She’d literally taken his breath away.
Cal had hoped that when he first saw her, their first encounter in fourteen years, he would be perfectly suave. He’d hoped that he would exude some kind of incredible charm and she would see him, forget her reasons for abandoning him, and just run into his arms.
Instead, she had stolen his breath away and he, in turn, had turned her sweet, curious gaze into one of absolute fear. Her kissable crimson lips had formed a perfect “O” before she spun her sexy figure around and strode toward the entrance, her luscious backside swaying, mesmerizing him. A primal lust had swept over him, destroying all sensible thoughts for a moment. But it was an instant too long and she was almost to the elevator by the time he’d called out.
Though it had been sheer coincidence, fate he preferred to think, that had intervened and drawn him to her workplace, it was in fact at the insistence of the Hawthorne Incorporated’s marketing team that he’d even considered doing business with the firm. They were the best of the best, he’d been told, a giant in the independent business scene. If he was going to revitalize the Gold Coast property, draw vast numbers of new clientele, and make good on his side of the deal, then he needed the help of the people at Insight Marketing.
It hadn’t been until late last night, while drowning his sorrows in a bottle of bourbon after his fruitless meeting with Madison, that he’d decided to ask for the internet’s opinion of the firm. After a few clicks in, he’d found her and needed to pinch himself to prove he hadn’t been dreaming, hadn’t fallen into some kind of alcoholic coma.
He’d found her. He’d really finally found his Lucy Spencer.
Cal had barely slept through the night, fearful that she would somehow sense his discovery, that she would abandon him once again. He’d kept the knowledge to himself, grateful that he hadn’t told Madison the name of the marketing firm he’d be working with. It had made him almost paranoid that even the smallest utterance of the discovery would somehow work against him and she would disappear. He hadn’t even said it out loud to himself.
Cal couldn’t believe how close she’d been, how nearby she’d worked for so many years, without him even running into her in the city. It was exhilarating, shiver-inducingly strange to think that she could’ve passed him on the street numerous times and they’d just missed each other by a side of the street, by a corner, by a glance. With this new knowledge, Cal could’ve almost felt certain that the universe had been trying to keep them apart, had it not been for the fact that he’d finally found her.
Being so close to something he’d wanted for such a long period of time had made him desperately apprehensive and tense. Unable to sleep and with the fear and the constant waiting grating on him, he’d arrived two hours early to his meeting with the Insight Marketing team.
Though Cal had planned to catch Lucy in the lobby as she’d arrived, hoping that they might have some privacy during their reunion, he’d been unlucky enough to have been discovered by the director of the firm as he’d paced nervously around the decorative lounge.
Agreeing to her request, he’d come upstairs and mentally altered his plan. Surely, if he was already in the office, it would make things easier. For one, there would be no chance of Lucy spotting him through the glass entrance as her boss had—pacing around in the lobby like a nutter—giving her an opportunity to run away before he’d even seen her. And secondly, she wouldn’t be able to escape so easily from the twelfth floor, not when her boss and work colleagues were around, making it necessary for her to go through the difficulty of explaining herself if she wished to leave.
Though it had been a good plan in theory, he’d severely underestimated her—and her lingering hostile feelings toward him.
The bell of the elevator had already rung by the time his wits finally returned. Lucy was now completely out of sight and her three colleagues were still standing in front of him, halfway between him and the elevator, looking as stunned by the situation as he’d been just a moment before.
Apologizing to the striking older woman beside him—whose name he’d been unable to put to memory due to his intense distress—he began to jog down the aisle past colorful cubicles and glass-doored offices. With another apology, he pushed through the three staff members, hindered only slightly by the male who—protectively or possibly jealously—tried to block his path.
Cal was a few feet from the elevator as the doors locked in place and the light of the large down arrow on the wall blinked off. Lunging at the buttons, his first instinct was to call the second lift so that he could follow her down. Yet, when he glanced around the small elevator foyer, a large door to the right caught his attention. Fire door, it read.
He ran over to it, tried the handle and the door opened inwardly. Relieved that he hadn’t set off an alarm, Cal dashed inside and began hurrying down the concrete steps. He managed to descend each set in gigantic leaps, taking three steps at a time, sometimes five and the big, black numbers on the fire doors on each second landing were changing, falling. He was at floor ten, then nine. Cal moved faster. Seven. Before he knew it, he was at floor five, then four. Almost there. He knew he would beat her to the lobby. He had to—there was no alternative. He had to see her again—and this time, she wouldn’t be able to get away.
*
Lucy had been forced to stop at three floors, even though she’d pressed the doors closed button with such force she’d expected to break it. People had come and gone and stayed, but she was now on her way to ground level.
