One of these days you’re going to run into Brian again.
Sometime. Someplace. And I hope you remember just how valuable your
relationship with Cord is.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Fallon snapped. “I’m completely in
control now.” Then she shook her head. “Sorry. Can we please talk about
something else?”
“I just want you to know I care about you and worry about
you. And remind you what a disaster the situation with Brian was so you don’t
repeat it.”
“Consider me reminded. Now,” she picked up the menu, “shall
we order? What looks good today?”
Claire’s words stayed with Fallon all afternoon as she ran
errands and checked off items on her To Do list for the big event at the ranch.
One more week, and there was still a lot to do. But even while she mentally
sorted through details as she drove from place to place, Claire’s lunchtime
remarks hovered like a gray cloud. Mostly because she’d hit too close to the
truth.
Even after all this time, even with Cord in her life and
their relationship growing daily, the specter of Brian Willoughby didn’t seem
to go away.
Physically, he was the complete opposite of Cord, light
where Cord was dark, blond where Cord’s hair was nearly black. At first glance
he almost looked like sunshine. That was before you discovered if you stayed
out in the sun too long, you got badly burned.
If she closed her eyes, she could still visualize the first
time she saw him.
* * * * *
Two years earlier
The damn cocktail party was the last place Fallon wanted to
be. The day had been crappy and she wanted nothing more than a hot soak in a
tub and a chilled glass of wine. But a client had promised to introduce her to
an account she’d been clamoring for, so she’d put on her game face and shown
up.
She was chatting with her hostess when she felt eyes
watching her, like twin lasers piercing the crowd. When she turned her head,
she saw him staring at her from across the room.
He was standing against the wall of windows that looked out
over San Antonio, the city a backdrop behind him, the late afternoon sun
highlighting his ash-blond hair. He was tall, his broad, muscular frame
elegantly dressed in a dark-blue suit with a lighter shirt and discreetly
patterned tie. His face looked as if it has been carved from marble, the
aquiline nose in perfect proportion to the chiseled jaw and cheekbones.
He headed toward her like radar homing in on a signal. The
aura of power surrounding him was palpable.
“Lorelei.” He had no qualms about interrupting their
conversation. “It seems you actually have a guest I haven’t met. You should
correct that now.”
His deep voice carried the same sense of power. No, of entitlement ,
as if whatever he wanted prevailed at all times and everyone should accept it.
Lorelei Hanson didn’t fluster very easily but this man actually had her
fluttering as if attacked by a bad case of nerves.
“Oh, Brian! I’m so sorry.” She looked from him to Fallon and
back again. “Brian Willoughby, meet Fallon Crowe. Fallon does a lot of
corporate public relations work.”
“Head of Willoughby International?” Of course he was. Who
hadn’t heard of him? He was legendary for his success, in every aspect of his life,
from business to personal. Although very little was known about the latter.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t ever heard his name linked with any one
specific female. Was it possible he was gay?
She looked into his eyes and her breath caught in her throat.
His eyes were dark blue, almost navy, and piercing in their intensity. Heat
seemed to spear from them straight through her entire body, skewering her in
place. When he took one of her hands in his, his touch triggered a flood of
erotic responses in her body.
No, he wasn’t gay. Not in the least. How could she even have
thought that? He was so totally alpha it wrapped itself around him like a
cloak. Maybe he just hadn’t found the right woman.
How presumptuous to think he’d
Sometime. Someplace. And I hope you remember just how valuable your
relationship with Cord is.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Fallon snapped. “I’m completely in
control now.” Then she shook her head. “Sorry. Can we please talk about
something else?”
“I just want you to know I care about you and worry about
you. And remind you what a disaster the situation with Brian was so you don’t
repeat it.”
“Consider me reminded. Now,” she picked up the menu, “shall
we order? What looks good today?”
Claire’s words stayed with Fallon all afternoon as she ran
errands and checked off items on her To Do list for the big event at the ranch.
One more week, and there was still a lot to do. But even while she mentally
sorted through details as she drove from place to place, Claire’s lunchtime
remarks hovered like a gray cloud. Mostly because she’d hit too close to the
truth.
Even after all this time, even with Cord in her life and
their relationship growing daily, the specter of Brian Willoughby didn’t seem
to go away.
Physically, he was the complete opposite of Cord, light
where Cord was dark, blond where Cord’s hair was nearly black. At first glance
he almost looked like sunshine. That was before you discovered if you stayed
out in the sun too long, you got badly burned.
If she closed her eyes, she could still visualize the first
time she saw him.
* * * * *
Two years earlier
The damn cocktail party was the last place Fallon wanted to
be. The day had been crappy and she wanted nothing more than a hot soak in a
tub and a chilled glass of wine. But a client had promised to introduce her to
an account she’d been clamoring for, so she’d put on her game face and shown
up.
She was chatting with her hostess when she felt eyes
watching her, like twin lasers piercing the crowd. When she turned her head,
she saw him staring at her from across the room.
He was standing against the wall of windows that looked out
over San Antonio, the city a backdrop behind him, the late afternoon sun
highlighting his ash-blond hair. He was tall, his broad, muscular frame
elegantly dressed in a dark-blue suit with a lighter shirt and discreetly
patterned tie. His face looked as if it has been carved from marble, the
aquiline nose in perfect proportion to the chiseled jaw and cheekbones.
He headed toward her like radar homing in on a signal. The
aura of power surrounding him was palpable.
“Lorelei.” He had no qualms about interrupting their
conversation. “It seems you actually have a guest I haven’t met. You should
correct that now.”
His deep voice carried the same sense of power. No, of entitlement ,
as if whatever he wanted prevailed at all times and everyone should accept it.
Lorelei Hanson didn’t fluster very easily but this man actually had her
fluttering as if attacked by a bad case of nerves.
“Oh, Brian! I’m so sorry.” She looked from him to Fallon and
back again. “Brian Willoughby, meet Fallon Crowe. Fallon does a lot of
corporate public relations work.”
“Head of Willoughby International?” Of course he was. Who
hadn’t heard of him? He was legendary for his success, in every aspect of his life,
from business to personal. Although very little was known about the latter.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t ever heard his name linked with any one
specific female. Was it possible he was gay?
She looked into his eyes and her breath caught in her throat.
His eyes were dark blue, almost navy, and piercing in their intensity. Heat
seemed to spear from them straight through her entire body, skewering her in
place. When he took one of her hands in his, his touch triggered a flood of
erotic responses in her body.
No, he wasn’t gay. Not in the least. How could she even have
thought that? He was so totally alpha it wrapped itself around him like a
cloak. Maybe he just hadn’t found the right woman.
How presumptuous to think he’d
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