Beauty (Fated Encounters) (4 page)

No, she could never handle having
a man like Drake in her life, but it didn’t stop the disappointment she felt
knowing a relationship between them couldn’t work.

The truth was, she was beginning
to like him, despite his flaws. But they were too different...living in
completely separate worlds. She was just visiting in his, but she didn’t belong
there. Not really. She also knew what she was looking for in a relationship,
and Drake wasn’t the type of man who could give her what she wanted. His terse words
had just been a reminder that she needed to keep her distance...professionally
as well as personally.

“What is it?”

Jarred from her thoughts, Tessa
scrambled to figure out what the hell he was asking her. “What is what?”

Shaking his head in exasperation,
he said, “You zoned out, and you were looking at your watch. Am I keeping you
from something?”

“Well, actually, can we postpone
this dinner? I need to go to the north side to check on my father. I promised I
would look in on him tonight.”

He frowned. “I thought you were
going to hire a nurse to do that.”

“I was, but he didn’t want me to,
so I have to do it myself. I mean, I want to see him. It’s just difficult to
fit in visiting him all the time with everything that’s going on.”

“You’re doing this for him. He
should understand.”

“He knows it, but that doesn’t matter.”
She let out a little laugh. “You know how parents can be.”

“Actually, I don’t.” Seeing her
startled expression, he explained, “Growing up in foster care, I wouldn’t call
any of the people I was placed with parents, in any sense of the word.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. You can’t miss what
you’ve never had.” He watched her flinch at his harsh words, and was sorry that
he didn’t temper his response, but he didn’t need or want her sympathy. Barking
out the command to take them to her office, his driver silently changed
directions.

Drake remained silent for the
rest of the drive. Damn it, every time he took a step forward with her, he
seemed to take three giant steps back. He knew Tessa was softening toward him,
but he didn’t know how to move their relationship forward. It wasn’t just that.
Drake realized he didn’t know how to handle Tessa because she was unlike any of
the other women he’d been in relationships with. Hell, he didn’t actually have
relationships with the women he spent time with. He never let any woman close
enough to call it that.

But Tessa mattered to him, and she
made him want to try.

Glancing over, he didn’t like
seeing the worried expression on her face as she looked out the window. It
wouldn’t surprise him if Tessa was concerned about postponing their dinner. It
bothered him to think she was only spending time with him because she was
worried he’d fire her father if she didn’t comply with his demands. But how the
hell was he supposed to figure out if she really wanted to be with him, or if
this was all just part of their deal?

When the car came to a stop in
front of the building where her office was located, Tessa met his gaze, but he
didn’t know what to say.

See me...the real me.

Drake bit back the words
flickering through his head, refusing to say them out loud. The silence
lengthened at they stared at one another. He could see the curiosity in Tessa’s
eyes. So many questions unasked, but he knew she wouldn’t push. No one pushed
him for anything he didn’t want to give, but he found himself wanting to give
her more than he knew how.

“Now that we have a location and
a date, I can send out the invitations.”

“Good.”

Tessa hesitated before saying, “I
got the list of your business contacts from Mrs. Potts, but I’m going to need a
list of your personal guests.”

“I’m in meetings most of the day
tomorrow, but I’ll have it to you by the end of day.”

“Okay.” Gus opened the back door
of the car for her. She had one leg out the door when Drake said her name,
making her turn back.

“I’ll be out of town for the next
several days. I have to visit one of my facilities in California, but I’ll be
back on Thursday.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “I’ll talk to
you soon. Have a safe trip.”

She got out of the car, and he
watched until she was safely in the building, out of the cold. Gus got back in
the driver’s seat, but didn’t pull away from the curb. When Drake met his eye
in the rearview mirror, he asked, “What?”

“We’ve been friends a long time.”

Oh, no. That was never a good
start to any discussion.

Drake had known Gus for years.
They’d met in the foster care system, and had kept in touch even when they’d taken
separate paths. One had gone to school while the other had chosen the military.
For years they hadn’t spoke a word to one another, but when Gus had gotten
shot, left the service, and returned home, Drake had a job waiting for him. Gus
was a big man, making him an ideal driver and bodyguard when necessary, but he
was also a gentle soul who got teary-eyed during sad movies. It was something
Drake took pleasure making fun of Gus for every chance he got.

“What’s your point?”

Gus turned around in his seat so
they were looking at one another. “So, I gotta ask...what the hell is wrong
with you?”

Drake scowled. “What do you
mean?”

“Seriously? Way to drop that shit
about your parents—or lack thereof—on your lady. My Kelcie would have smacked
me upside the head for telling her the way you did Tessa. Finesse, man. Get
some.”

“Don’t tax your brain by using
big words you don’t understand. And she isn’t my lady.”

