Beau was surprised he could put one foot in front of the other, much less form a halfway coherent thought. He was glad his agent, Dan Leventhal, had his fingers clamped firmly around Beau's elbow, guiding him. And that he, Beau, himself had done enough public kiss ass things that he could flip his switch to automatic. He smiled as they walked the rest of the way to the room where the event was being held, nodding to people.And all the while one thought kept running through his brain.Fuck! Sarah York here? Right here in Tampa?He blinked for a moment, wondering if he'd just conjured her up, since she'd been on his brain every night for the past six years. But no, when he glanced at her, crowding against one wall with some of the staff, he saw people chatting with her, some shaking her hand. She was real. Definitely real.She had blossomed into a mature woman who just blew him away. Her thick auburn hair that he remembered felt like fine silk when he sifted his fingers through it.
Now Beau was left alone with the woman who lived in his dreams constantly. He stared at her, memorizing this new, older, more sophisticated Sarah. More mouthwatering, although the original had been great. The silence between them grew until it was practically a living thing. Why didn't she say something, even if it was to tell him to go to hell? Finally he cleared his throat."Good to see you again, Sarah." "Is it?" Frost dripped from her words. She stood there behind her desk, pinning him with her gaze. "I'm surprised you're not busy with your fan club? I've seen all kinds of pictures of you with your adoring fans clinging to you like leeches.""Pictures can be misleading," he told her. "Anyway, this was a media event. Something different, but you know that, right?" When she didn't answer, he cleared his throat and blew out a breath. Just get it out there, he told himself. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I am truly, truly sorry.""Oh?" She lifted an eyebrow. "Exactly what is it you're apologi
At six thirty Sarah closed the folder on her desk, shut down her computer and sent her phone to voice mail. Time to get ready. One of the perks that came with her suite of offices as In House Counsel was a fully outfitted private bathroom. She wished she'd thought to bring a change of clothing with her today, then mentally smacked herself in the head. Slow down, she told herself. She didn't need to shower and change from the inside out. This wasn't a date. It was a drink. That was it. Nothing else. Still, she took time to refresh her makeup, brush her teeth and spritz herself with cologne. She was still not fully recovered from seeing Beau again after all this time. Beau. The star of her many nights of erotic dreams. She was so proud that she'd kept it together, maintaining her cool and not letting him see how much his appearance rattled her. Usually she kept up with the sports news and she'd meant to Google everything she could find about the Tampa Bay Rough Riders. Chris had given
Now that she was here, now that he had touched her again, she suddenly wasn't sure that this was such a good idea. He was older, and the maturity looked good on him. The lines around his eyes were deeper, probably from squinting into the sun, and his face had a leaner, harder look. His hair was the same streaky blonde, just a little longer now, curling at his collar. And his eyes were the same melted chocolate color, deep pools that it would be so easy to get lost in. She had to admit he looked way too appealing in his red silk sport shirt and his dark brown slacks. Holy god, he was still Mr. Hot Stuff. And more.But worse than that, the same sizzle of electricity that had seared them that night in New Orleans apparently hadn't diminished over time. Electricity that could burn her again if she let it. She probably would have embarrassed herself by staring more but fortunately the waiter came over to take their orders. Beau asked for a beer and on a whim Sarah asked for one, too.
And don't ask about it, was the signal. Oo-kay. Twice she'd asked and both times he'd shut her down. To say her curiosity was piqued was an understatement. Tonight, however, wasn't the time to push it. And if they never saw each other again it wouldn't matter diddlysquat to her.Time for a safer topic, so she switched to football."Tell me how you came to be with the Rough Riders ," she urged. "I knew you were a free agent but I got busy with my new job and lost track after that.""Wow." He drained the rest of his beer. "I would think being part of the Tampa Bay Rough Riders now you'd have picked up on the chatter about it."She laughed. "You'd think, right? From Day One I was running faster than I ever have to catch up. The last In House counsel got a cherry job and left with very little notice, right at the busiest part of the year."As they chatted she could actually see the tension easing from his body. That must be some damn story, she thought. As they chatted she found her
When they were seated in the dining room Beau noted that Sarah switched her drink to iced tea so he did the same."You don't have to change just because I did," she pointed out.He shrugged. "Two beers were plenty for me. I'm good."And he was, in more ways than one, He'd just spent more than an hour in a dark corner booth with the woman of his dreams. What could be better than that except to take her to bed, something he hoped to accomplish before too long but not tonight. No, this time he was going to do it right. He had a sense that she was doing this to get him out of her system. Well, there was no getting her out of his system, so it was up to him to make sure this thing stayed on track.He deliberately pushed any obstacles from his mind. Tomorrow he planned to call his attorney and have him contact Lacey's attorney. The message? Stay out of my life or I'll go to court and renegotiate the financial agreement. He was iffy about introducing her to Toby until he saw where this th
Sarah closed out the contract she was reviewing and leaned back in her chair. An alert from her calendar flashed in the upper corner of her screen and she smiled. 5:30 Dinner at Beau's HouseDinner at Beau's house. Wow! Had it only been one short week ago since the afternoon of the press conference and the incredible dinner at Jake's After Dark? If someone had told her that morning the two of them would be together riding high on their feelings for each other she'd have smacked them down and called them stupid. Yet here she was, so deep into this relationship after only seven days that she couldn't imagine being without him.Slow down, she kept telling herself. Trust came very hard to her and while she wanted to believe him when he told her this was it for him—that after six years he was where he was supposed to be all along—she still wondered if, or when, it would all fall apart. When he'd trade her in for the next woman."I'm going to make you believe in me no matter what I have
The gated community Beau lived in was about half an hour from the Rough Riders headquarters, and fortunately against the wave of traffic. She gave her name to the guard on duty who waved her through the gates. At the house she punched in the gate code Beau had given her, waited while the ironwork gates slid smoothly open and drove on up the curving drive and parked at the steps to the front door. She climbed out of the car and took her first good look at Beau Perini's residence.The architecture was slightly Mediterranean, as were a lot of the buildings in Florida. Exquisite landscaping surrounded the two-story home that soared up to a red barrel tile roof. The elaborately carved front door opened and Beau jogged out to meet her. She stopped a moment, the sight of him taking her breath away. He was dressed in khakis and a shirt almost the exact shade of chocolate as his eyes and the sun caught the highlights in his blond hair. He could have stepped off the cover of a magazine about s