RebeccaThe valet had been happy to take the car off their hands.“Two tonight?” the host greeted them as they walked through the door of the large steakhouse.Jason moved to the front and nodded at the host, talking with him as they walked back to the table. He reached back to help Rebecca remove her coat and slipped into the booth across from her, a smile on his handsome face. “You look beautiful, by the way.”“Me?” She set her purse down and reached up to fuss with her hair.“Yes, you.”“I’m in the same thing I was in earlier.”“I know, but the cold makes your cheeks and little nose red, and brings out the fiery color of your hair.” He shrugged and pulled his napkin into his lap. “You’re just stunning to me.”She wasn’t sure what to say. No one had ever called her stunning. Pretty, beautiful, lovely, sure, but stunning? No.“Thanks,” she whispered, her facade dropping a little as he smiled and chuckled. “What?”“You. You have such a wall built up around you where men are concerned.
RebeccaJason moved back across from Rebecca after the server left, and she raised her eyebrow, as if questioning him.“I want to see your expressions as we talk about this. I’ll move over there and paw at you later if this goes well.”She laughed and reached for another chip. “No pressure, right?”“None at all.” The seriousness of his voice and the stern look on his face laid open truth in his words.“I want to try us.” She held up her hand before he jumped in with celebration, which he seemed poised to do.“But?” he asked.“But, I need to work through a few things with you first.”“Us working together?”“No, I think we’re good there. But I’m not comfortable with mixing business and pleasure. I want everything to stay very professional with us at work. I don’t care if the office knows we’re dating, but we’ll not be touching or ‘pawing’ at each other in the office.”“What if I close the door?” He bit at his lip, looking far too attractive for his own good.She rolled her eyes and laug
RebeccaShe was a ball of nervous anticipation by the time they made it back to the hotel, Jason doing a great job of making simple conversation that didn’t deaden their lust but certainly didn’t throw fuel on the fire. She got out of the car, thanking the bellman and then walking into the warmth of the hotel. People filled every corner of the place, the conference attendees not seeming to have a ride around town. She was almost grateful for Parker and his ridiculous idea of a rental car. If they’d stayed at the hotel restaurant, it might have been a longer wait than their drive back from the restaurant. She felt Jason’s hand on the lower part of her back as he moved up beside her, excusing them all the way through the crowd. They slipped into the elevator and moved to the back as twelve other people piled in.She stepped back, looking over her shoulder in an apologetic way toward him as her back bumped into his chest. His fingers found her hips and he pulled her the rest of the way b
RebeccaThe soft buzz of the alarm was an unwelcome pest. Rebecca rolled over and pressed the snooze button, Jason moving up to snuggle in behind her. She collapsed back on her pillow. The seven a.m. wake up call had given her only two hours of sleep. There was definitely something to be said about younger men … they had endless energy.“Morning, beautiful,” he whispered, kissing the side of her neck and then her shoulder.She looked over at him and smiled at the sight of his handsome face filled with affection.“This is like a dream.”“What is?” she asked and then turned over to cough, pulling the covers up to cover herself.“Me waking up next to you.”He leaned over and kissed her lips, her hand coming up to touch his face. He moved closer, as if he wanted to replay the night’s events, and she laughed, unable to help herself.“What?”“What? It’s seven in the morning and we have a meeting at nine.”He laughed and kissed her again before getting up and baring himself without concern.
RebeccaRebecca climbed out of her car. The pub was packed with people because it was two dollar beer night. Thursday night was college night, and all the University of Houston students enjoyed a release. She remembered all too well having many Thursday nights at Barney’s. She pulled her coat tighter and walked toward the front door, a nagging sensation about Parker’s warning eating at her. She didn’t want to text Jason. It seemed like a controlling, silly thing to do.Yes they were together, but they were starting out with a trusting relationship. If he texted her that he was going to have dinner with an old flame she would either be put off or think it was a silly text and wonder if he thought she was controlling and overbearing. Either way, Parker wanted her to do it because of his own situation, not because it was reasonable.She walked in and was greeted by an uber-happy hostess who bopped up to the front. Rebecca smiled politely and pointed toward Kade, who was standing and wavi
RebeccaJason had called into work on Friday and Monday and ignored Rebecca’s calls and texts completely. Parker had railed at her over not telling Jason about meeting Kade, and if she felt any worse, she might jump from a building.Rebecca sat at her desk, the dark circles under her eyes throbbing from lack of sleep and crying. She should be at home, and yet there was too much to do because it was month-end for a lot of her clients. She worked late into the night every night and shut her door in the mid-afternoon, just to make sure no one stopped by to talk to her or invite her anywhere.Parker stuck his head in as the sun set in the window behind her, a sad smile on his face. “Come eat with me.”“I’m not hungry,” she mumbled and grabbed her calculator, her fingers furiously slipping over the keys.“You have to eat.”“No I don’t.”He walked in and she huffed loudly, closing the file in front of her and sitting back, the burn of misunderstanding sitting heavy on her chest. It hurt to
Rebecca“Is there really any point?” Rebecca huffed as her best friend Trisha stared her down from across the small table. Rebecca glanced around the bar, which was filled with people and buzzing with excitement.“You’re not going to be a killjoy tonight. We’re going out this weekend if it kills us. I’m stuck at home with four kids all day, not living the glamorous life of an entrepreneur.”“I’m not sure who sold you that lie, but I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arizona …” Rebecca smiled.The bar was busy, but the restaurant was dead around them, which always seemed to be the case on Thursday nights. Their ritual beer at five was a must-not-miss event and neither of them did, unless death or some other large-scale occurrence called them from it. They’d been friends for as long as Rebecca could remember, and yet she’d never grown tired of sharing life with Trisha.“What are you thinking? You have that look in your eye.”“What look?” Rebecca held up her empty beer mug, the waiter w
RebeccaRebecca pulled up to the large electronic gate, the apartments looming above her. It wouldn’t be long before she’d be in her new house, the builders hopefully sending out the new contractor on Saturday to do a final walk-through of the structure and talk about the design for the pool. If nothing else in her life was working out, at least her house was almost done and her business was booming.Having graduated at the top of her class from the University of Houston in business, she’d worked for a few accounting firms and gained a reputation for being brilliant, bold and innovative. A few years after working hard for the man and bringing him and all of his good old boys loads of money, she’d left and opened Martin and Co, a company led by a group of hard-working business professionals. She had an MBA and her license in accounting, and Parker, her business partner, had his masters in marketing with a specialization in multi-generational advertising. They were a one-stop shop for b