“With the way you’ve been acting,
no wonder she’s not. Are you seriously this bad at wooing a woman? It’s almost
painful to watch.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

“Lie to yourself, but don’t lie
to me.” Gus glared at Drake and shook a finger at him. “I’ve watched the two of
you dance around one another these past few weeks—”

Exasperated, Drake cut him off as
he asked, “When did you turn into such a girl?”

“Shut up. Just because I’m in
touch with my feelings, that doesn’t—”

“Jesus, we are not having this
conversation.”

“Yes, we are. Does Tessa have a
clue that all these dinners you’ve been taking her to are just an excuse for
you to spend more time with her? God forbid you ask her out on a real date.”

“I don’t date,” Drake snapped.
“And when the hell did you get so interested in my love life?”

“Since you’ve never really had a
love life before, I guess my answer would be now. Whether you like it or not,
you’re dating Tessa, despite your efforts to mask it as some sort of work
thing. It’s like you’re secretly dating and everyone sees it but the two of
you...it’s weird, but coming from you, I shouldn’t be surprised.” Gus paused
for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Tessa isn’t like your other women.”

“No,” Drake agreed softly. “She’s
unique.”

“Yeah, she actually has a soul
and doesn’t give a shit about your money. Look, all I’m saying is—if you want
her—you need to make a move, brother. Stop playing games with her. She’s not
the type to know the rules. If you want to be with her, you have to say it,
loud and clear. I think she could make you happy...if you let her.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not just
about what I want.”

“And isn’t that just a bitch?” Gus
turned around and put the car into drive. “I like her. Maybe this is good for
you. She’s making you work for it, and that’s why you haven’t lost interested
yet. My Kelcie was like that.”

“I still don’t know what your
wife sees in you.”

Gus laughed. “Neither do I. Oh,
and one more piece of advice. Stop being such an asshole to everyone. At least
in front of her...if you can help it. I know it’ll be hard, but try.”

“Fuck you, Gus.”

“Not even on a bet.”

Drake couldn’t help but grin at
Gus’s cheerful reply. Still, he couldn’t let his friend get away with ribbing him
without some sort of response. “I should fire you.”

Gus snorted, not the least bit
worried. “It’s been a few days since the last time you did.”

***

CHAPTER FOUR

Tessa felt like she was dying.

She’d only been in the office for
half a day on Thursday before she realized that pushing through her illness
just wasn’t possible. Fortunately for her, the last few days she had gotten a
lot of work done and was ahead of the schedule she’d made for herself.

The invitations to the gala had
been sent out. Working with Mrs. Potts had been easy. Drake’s intimidating office
guardian had actually turned out to be a sweet, gentle woman—one who Tessa
liked very much. They had spoken on the phone for hours throughout the past few
days, going over the list and starting the initial planning of the seating
arrangements.

The day after they had reserved
their location for the gala, Tessa had received an email from Drake that had
made her frown. She’d reserved a large portion of the invites for his personal
guests, but his list had only included a handful of names...male names. After a
quick Google search, she’d discovered that Travis, Christian and Colin Baer
owned a large construction company that had worked on a few of Drake’s
properties, including his downtown office. Another person on his list had been
Ryder Prince, a renowned surgeon. Since Drake’s company made medical tech and
equipment, it made sense he would be acquainted with several well-known medical
professionals.

She hadn’t been surprised to see
the names of a few business men, including Lucas Forrester, a negotiator with
his own dubious reputation. There was also the owner of a security company and
a few of his associates, none of which Tessa could find any information about.
Drake had also included invites to a Detective Philip Wade and a few other
police officers and firefighters, but what had shocked her was seeing Turner
McCord’s name, the owner of a toy store.

Toys...really?

Shoving the file she’d put
together for the gala into her bag to take home with her, she got up and had to
brace a hand on her desk for a moment to make sure she didn’t fall over. She
managed to walk a few steps, then she erased a few of the items that were written
on the white board she had tacked to her wall.

That morning, she’d finalized
some last minute details for a wedding they were hosting that weekend and sent
the updated plans to her partner’s email instead of putting a copy on Jamie’s
desk. Tessa had the larger office between the partners, partly because hers
included a nice seating area where they often met with clients. Jamie’s smaller
office always looked like a bomb had exploded inside it, so they were careful
never to let visitors see the clutter.

After she sent the email, she’d made
a call to her friend Chris Jensen, the eccentric owner of Wonderland, a popular
nightclub in the city. She should have known better than to call the nightclub
owner before noon, but in her defense, the flu was wreaking havoc on her brain.
After letting him bitch at her for waking him, she’d invited him to the
masquerade ball and arranged for him to ask his staff if any of them wanted to
moonlight as extra servers and bartenders. She knew Chris didn’t mind if they
occasionally worked a side job, since they could all use the extra cash, and he’d
even offered to create a few specialty drinks for the occasion.

