Two weeks had passed since that stormy night when a dashing man dressed in a suit and drenched from head to toe had stumbled through her door needing her help. He had given her so much that night, Poppy thought to herself as she finished zipping up her dress.
Life had felt empty before, but after Felix walked out her door, it had become unbearable. The silence she had grown accustomed to was deafening. Even Bo’s company wasn’t cutting it anymore. The time they had spent together reminded her of how good it could be to have someone near, someone to share your bed and your thoughts with. She hadn’t realized how much she missed simple connection with another human being until after Felix.
She tried to occupy herself by delving further into her books and baking—her other favorite pastime. But none of it worked, and after two days and nights of restlessness, Poppy decided it was time to get back into the world and start looking for a job.
Spending each afternoon in the city, walking the streets and filling out applications, she had managed to keep her mind fairly occupied. It was the nights, when the world grew quiet again and she was left to her thoughts, that were the problem. When Felix wasn’t dominating every waking thought, he was starring in her dreams. She could still feel his touch on her skin, taste him on her lips.
And Bo wasn’t fairing much better.
He never had trusted people, which meant that he never liked anyone either. After Felix, Bo was a different dog. She often found him sitting on the porch watching the road as if he were waiting for something…or someone. And when Poppy settled down with him in the evenings, he sat by her feet while she held a book in her hands, and fixed sad eyes on the door, letting out an occasional whine from time to time like a heartbroken child.
The only change in their lives had been Felix, so Poppy had to contribute Bo’s behavior to him. It seemed he had worked his way into both their hearts and when he walked out that door, he had taken a piece of them both with him. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part. Bo was probably just reacting to her shift in mood. He always had been very perceptive.
Shaking off her self-imposed depression, Poppy slipped into a pair of sensible black pumps and scooped up the black suit jacket that went with the formfitting casual dress she was wearing from the foot of the bed and headed downstairs.
The time for self-pitying was over. Poppy had a job interview with a very important man at a very important business in the heart of downtown. Having been out of the workforce for nearly a year, she was as excited as she was nervous.
After rummaging through her purse and a few coat pockets, she finally tracked down her car keys and, with a quick hug and a promise to return later for Bo, she was out the door.
***
Poppy was flushed by the time she reached the office. Traffic had been murder, even at ten in the morning, and she had had to hunt for the always elusive parking spot. After nearly fifteen minutes of circling a four block radius, she caught sight of a car pulling away. Pulling off a few reckless maneuvers and earning a few angry gestures, she managed to dart into the spot without causing an accident or getting a ticket.
The downside was that the spot was three blocks away from her destination and she’d had to jog the distance—in heels—crossing traffic and dodging pedestrians the whole way. Once she entered the high-rise office building, she found the elevators were under maintenance and ended up having to take the stairs…to the thirty-fourth floor.
Winded and damp with perspiration, Poppy approached the receptionist desk with a tired smile.
“Can I help you?” The woman behind the desk was gorgeous. With wide blue eyes that matched her blouse, perfectly coifed blonde hair and brilliant straight white teeth set behind full pink lips, the woman held an air of superiority, and Poppy instantly felt dull with her plain brown hair and simple features.
Smoothing a stray hair behind her ear, Poppy forced herself to stand up straight. “Um, yes, I’m here for an interview with Mr. Bradshaw.”
A blonde eyebrow arched in response and a smug look stole across the receptionist’s face. “You’re late, and Mr. Bradshaw is a very busy man,” she said sternly.
Poppy bristled. She didn’t like being talked down to and had to force herself not to bite the woman’s head off. Not to mention, she’d come too damn far and climbed too damn many stairs to leave without so much as a hihowarya.
Taking a measured breath, Poppy forced a bright smile. “I apologize for being late. But if you would please tell Mr. Bradshaw that I am here, I am sure he will want to see me.”
When she had talked to him on the phone, Mr. Bradshaw seemed very eager to meet with her. He had said that she was just what they were looking for. This was a great opportunity and Poppy had been looking forward to meeting the man. She wasn’t about to turn around and leave over a few lost minutes.
“Regardless, I’m afraid I can’t do that. Mr. Bradshaw is in a very important meeting and cannot be interrupted,” the receptionist informed her.
“Then I’ll wait for Mr. Bradshaw to finish with his meeting,” Poppy replied and took a seat in one of the comfortable-looking leather seats behind her.