Ignoring the whispers of the two young businessmen behind her, Lucy stepped closer to the elevator door, anxiously waiting for it to open into the tall, white tiled expanse of the lobby.
She couldn’t believe Callum had found her! If she wasn’t certain that she’d scream the whole time, Lucy would’ve called Maddy and told her off for her betrayal. How else could Cal have known where she’d worked? He hadn’t even looked surprised—or at least not initially. Once he’d seen her fear, she’d noticed his expression change and his eyes begin to grow large with shock. How surprised he must have been when she’d turned and left!
But, what had he expected her to do? Run into his arms? How ridiculous!
At least she’d managed to have enough sense to get away, even though fear had all but paralyzed her. But what was she to do now? Cal knew where she worked. She might have escaped him this time, might be able to avoid his calls to her work phone, ignore the emails to her work account, but that didn’t change the fact that he knew where she’d be five days a week. It also wouldn’t stop him from dropping by the office whenever he wanted, making her life miserable in the process. She couldn’t work from home every day.
A thought flashed into Lucy’s mind, the image of Julia’s displeased expression as she’d turned to leave. Biting her lower lip, Lucy wrung her hands nervously. That was assuming she still had a job after today.
As her apprehension built at the thought of losing the job she loved so dearly, a sickening feeling of dread washed over her. She was trapped either way. If Julia didn’t fire her for her poor behavior in front of an important client, then she had no doubt that Cal would be there, daily if necessary, trying to convince her of the sincerity of their friendship. If Julia did choose to cease her employment with the firm, then he could easily get her details from Trent or anyone else with unscrupulous morals when offered a great deal of money. Lucy thought even Julia would cave if seduced by the promise of further business dealings.
That was it then. She was trapped and it was over. After more than a decade of trying to move on from the past, it had finally, and literally, caught up with her.
No, she thought defiantly. I will not give in to that liar… that womanizer… that false friend!
While she still had her free will and while she still remembered the toxicity of their past relationship, she was not about to give in to his request for friendship so easily. He had betrayed her. He had hurt her. He had broken her heart. In her mind, she couldn’t see any coming back from that. What they’d had, the relationship they’d shared, was over and always would be. He was wasting his time if he believed that they could be anything more than passing acquaintances now.
Having talked herself out of a panic attack, Lucy raised her head high and squared her shoulders, confident in her convictions. She wasn’t that pathetic teenager anymore, wasn’t innocent and malleable and naïve. She was a strong, intelligent, sensible woman and she would fight Cal off until he finally left her alone.
“Ground floor.”
The sound of the elevator’s automated voice had Lucy’s heart leaping. She was almost free, at least for today, and that at any rate would garner her more time to plan what to do next.
As the doors opened slowly, Lucy began to squeeze herself through the small, but widening opening. She wasn’t about to waste any time waiting for useless things like elevator doors, especially when Cal may have followed her down and could be in the other lift behind her. She couldn’t risk even an extra second.
That thought had Lucy looking briefly over her shoulder at the lift as she stepped free of the confinement of the elevator and into the clean, quiet lobby. Distracted, she slammed straight into the hard body of some tall, innocent bystander. As she reeled back, her hand pressed against the very muscular, masculine figure beneath the soft suit jacket. She began to apologize. It was only when she turned her head, her eye-level meeting the dark navy of his suit collar and the crisp white of his shirt, that her stomach sank. Pushing herself away from him, Lucy’s gaze rose up along the line of a honey-tanned neck, beyond a strong jaw roughened with sandy colored stubble to that all too familiar face.
Though many years had passed and they were now both thirty-two, Callum Hawthorne was still as ruggedly handsome as ever. The almost military short haircut she remembered him being fond of during their school days had been replaced with a modern style, trimmed close at the back and sides with a neatly styled mop of sandy blond hair on top. His honey-hued skin, with a slight flush around his cheeks still looked delectable with just the slightest of creases around his full, cupid’s bow lips and at the corners of his alluring blue-grey eyes. Yet those eyes, she observed, no longer held that teasing glint that always made her smile, but were instead full of a desperation and longing she had never seen in them before.
It had been no more than a mere second, maybe two, before Lucy realized that she had paused in her retreat, absolutely captivated by him. She was glad it was early enough that the expanse of the white-tiled lobby was almost empty of people and that her moment of stupidity could pass almost unnoticed. Mentally chiding herself, she backed up and felt her eyes grow wide as she began to feel more and more like a cornered animal. But it was too late. As she moved back, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.
“Lucy.”