With that task complete, she
packed up a few items from her desk, then looked across her office, wondering
how the hell she was going to make it to the doorway without passing out. She’d
wanted to wait until her partner had got back from a meeting, but she needed to
go home.

Now.

She could call out to Eli—their
assistant who doubled as their receptionist—but if he knew just how sick she
was, he would probably have her carted off to the hospital. He was a worrier,
and looked out for both her and Jamie as if he was more like a brother instead
of just an employee.

Making it as far as the couch
near the doorway, Tessa sat down to catch her breath. Jesus, her body ached. She
felt chilled, but when she reached up to feel her forehead, she realized it was
blazing hot. Not good...not good at all. Glancing out the window, she heaved
out a sigh. It was snowing again. That would make getting home interesting. Giving
herself a few extra moments to rest, she pulled out her cell phone to call
Drake. Over the last few days she’s spoken to him several times, but that didn’t
change how much she’d miss seeing him.

She’d been looking forward to
their dinner at Devine’s tonight, but now that she had the flu, there was no way
she was going to be able to attend. She placed the call. To her surprise, instead
of getting his voicemail, Drake answered on the second ring.

“Tessa.”

Just hearing his voice made her
shiver. Or was that the fever? “Hi. Are you back yet?”

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

Geez, did the man have radar or
something? How could he tell something was wrong with just a few words? “I
think I’m dying,” she blurted out. “Not really, but I just feel like it. I’m
sick. You’re going to have to go to the tasting without me tonight.”

“Forget about the damned tasting.
We can reschedule. Jesus, you sound horrible.”

Tessa winced. “Gee, thanks.”

“Where are you?”

“At work, I—”

“Go home.”

Maybe it was all the time they
had been spending together, but his terse command didn’t even phase her. “That’s
the plan.”

“Take a cab. Don’t be stubborn
and try to walk.”

It was only three block to her
apartment building, she thought. Still, she knew he was right. With the way she
was feeling, she would probably trip and fall into a snow pile on the way home.
They probably wouldn’t find her body until the snow melted...

“Tessa, did you hear me?” Drake
snapped.

“Hmm? Did you say something?” His
growl of irritation was loud over the phone. For some odd reason, it made her
smile. “Drake?”

“Yes, Tessa?”

“I’m sorry I have to cancel, I
was looking forward to seeing you tonight.” Crap. Did she really just say that?
Hang up. Hang up now!
“I mean, the tasting...I was looking forward to
the tasting. Can you apologize to Nico for me?”

“I can do that,” he said softly.

“Thanks. I’m going home now.”

His voice took on that commanding
tone again. “Don’t you try to walk it. Do you want me to send the car for you?”

“What? No. I’ll just take a
taxi.”

“Fine. I’ll check on you later,
sweetheart.”

“Wait, why—”

The silence told her he had
already hung up. Rolling her eyes, she shoved her phone back in her bag and
stood up. The endearment he’d called her made her tingle, but she couldn’t
waste time thinking about that now. It was taking all her energy to concentrate
on putting her coat over her aching body. She had just gotten one arm in the sleeve
when she heard a commotion coming from the hallway outside her office.

“Hey, Tessa! You’ll never
believe—” Jamie’s words cut off on a harsh inhale, and she backed up a step.
“Good God, you look awful.”

Tessa eyed her partner with no
small amount of envy. Jamie’s cheeks were still pink from the cold outside, but
it only made her look more beautiful. Her long, curly, red hair was pulled back
in a braid, and her emerald green eyes were bright with excitement, but it
slowly faded as concern took over.

“I’ll never believe what?” Tessa
croaked out as she got her other arm into her coat.

“Never mind that. I know you said
you thought you were getting sick, but that was the mother of all understatements.
What in the world are you doing here? You should be in bed!”

“I had work to do.”

A stern expression crossed over
Jamie’s pretty face. “I knew this was going to happen. You’ve been running on
empty trying to please The Beast and your father, not to mention trying to work
on how many other projects here. Enough. You’re going home.”

Tessa gestured down to the coat
she was wearing. “That’s the plan. I should be better in time for tomorrow’s
rehearsal—”

“Oh, no. You aren’t going
anywhere near the rehearsal dinner tomorrow, or the wedding on Saturday. I can
take care of everything with Eli and the rest of the crew.”

“But—”

Jamie put her hands on her hips
and glared at her. “Can you imagine what bridezilla would say if you got her
sick for her big day?”

“You’re right,” Tessa groaned. “Oh,
God, I’m Typhoid Mary.”