Shrugging, the receptionist went back to the stack of papers she had been working on. “Suit yourself.”
***
“Lucky Mac was just finishing his repairs when we came in, huh?” Katherine said beside him as the elevator jolted into motion.
Felix nodded. “Saved me from having to hike over thirty flights, that’s for sure.”
Katherine stepped into him, a seductive smile playing on her red painted lips. “Tonight. My place. Eight o’clock?”
Felix shrugged off the finely-boned hand that had been working its way across his chest and under his blazer. One good thing about Katherine: you could always count on her cutting to the chase.
The redhead’s lips pushed out in a pretty pout, but she took the hint and stepped back.
“Sorry, Katherine, but I’m busy tonight.” And tomorrow night, and the next night, and the next…Felix hadn’t been with a woman since that night. He had tried, oh, he had tried, but each time when it came down to it, he ended up saying goodnight. Spending the night with random women just wasn’t doing it for him anymore. Once he sat down to a quiet dinner for two and they opened their mouth, he would inevitably find something lacking. Oh, they were nice people, eloquent and educated, but they weren’t Poppy.
The women seemed mildly disappointed. Considering they’d gotten a free dinner out of it and despite his complete lack of interest, they seemed perfectly fine with cutting it off early. He didn’t even know why he bothered. It seemed Poppy had gotten into his blood like an infection, and he wouldn’t be any good to anyone until he ridded himself of her.
The problem was he didn’t know where to begin, and seeing Poppy again was out of the question. The way he saw it, he could do one of two things. Either he could try to burn her out of his system by bedding as many women as possible, or he could remove himself from the dating pool all together and throw himself into work so there wouldn’t be time to think of her.
He liked the latter best.
The elevator dinged its arrival and Katherine stepped off. As the door slid shut, she turned back to him and said, “Felix, if you change your mind, you know how to get in touch with me,” then she was gone.
Felix stared at the buttons overhead, a tick starting in his jaw as he watched each one light up and darken as the elevator climbed higher. He had dated probably half the women in the company and had made quite a reputation for himself. Women no longer looked at him as a man, but a conquest. He never thought something like that would bother him, but it did now.
He studied his reflection in the polished metal doors and realized with startling clarity just how tired he was. He was tired of running around with a new woman every night, tired of the chase, tired of the games. He was just tired. His divorce had shaken his foundation and destroyed his confidence, because, as was true with most newlyweds, he had expected it to last forever. But if there was one thing Felix had come to realize over the last couple of weeks, it was that life didn’t deal in absolutes and sometimes love didn’t last. But what really surprised him was that he didn’t want to be alone anymore.
Playing the role of bachelor and playboy had grown old a long time ago, and until he met Poppy, he had been simply going through the motions. It was time he started thinking about setting down roots again, because life was slipping through his fingers faster and faster each day and he wanted to live what was left of it beside someone special.
By the time Felix stepped off onto the thirty-fourth floor, he was set on a plan. After work he would stop by the florist and pick up a nice bouquet of…something pretty, and then he would head out of the city to the little house in the country and see about winning back the woman who had taken his heart prisoner.
“Vera,” Felix said amicably as he approached the round desk centered in the office waiting area. The receptionist’s head snapped up and a plastic smile that he’d bet was responsible for the fall of hundreds of men before him, stared back at him.
“Mr. Sinclair!” Lifting a hand, Vera smoothed her hair in that way she always did when she was trying to lure a man into her trap. “I was just getting ready to send the reports you asked for—”
Felix raised a hand to stop her. “No rush. Just drop them on my desk before you leave for the night. Listen, I need you to do me a favor.”
Vera brightened at his words. “Sure, Mr. Sinclair. Anything you need.”
He smiled indulgently. “Thanks, Vera. As you know, Mr. Bradshaw had a very important meeting to get to, but he had scheduled an interview with someone equally important, and he asked me to fill in for him.” He checked his watch. “They should be here any moment. So when they get here, send them to my office.”
“Oh, sure, Mr. Sinclair,” Vera agreed. “But Mr. Bradshaw’s interview is already here.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, sir. She arrived just a few minutes ago. There she is.”
Felix turned in the direction Vera pointed and felt his heart skitter in his chest. “Poppy?”
Lifting her eyes to his, Poppy froze. “Felix?”