rim of her coffee cup. “I wonder why?”
“Incompatible,” Cari joked.
“But you work so well together.”
They did, but Cari didn’t know how much longer she could continue to do that.
“We don’t let our personal feelings get in the way of business. Dalton’s is always our top priority.”
Marisa looked straight at her. “You care more about Dalton’s than I ever did.”
“When you have to earn something, it means so much more.”
“I think that’s it.”
Cari blinked. “What? What are you talking about?”
“Reed