He’d said her name with such pleading despair, that the hand she’d involuntarily begun to raise to slap him paused in its motion. She stared deeply into his smoky-blue eyes, enthralled by the emotion in his voice. Then he pulled her, forcing her to stumble toward him and the movement snapped her back to reality. The palm of her hand hit his face with an audible whack.
“How dare you!” she growled at him as she tried to release herself from his grip.
But her struggle was futile. He was simply too strong and his hand, large as it was, wrapped wholly around her wrist with ease. As her free hand, still sore from where it had slapped against his cheek, fell to her side, his free hand in turn went to his reddened skin. Shock filled his gorgeous eyes as he gazed down at her.
“How dare I?” Cal spoke the words slowly, his voice full of incredulity.
Lucy felt fury contort her expression. Angrily, she poked his hard chest with her index finger.
“Yes, you! How dare you come here and interfere with my work? Who knows if I even have a job after the display upstairs? How could you do that to me?”
With rage and adrenalin filling her veins, Lucy felt her body tremble slightly. Her heart ached with the fear of losing her beloved job, but she knew a deeper fear existed. As she felt her face blush hotly and her eyes begin to well with tears, she looked away from him and tried to regain her composure. She would not cry in front of him, she wouldn’t give him that pleasure.
Yet, she knew deep down why she was really upset, why she was really terrified. The thought of giving in, of letting Cal back into her heart again was much more frightening than losing even the most perfect job in the world. For she was certain, if she opened herself up to him, gave him everything he wanted, then he would surely break her heart all over again.
Clenching her hands into fists, she fought for control over her emotions and then glared back up at Cal. The jovial expression she was so used to seeing on a younger version of that face was non-existent and replaced by a mixture of confusion and compassion. With his furrowed brows shadowing his eyes and his sensuous lips poised open as if ready to protest, he looked like a beaten puppy and her heart ached to make that kissable mouth smile again.
Damn it, Lucy thought angrily as she forced her eyes to the floor.
That one instant had proved it all, and it was worse than she’d imagined. Somewhere inside that treasonous organ, the one that used to skip a beat every time Cal had winked at her teenage self, there was a piece of her that had never truly given up on him. It was as though the love she’d had for him was branded inside her forever, both a permanent reminder and a permanent weakness. And that, she was sure, was definitely the most terrifying thing of all.
*
Cal could barely breathe, even though his mouth hung open ready to either retort or apologize. He just couldn’t seem to decide which.
How dare he, Lucy had said, and she’d been right, in part. Her shocked reaction to his being there could be enough to jeopardize her employment, which would explain her fear and the tears he’d watched her struggle to contain. Yet, that was something he was almost certain he could guarantee wouldn’t happen. With his wealth and influence, nothing was ever too far out of reach, especially ensuring a very clever marketing professional stayed put in her very successful marketing job.
From where he held tightly onto her delicate, pale wrist, Cal began to caress Lucy’s skin reassuringly with his fingers.
“I would never do that to you,” he told her, his voice deepening with sincerity. “I would never do anything to jeopardize your livelihood. Madison has told me how much you love your job.”
On hearing Madison’s name, Lucy’s gaze rose back to his, and he found himself drowning in the depths of her tranquil blue eyes. It was like staring into the idyllic waters surrounding a tropical island, all beautiful bright blue and turquoise hues. If he’d been paying more attention, he would have realized that they were filled with a fierce fury, which only seemed to be growing as each millisecond passed. But he was oblivious and—like a love-starved pet—he was completely mesmerized.
“Maddy told you,” Lucy seethed through gritted teeth.
Cal nodded obediently. “I always ask her about you.”
It only took an instant for the ferociousness in her eyes to spread across her face.
“I knew it,” she all but screamed.
Cal was flabbergasted. What had happened? What had he missed?
Then, distracted by her outburst, he made another mistake and his grip on Lucy’s wrist loosened slightly. As if sensing his lapse in control, she used the whole weight of her small frame to jerk herself free of his hold and with a triumphant sigh she began to back away.
“So, you orchestrated this together, did you? What, did you seduce Maddy too? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
Cal’s gaze narrowed with concern. “What are you talking about, Luce?”
Worried that she’d run before he had a chance to explain, Cal reached out and took a step toward her. But, Lucy immediately backed farther away, taking two steps for his single stride.
“What did you give her to make her finally tell you where I was?”
Her fiery glare was enough to make his fingers ache to touch her, to soothe her. He hated seeing her in so much distress.
“Nothing.” His voice was calm, pacifying. “She didn’t tell me.”
Lucy frowned and her gaze dropped from his, confusion clearly clouding her expression.
“But I—” She shook her head with irritation and glanced back up at him. “But how did you know that I’d be here?”
