Heart of Clay by Shanna Hatfield

needed to
put his plan into action. If things went like he wanted, he needed
to be rested up for an evening with his wife.
    An hour later, Clay awoke. He polished his
best pair of boots, brushed off his black sports coat, and dug a
royal blue shirt out of his closest. Callan once said the shirt
made his eyes look like liquid pools of blue. He was sure that
meant she liked it…a lot. Since he needed all the help he could
get, he’d use any ploy or trick at his disposal.
    Clay took a quick shower and shaved. In his
preoccupied state, he nicked his chin. After dabbing it with a
tissue, he slathered on some aftershave Callan purchased for him.
She always seemed to appreciate it when he wore it. He had no idea
what type of fragrance it was because it smelled like everything
else to him – nothing.
    Carefully dressing, he combed his hair,
grabbed his coat, stuffed his phone in his pocket and headed out
the door. He had just enough time to run a few errands before
surprising Callan.
    Clay pulled into the convention center’s
parking lot at a quarter to seven. He parked on the back of the
building close to Callan’s car and walked around front. As he
entered the facility through the big double doors, the sounds of a
party spilling out of one of the big ballrooms filled the
foyer.
    Not wanting to intrude, he casually strolled
to the ballroom door. Inside the room, it didn’t take him long to
find Callan. At her height, she was easy to spot in the crowd.
    He leaned against the wall and watched her
graceful movements. Callan looked amazing in a simple yet elegant
black cocktail dress and heels. He knew she sometimes attended the
events she planned and dressed up, but he was most often in bed
when she got home, so he rarely saw her in anything but her
business attire. She still had her hair up, but a few curls fell
down her neck, softening her appearance.
    She chatted with two women who looked
important and official. Callan shook their hands, nodded her head,
and turned toward the door. When she noticed him leaning against
the wall, her eyes widened in surprise but she sent him an
appreciative smile.
    Although she kept a cool, professional
demeanor in place, she hastened her pace as she headed his
direction. As she stepped in front of him, a look of genuine
pleasure lit her features and her emerald eyes twinkled.
    “Clay, what a surprise! What are you doing
here?” She looked him over from head to toe, clearly pleased with
what she saw. He knew he looked his best. His black boots, jeans
and sports coat along with his royal blue shirt had him feeling
punchy. The way Callan gazed at him made him think his idea to
surprise her was on the verge of brilliant.
    “I wanted to take my best girl out to dinner
tonight. Will you come with me, please?” Clay gave her one of the
dimpled grins that used to make her agree to anything he wanted. He
felt downright smug as he watched her eyes sparkle with
excitement.
    “I’d love to.” Callan slipped her hand into
his and gave it a squeeze. She’d forgotten how seeing Clay across a
room could make her stomach flutter anxiously. He looked so
handsome and enticing leaning against the wall with his blue eyes
glowing from an inner light. When she took a deep breath, his
aftershave teased her senses, making her legs feel languid. “Let me
get my coat.”
    Clay led her to her office and helped Callan
into her coat before they walked across the street to Giovanni’s,
her favorite Italian restaurant. He’d stopped in earlier and made a
reservation for a private corner booth. As the host showed them to
the table, he slid in next to his wife instead of letting her sit
across from him. Despite her noticeable surprise, she didn’t move
away.
    They chatted about holiday plans, about Clay
forgetting he didn’t have to go to work that morning, and recalled
fun memories from past Christmas celebrations. After an amazingly
pleasant dinner, Clay walked Callan back to the convention center.
They sauntered