Blind Attraction (9 page)

James chuckled, “To a certain degree
. Some things I can remember with perfect clarity after a single viewing; other things take a bit more. I guess it depends.”

“That is so cool,”
Victoria sighed, wondering if he would have remembered her had he seen her before he lost his sight. “I bet it came in handy in school. Mr. Knowles seemed to think you had an unfair advantage.”

“You could say something like that,” he
chuckled.

“Ah, I see,” she nodded, her voice light-hearted. “You
were
one of the annoying kids who never studied for anything and still managed to take top honors.”

He smiled gloriously, making
Victoria lose track of the conversation. Good lord he was magnificent when he smiled! The gods must have really gone all out when they created James; giving him an abundance of good looks, intelligence, and charm. “My education was actually rather unique.”

“I would love to hear about it sometime,” she said sincerely. With a sheepish grin, she looked around the room at the other party-goers. She also noticed the string quartet getting ready to play and a dance flo
or nearby. Surrounding the dance floor were many of the other employees, several keeping a not-so-discreet eye on James. “Now probably isn’t the best time; it looks as if there are a few people wanting to talk to you and I’ve monopolized your time since I’ve arrived.”

“I haven’t minded,” he told her
. Her heart raced in her chest, her palms tingled where they touched him, her skin burned beneath her dress. She had all but forgotten they were standing in the middle of the Templeton Conservatory surrounded by his friends, business associates and employees. All she knew was that she wanted to keep talking to him, to hear his voice. To feel his body pressed against hers forever.

“Do you mind if I steal your date for a dance?” Philip asked, interrupting James’s thoughts. “I promise I’ll bring her back.
Eventually.”

Victoria
laughed slightly as Philip’s blue eyes sparked with mischief when he grabbed her hand and started tugging her away from James. James’s grip seemed to tighten on her other hand, as if he was hesitant to let her go. Philip must have noticed because he said, “One song, Jim, maybe two; then I’ll bring her right back.”

“No interrogations, Phil,” James warned, loosening his hold enough for
Victoria’s hand to slip free. But James’s words gave her pause.

“Interrogations?” she asked, looking between James’s clenched jaw and Philip’s amused expression. Instinctively, she once again grasped James’s hand, not sure she was ready to be interrogated; it sounded so
unnerving.

“I promise,” Philip said, prying their hands apart and leading her to the dance floor before either James or she could protest. Putting a hand on her waist and taking her hand in his other one, he began dancing with her. After a moment of semi-awkward silence, Philip shook his head and said, “I have to admit that you aren’t what I expected.”

“Is that good or bad?” Victoria asked, forcing herself to keep her attention on Philip and not let her gaze meander over to James. It was difficult. Catching herself watching James as he talked with several people she amended that thought; it was
very
difficult.

“I think it might be good,” Philip murmured thoughtfully.

Determinedly, Victoria forced her focus back to Philip, mentally promising him that he would have her complete attention while they danced. “Have you known him long?”

“At least thirty years,” Philip answered
, watching her closely as if he wasn’t sure she was for real.

Victoria
frowned; neither James nor Philip seemed that old….

Obviously s
eeing the consternation on her face, Philip laughed, “We’re cousins, born a few days apart. Our moms are sisters.”

“That is so cool,”
Victoria beamed. “I take it that the two of you are close?”

“Practically brothers,” Philip conceded. Pausing for a moment, feeling the atmosphere shift slightly, he added, “It’s been a tough couple of months for him, with the accident and all.”

“I can imagine,” Victoria murmured, her eyes wandering over to James again. He held himself so well, with such confidence and grace. Looking at him, it was almost impossible to believe that he was blind at all and knowing how much he relied on his eyesight prior to the accident…. With a slight frown, she shook her head, “Actually, I don’t think I could imagine. He’s amazing.”

“He’s always been that way,” Philip told her,
his expression relaxing the longer they danced. “Just after he woke up and realized he couldn’t see, he freaked out a bit.”

“Yeah,”
Victoria murmured wryly, knowing that she would still be freaking out months later.

Philip smiled, “Within a few days
he was learning how to get along without his sight, putting a hundred and eighty percent into his efforts; just like he does with everything. I think losing his sight has been good for him, though.”

“In what way?”
Victoria asked, truly stumped. “He’s a man who makes a living with his vision and now it’s gone.”

Philip chuckled at her outrage on Jimmy’s behalf. “He’s slowed down, learned to rely on others, learned that he doesn’t have to do it all on his own. Plus, I think he’s benefited from the loss by having to focus on substance
rather than flash.”

Victoria
’s brows drew together as Philip spoke, “I think I should be insulted.”

“Not at all,” Philip was quick to reassure her. “I think you’re incredible.”

“Just not James’s usual fare,” Victoria said with a sigh, knowing it without having to hear Philip say anything. With a shrug, she sighed, “I know.”

“It’s not what you think,
Victoria,” Philip said hastily. “You are extremely pretty; you’re someone I would go out with. It’s just that the women James usually dates are more interested in being seen rather than being with him.”

“And that never bothered him?”
Victoria asked incredulously.

“He knew the game.” The corners of Philip’s mouth quirked upwards in a wicked smile, “
He dated women who looked good on his arm; glamorous, high-maintenance drama queens attracted to his bank account.”