Cal smiled as he remembered the moment of pure serendipity, the second he’d seen her gorgeous face on the team’s profile page on the Insight Marketing website. Executive Manager Lucy S., it had read. Cal had tried searching the internet for her before, but to no avail. There had always been too many Lucy Spencers and he’d been convinced that she must have altered her name. Yet, this time he’d found her, so simply found her, as though the universe had finally pointed her out to him.
“Fate,” he said confidently.
When her uncertain expression refused to waver, he shrugged nonchalantly.
“Maybe luck, coincidence even. My marketing team referred me to your firm regarding a new project I’m working on.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she didn’t back away as Cal took another careful step toward her in an attempt to close the painful distance.
“It was only last night that I found out you happened to work for the same firm. I haven’t even told Madison what I discovered. I didn’t want to jinx anything, risk you finding out I was coming and then not giving me a chance to explain.”
Crossing her arms over her ample chest, Lucy’s gaze roamed over Cal’s face, as though assessing his expression would help her recognize his honesty.
Although he tried to fight the urge, Cal’s eyes slipped down, roaming over the full, pert breasts that were being further thrust in his direction above the silky fabric of Lucy’s blouse with each shallow breath. As he imagined gently nibbling that plump, creamy skin between his teeth, he felt an ache of longing in his groin.
“What makes you think you even deserve a chance to explain?” Lucy’s voice was soft and to the point, sounding very much as though she was testing him.
Cal looked up into Lucy’s wary eyes. “Because I care about you. Because I miss you and I’m pretty sure you’ve missed me too.”
Lucy’s full, crimson lips morphed from a defiant pout into a firm line. “That’s it? Because you missed me?”
As a spark of white, hot anger flickered through her spectacular turquoise eyes, Cal felt himself swallow nervously.
“Yes.” He nodded slowly. “My life has been empty without you in it, Luce. I just want things to go back to the way they were.”
It was a lie and Cal knew it, but he was too afraid that the truth would only prove to scare her off quicker.
“The way they were,” she repeated, her tone slightly incredulous.
Feeling suddenly overwhelmingly anxious, Cal moved closer to her in an effort to close the remaining gap of agonizing space between them. But Lucy was too quick for him this time and backed up, putting even more distance between them than they’d had just a moment before.
He sighed, paused in place, and nodded at her. “Yes. Like it was before. Is that too much to ask?”
“Hmm,” she said as her index finger went to her lips and she appeared to pretend to think for a second. “Is it?” Her tone was abruptly sarcastic. Then her furious gaze bore into him. “Yes, I think it is,” she told him. She pointed her index finger aggressively in his direction, but was careful to keep at a safe distance. “Of course, you would like to go back to that, wouldn’t you? What, aren’t there enough women left in your hemisphere of wealth and success that you’ve got to come trolling down into mine?”
Cal’s jaw dropped in astonishment. How had they gotten onto this subject? Having her back in his life and his crazy dating habits were definitely not the same thing, even though dating and her would make a fine topic all on its own.
Quickly, he shook his head. He had to clear up the misunderstanding, even if he hadn’t a clue as to how it had happened. Was this why she’d refused to reconnect with him sooner? His terrible dating behavior? What had Madison told her?
“No, Luce. You’ve got it wrong.” Cal opened his mouth to continue, but she shut him down.
“Don’t you dare call me that! I am not your Luce anymore! And I’ll never be that same person to you again!”
Her words struck him like an arrow through the heart and he felt himself reach for her once more, wounded but desperate.
Dismissing his gesture, she spun around and walked away swiftly, nearly running toward the front doors of the building’s elaborate facade.
“Lucy!” Cal called after her, but he knew she wouldn’t stop. He’d really done it this time, though he’d had no idea what he’d done.
She needs you to understand how badly you hurt her before she can forgive you.
Madison’s words rang in his ears. Yet it still didn’t help him understand.
Obviously, he had to have done something terrible, something wicked enough for Lucy to prefer keeping him out of her life for good rather than face dealing with him and what he’d done on a daily basis. But what was it? Was he more of an obnoxious, self-centered bastard than he thought he was? Or was he just completely stupid, ignorant, and oblivious to the pain he’d caused her?
Cal stared after her, his mind racing, trying to discover the reason behind her anger toward him. Then, as he watched, Lucy disappeared out the door like an angel in a ray of bright, white sunlight. His angel.
And Cal suddenly knew what he had to do. One way or another, Lucy was going to tell him what he had done to hurt her so badly and then, he would do anything and everything in his power to make things right before he told her how he truly felt about her.
Then, he vowed to himself, I’ll never ever do anything to lose her again.