She couldn’t let herself think about it. It was too late to put the genie back in the bottle. Her heart hadn’t listened to her mind’s better judgment, but that didn’t mean she needed to indulge herself in dreams of happily ever after. Dreams that weren’t going to come true, no matter how much she wanted them to.
The way he’d taken her in the dressing room, claiming her, marking her as his, she’d been so overwhelmed by his fierce desire she’d almost shown him her heart. Almost. She wasn’t that far gone yet, and she sensed that if he knew how she felt, their time together would be cut short. She wasn’t looking forward to the pain of him leaving, but she wasn’t willing to give up what they had now to avoid it. She’d take what she could get for as long as she could stand it and then she’d move on and pray she survived.
Luke led her down the elegant sweep of the staircase and over to the alcove where the caterers had set up the bar. An older man in a tuxedo that hadn’t fit him for several years stood sucking down a tumbler of amber liquid that looking a lot like bourbon. When he saw Luke, he plastered on a smile so fake, Claire glanced at Luke to see if he’d noticed. It didn’t seem as if he had or maybe he just didn’t care.
“Luke, you old dog. This is a great day. The building couldn’t have turned out any better. I hope this means we’re back on track,” the older man said, slapping Luke’s back. “I’m ready to dig into the Atlanta project.”
“We can talk about that next week,” said Luke, looking uneasy for the first time that evening.
Maybe it was because she was there. She knew Luke worked with other general contractors, but she loved working with Matthews. They had integrity and gave her the freedom to do the job the way it needed to be done. And they were honest to a fault. Unlike some of the other jobs she’d worked on, safety was the top priority and stealing wasn’t tolerated on a Matthew’s job. Everybody who worked there knew it. And the contrast between sedate, thoughtful Mr. Matthews and this lecherous drunk couldn’t be clearer.
“Sure, sure,” said the man, running a hand through his greasy gray hair. “Who is this gorgeous creature with you tonight?”
Claire fought the urge to step away from the leering man. Either Luke sensed it or he was dealing with his own reaction because he tightened his grip on her hand and moved forward, putting himself slightly in front of her. After fighting so long to hold her own against men who didn’t think women belonged in construction, the move should‘ve hit all her closet misogynist buttons. It didn’t: she knew Luke respected her work. For now, at least, she was his, and he protected what was his. But she wouldn’t be forever and she always fought her own battles.
“I’d like to introduce you to Claire English,” Luke said, his voice as smooth as polished glass. “She owns English Electrical Contractors. They’re doing the work on the Triad project.”
Letting go of his hand for the first time that night, Claire stepped around Luke and forced herself to stick out her hand.
“Ed Samson, Miss English. It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said, setting his drink on the bar so he could take her hand in his damp, clammy one.
Before she could retreat he snatched her left hand, turning it so he could look at her fingers and pressing a wet kiss to her knuckles. Claire felt her shoulders hike up in a cringe and deliberately lowered them. Dude was creepy, but it was just a hand kiss. Her tetanus shot was up to date.
“No ring,” said Samson. “Did you get the firm in the divorce? Or was it your Daddy’s?”
“The firm is Claire’s,” said Luke, steel in his voice.
She loved that he wanted to defend her but it wouldn’t work with guys like Samson. They only saw what they wanted to and in their eyes, someone with tits was only good for one thing.
“Of course, of course,” said Ed, waving Luke away.
Claire managed to get her left hand back, but he still held tight to her right one. He must be even drunker than he seemed. For a guy who wanted to do business with Masters he’d sure as hell misread the situation.
“But who holds the license? You’re not telling me a pretty little thing like this,” he said, slobbering another kiss over her knuckles. “Is a licensed commercial electrician?”
He laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, slapping his knee and wheezing, and Claire was finally able to pull her hand back. Behind her, she felt Luke practically vibrating. The last thing she wanted was for a sleazy sexist dick like Samson to ruin what should have been a great night for him.
“Shocking I know, but I am,” she said, letting her drawl run thick as honey. “A licensed general contractor, too. My firm’s the best in the business.” She ignored Samson’s snort. “You work with E & E Electric, don’t you?” The research she’d done before she bid with Matthews was about to pay off. “I’d be happy to bid your next project if you’re interested. I don’t low ball, but I also don’t run twenty percent over like E & E with inflated change orders. Wire is included in all my bids,” she said, smiling sweetly and had the pleasure of watching Samson splutter and cough.
All those hours of looking into the practices and reading the bids of competing firms had more than paid off. E & E was notorious for being the lowest bid and finishing the job over budget, far above the highest bid, because of change orders for things that should have been included in the initial bid.
“If you gentlemen will excuse me, I’d like to say good-bye to Councilman Waters before he leaves.” She turned and walked away, putting a little sway in her hips.
LUKE WATCHEDCLAIRE walk away, her ass swinging like a beacon, drawing the attention of every man she passed.Fucking spectacular, the woman was fucking spectacular.
He turned to follow her, not bothering to say good bye to Samson. He didn’t know what to say to the man who’d behaved like a dick and then gotten his ass handed to him by the beautiful woman Luke couldn’t seem to ever get enough of. Anything he said to him now, would likely end in a fight anyway. Matthews might not be the right choice but Luke was more certain than ever that Samson wasn’t.
“Got to follow the pussy,” muttered Samson.
Luke pivoted, took a step forward, cocked his fist and plowed it into vile idiot’s face. He felt the man’s nose break and saw him start to go down. Before he hit the floor, Luke had turned and was making his way to Claire’s side.
“Will you excuse us, your Honor?” said Luke, standing behind Claire with his arms around her waist. He didn’t care what it looked like or if it made her uncomfortable. He was tired of other men staring at her and even more tired of his damn party. “Ready to go, sweetheart?”
Claire glanced over her shoulder at him, her expression puzzled, but if she caught any of the commotion at the bar she didn’t let on.
“Of course, if you are,” she said, slipping out of his arms to take the politician’s hand. “It was a real pleasure to meet you, sir. If I lived closer you could count on my vote.”
“The pleasure was all mine,” said the charmed councilman, as Claire leaned in to hug his pretty blonde companion. “Any chance you can convince her to move north, Masters?”
“The woman has a mind of her own,” said Luke, shaking hands. It made it that much sweeter when she surrendered to him, something he was eager to experience again as soon as he could get her back to the penthouse.