“I would think that they would be attracted to his looks,”
Victoria said thoughtfully, examining the man in question. “He’s very handsome.”

“His looks definitely haven’t hurt him,” Philip agreed ruefully. “But I think they liked the idea of the number of zeroes in his ba
nk account. After all, beauty fades, money…..”

“Buys plastic surgery,”
Victoria finished wryly. Shaking her head, she looked up at Philip and grinned, “Even so, if they spent just five minutes with him, talking to him, they’d fall totally in love with the man, no matter the looks or the money.”

Philip smiled at her inadvertent admission,
“I’m sure there have been a few, but he never returned the sentiment; he never stayed interested in them long enough. Of course, I think he was looking in the wrong place to begin with.”

Philips words buzzed in
Victoria’s head, mocking her. Of course women fell in love with James, and of course he didn’t fall in love back. Why would she think she was special, just because he couldn’t see her? Almost as if sensing Victoria’s distress, Philip chuckled, adding, “I think, with you, things are different; Jimmy is… calmer somehow. I think you might be exactly what he needs.”

“Thank you,”
Victoria murmured, feeling the heat of her blush across her cheeks, her throat. “I think.”

“He may even grow to love
honey blond hair,” Philip teased, grabbing a strand of Victoria’s lustrous honey colored hair and giving it a playful tug. “Instead of baby blond.”

With his playful comment, Philip inadvertently caused all of
Victoria’s doubts and fears to explode to the surface. Looking over Philip’s shoulder towards James, she sighed; his blindness was only temporary. Eventually he was going to get his sight back and there was going to be nothing but disappointment when he finally saw her.

Victoria
stared at her reflection in the ladies’ room mirror, wondering what she was doing there. Philip’s comments freaked her out; she wasn’t James’s usual type. Even though Philip seemed to think it was a good thing, Victoria was not convinced. Maybe being blind was screwing with his other senses and James wasn’t really responsible for his actions; sort of like getting a free pass for dating the girl next door until his vision returned and he could resume searching for his perfect debutant. His perfect baby blond, perfectly polished debutant.

Taylor.

Pressing dampened hands to her cheeks in the hope of cooling her feverish skin, she was hoping to find the courage to go back out there and face James once again, knowing she was just borrowing trouble by dwelling on her doubts. She was the one who was with him, whether he could see or not. She just had to keep reminding herself that they shared that
zing
and to take each day as it came, enjoying it fully. If he didn’t like what he saw when his vision returned, well, then she’d just have to deal with that later.

Of course, if he valued the superficiality of looks o
ver what they had come to share then he wouldn’t be worth the amount of time she was worrying about it. True, she wasn’t a baby blond, statuesque socialite but he was going to know her before seeing her. He was such an incredible, intelligent man; wouldn’t he take everything into account and see her with eyes of affection? Maybe Victoria stood a chance after all was said and done.

Then again, maybe it would be best if she just left now and saved herself the heartache that was bound to happen should he see her and the disappointment was too much to hide. Forcing herself to study her reflection, she tried to imagine how James would see her: thick,
honey blond hair that would come to the middle of her back; smooth, clear skin with just a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her slender nose; a decent mouth; and, of course, her large, violet eyes, accented by her long, dark lashes. Still, as a whole, she looked incredibly young and just plain wholesome. It had to be the freckles.

Scrunching up her nose, she stuck her tongue out at her reflection, making her look about twelve. A little giggle escaped at the
lunacy of her actions. Here she was trying not to look so young and every gesture she made, everything she did, screamed “immature.” Even wearing four-inch heels wasn’t helping very much; not that she was going to give up the added height. She was just going to have to stop comparing herself to Taylor.

It was strange:
Victoria had stopped trying to compete with Taylor way back in sixth grade when it was already apparent where the two girls stood. Taylor with her impeccable pedigree, her killer looks, was a member of the in-crowd; Victoria, with no pedigree at all, was allowed into the margins only because of Taylor. Not that Victoria really cared one way or the other; it was a group of kids to hang out with when her nose wasn’t buried in a book. The only one she kept in contact with was Taylor. Taylor, on the other hand, still lived and breathed in that world.

The door opened and two women entered the lounge area, separated from the sinks by a
thin wall. They were completely unaware of Victoria’s presence, as evidenced by their words. “I’m so glad I bumped into you, Katie; I’ve been meaning to ask: what is up with James’s date? She’s not his typical fare, is she?”

“No, she’s not,” the second woman laughed lightly, her voice warm as she agreed.
She sounded vaguely familiar, but Victoria just couldn’t place it because she had met so many people over the past year getting her store up and running. “I think she’s refreshing and she makes Jimmy happy.”

“But her clothes are obviously off the rack,” the first woman protested, as if it were a cardinal sin to buy mass produced clothing. “What could James be thinking? I mean, she’s pretty in a plebeian sort of way but she’s so… common.”

“You’re sounding envious,” the second woman commented in an amused voice. It was killing Victoria; she should know the woman who spoke so casually about James. She swore that it was right on the tip of her brain and she would know if her pulse wasn’t pounding so loudly in her ears.