“You really are. Get out of here
before you infect someone else. I’ve got everything covered. You know we have
backups we can tap to help out if I need it. Please, just go home.” Jamie
bellowed for Eli, and he came on the run.

His eyes went wide, then they
narrowed as he glared at Tessa. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you stay. You need
to go to the hospital...and I have to call in a hazmat team to bomb your office.”

Tessa ignored him as she
concentrated on figuring out how the zipper of her coat worked. She finally got
it and pulled the zipper up all the way to her chin, almost knocking herself
over in the process. Not wanting them to worry, she tried to smile, but knew it
failed when she saw their matching expressions of pity.

“It’s just a touch of the flu.
I’ll go home, take some meds, and get some sleep. I’ll be fine in a few hours.
You’ll see.”

****

Two hours later, Drake stood
outside the door to Tessa’s apartment.

Worry had him ending his work day
early so he could check on her. Usually, his concentration was absolute, but he
hadn’t been able to focus knowing she wasn’t feeling well. It had been days
since they’d last spent time together, and he’d missed her. God, had he missed
seeing her face. They’d spoken almost every day since he’d been gone, but it
wasn’t the same.

It was almost unforgivable, the
way thoughts of her invaded his mind, interrupting his work, but he couldn’t
blame her for it. His fascination with her had turned into something
more...something deeper. He’d fought it at first, however, he was done with
that. Time away from the situation had allowed him to come to terms with his
fate.

He needed Tessa.

In his bed...in his life.

Now, he just had to find a way to
make her see that she needed him, too.

He knocked on her door several
times, but she hadn’t answered. Logic told him she was probably sleeping, but
he couldn’t get beyond his need to see her. He was contemplating picking the
lock—something a friend of his had taught him—when he heard the sound of the
lock disengaging.

Christ, he knew she was ill, but
he hadn’t been prepared for just how sick she really was. Her normally silky,
sable-colored hair hung down limply around her pale face, and her hazel eyes
were glazed with fever. She was wearing a bright red robe over black flannel
pajamas that had images of little white shoes with red bows all over it.

God, she was cute.

“Drake! What are you doing here?”
Tessa’s voice was raspy from an obvious sore throat. “This is a quarantined
area. I’m a carrier of the plague. A petri dish. You can’t—”

Drake didn’t give her time to
continue. He pushed passed her, entering her apartment, and left her sputtering.
He took the room in at a glance. It was a small convertible studio, with the
bedroom sectioned off from the living room by frosted glass French doors. The
living room was painted a dark burgundy color with various colorful prints
framed on the wall. There was a large, overstuffed gray sofa facing a TV mounted
to the wall across from it. She had a number of burgundy pillows scattered on
the sofa, and matching soft blanket folded and placed neatly over the back.

Off to the side of the room was a
small breakfast nook with a black iron table and two matching chairs. He
carried the bags he’d brought with him as he made his way into the kitchen. The
walls were painted a soft, buttery yellow, and her appliances seemed to be a
varying mix of old and new. Overall, he thought her apartment suited her. It
was bright, cheerful and welcoming. He took a moment to wonder what she would
think of his apartment, with its black, white and gray decor. Mentally snorting
to himself, he knew she would hate it. She liked the vibrancy of color.

It gave him pause to realize that
was what she was to him.

She brought vibrancy to his life.

“What’s that?”

He glanced up to see she was
leaning against the wall watching him as he set the bags he’d brought on the
kitchen counter. “I called Nico earlier to reschedule. He insisted I stop by
Devine’s on my way here since he made you some soup.”

“Aww, I love that man.”

“Forget about it,” Drake said
sharply, before he could stop himself. Rage swept through him just thinking about
her with his friend. He relaxed again when he saw the confusion clouding her
hazel eyes.

“What? The soup. No, you brought
it for me. It’s mine. Gimme.”

Amused, he pulled the two containers
of soup out of one of the bags. “Did you want some now?”

She nibbled on her lower lip,
then said, “No, I don’t think I could keep anything down right now.”

Drake silently cursed himself as
lust shot through his system. He wanted to stroke his tongue over that spot on
her lip to soothe it. Damn it to hell, what was he thinking? She was sick, and
he shouldn’t be thinking about his own physical needs when she needed tending.

Tending?

What the hell was happening to
him?

Tessa was turning him inside out.
He didn’t think about things like that. Didn’t worry about taking care of
anyone, but here he was. She was changing him, and he didn’t like how off
balance it made him feel.

“I’ll put it in the fridge for
later,” he said gruffly, turning away to do just that. When he was done, he
walked toward her and unbuttoned his heavy coat.

“What are you doing? Stop that!
Thank you for the soup, but you have to go.”