Even then, seated in the back of Grant’s cruiser, with her chin jutted out as if she would do battle with the world, he had admired her spirit. Here was this young woman, a kid really, with a sharp tongue and an even worse attitude, who took a bad situation and came out swinging.
He had Grant look up her address the next day and went back to check on her to make sure she was all right, but she sent her sister out to send him away. So, he’d left. He knew her pride, more than anything, had been wounded, and he gave her space to heal in her own way.
Eventually, he went back to law school, and when they did finally cross paths, it was clear she had chosen to keep him at a distance with a version of herself meant to push him away. He had honored that and kept things cool between them, but that night had changed his life forever, even if she didn’t want to acknowledge it.
Working with her every day, sharing the highs and lows of their runs, learning about her, smelling her, touching her body, taking care of her had only intensified his desire, and now he wanted all of her. It wasn't something he considered lightly.
Despite his casual relationships, Theo never entered intosomething before he had studied all the angles and thought through each step like a high-stakes chess game.
He thought through the opinions and judgments of the town. Even Neal’s perspective, which might have held more weight in different circumstances, was carefully considered and dismissed.
All the reservations and calculations fell away, and he knew what he wanted with an intensity that surpassed mere desire and went straight to the heart. He wanted her and it was time.
"Haveyou heard from the boss man today?" Amber asked nonchalantly as she sat on the edge of Charlotte's desk, swinging her hot pink heels to see the silly poof of fur wave. If someone asked her point-blank, she would not admit that she had dressed this morning not for herself, but for someone else: Theo.
After last night at the lake, she had expected him at her door at six-thirty a.m. for their usual morning run, but instead she woke up to a text telling her to sleep in, that he had something to do in the morning. It was almost crushing how disappointed she was.
Instead of turning off the alarm and going back to sleep, she got up and ran on her own. She had a streak going, after all, and the race was just a week away. Bitter disappointment was her company as she sweated out three miles on her own. She only cheated a little when her lungs felt like they might collapse, and she needed to sit for a bit. It was nice for once not to have Theo pushing her to get up and try harder and just do it.
But she missed him.
Charlotte's sky-blue chiffon blouseand cream suit had a Grace Kelly vibe today as she sat behind her computer. "Yes, he had a personal issue to take care of this morning," Charlotte said. "He said he'd be in a little while, but you just missed Johnny. He said your car’s all set and he took back the loaner.”
"Oh," Amber said, all the wind taken out of her sails. How could she be disappointed in Theo with that kind of generosity? She would pay him back. She had already started calling all of her credit card companies to get the final balances to keep track of what she owed. The heavy weight of her finances had been there for so long, she was barely able to imagine a life without it. Hope and a nebulous, deep-seated fear whirled in her confusingly.
"How are things coming with the gala planning?" Charlotte asked.
“Okay, I think,” Amber nervously. She picked at a string on her sleeve.
“Just okay?”
Working on the gala has been surprisingly fun for Amber, giving her something to focus on other than lusting after her boss, but now that the day was almost here, nerves were starting to rear their ugly head. Who thought it would be a good idea to let her plan this? She couldn’t even think about it without getting queasy.
There had been quite a few humiliations in her life already, but this event was important to Theo, and therefore, important to her. It had to be successful. She couldn’t bear it if she failed him. “Have you seen how many tickets we've sold?" she asked Charlotte.
Charlotte looked at her computer and clicked around a few times. "We're almost sold out," she said, surprised, "and that's with the extended space at the Grand River Hotel."
Fresh nerves flooded Amber. She didn't want to put it into words, even to Charlotte, that despite never working onanything harder in her life, with the exception of running, she was terrified she was going to fail spectacularly and quite publicly.
In fact, in any of her previous efforts—schooling or jobs—this was the time where she would usually give up, afraid to continue, afraid of what failure would feel like. But now, despite all that fear still being there, compounded even more by how important the night was to Theo, Charlotte, Todd, and even Neal, she had to stick it out.
It was enough to send her back to her office to look for emergency sugar rations, but her drawers were empty.
She looked up a while later when she heard Theo come in, and her body unconsciously relaxed. He stopped by each of the offices, giving Diane her chocolate croissant and dropping off fresh-baked donuts for Charlotte and Todd, before stopping in her office.
"You better not be coming in here with green juice after giving them sugar," she said archly, leaning back so he could take full advantage of her wrap dress.
Theo flashed a grin, leaning against the doorframe. Dimples showing before ten a.m. should be outlawed, she thought crankily. His suit was crisp, beautifully tailored, his pristine white shirt hugged his tall form perfectly.
He held up two hands, one with a paper bag and the other a to-go cup. "How about both?" he asked.
She melted. "I suppose," she said. She reached for the sugar first, setting it next to her on the desk, trying not to stare and failing.
She let her gaze take a slow, delicious crawl up and down his body. She knew the shape of that body now, the feel of thosepowerful thighs between hers in the water, exactly how long and thick and hard he was, rubbing between her legs.
Desire so intense it made her catch her breath, made her sit up and clench her thighs together against the ache there.
Only to find him staring at her with the same intensity.
