Heartfire (21 page)

The others around the table looked at each other, were silent a moment, then broke into smiles.

Tessa laughed.  "I guess not."  She looked at Max.  "You must be bored to death."

His eyes connected with and held hers.  "No.  Fascinated, actually.  Do you realize all of you are part of history in the making?"  He nodded to Joe.  "You being present when we withdrew troops from Iraq."  He gestured to Dan.  "Making environmental concerns an issue."  Covering Tessa's hand with his on the table, he instantly felt a sensation that was more than skin touching skin.  He remembered what he'd been about to say.  "You'll be recording what will happen at the Summit.  Do you feel as if you're part of history when you're doing it?"

Joe shrugged.  "I guess we're too close to each event to see the sum total.  What do you do, Max?"

"I teach high-school math and try to make it applicable to kids' lives when I can."

Louise's lips puckered in a small O.  "Now that's a job I
wouldn't
want.  I don't see how you can deal with teenagers day after day.  You must have a ton of patience."

"And I don't see how you travel constantly, remember what city you're in and don't have constant jet lag," Max returned.

Dan responded.  "Every job has its trade-offs.  I guess it all boils down to what you like to do and what you want out of life.  My camera keeps me seeing the world differently every day."  He grinned.  "The excitement ain't bad, either."

Quiet descended on the table, and Louise and Joe agreed with secret smiles that said they shared Dan's view.  Max surveyed Tessa, but she just looked pensive as she took another bite of cheesecake.

Music began playing on the other side of the restaurant.  It was easy and slow, and Max suddenly wanted Tessa in his arms.  He leaned closer to her and the elusive fragrance of her perfume teased him.  "Would you like to dance?"

Transferring her napkin from her lap to the table, she answered, "Yes, I would."

They excused themselves, and Max kept a protective hand on her back as they wove around the partitions and tables.  The fabric of her dress was smooth and slippery under his fingers.

Once on the small wooden dance floor, Max took Tessa in his arms, her right hand in his, her left resting close to his neck.  The tantalizing but discreet contact made his heart beat faster.  "I hope I'm not cramping your style.  If you'd rather be back there talking about your work—"

"I talk about work every time I see them.  I've never danced with you before."

"Sure, you have.  Two weeks ago."

"That wasn't quite like this."

As he pulled Tessa slightly closer, strictly for comfort's sake of course, he had to agree.  That had been nothing like this.  "Why didn't you want them to know it's your birthday?"

Her shoulders lifted and fell, making the material slide under his hand.  "I don't like a fuss.  Besides," she teased, "a woman my age soon stops counting."

He chuckled.  "A woman your age?  Did you add on a few years that I don't know about?"

A lingering smile turned up her lips.  "Only that day I finished Ryan's lopsided costume and grew a few grey hairs."

Max played with the curls on her back.  "I can't thank you enough for helping Ryan the way you have."

The pulse at her throat fluttered in rhythm with his.  "We still don't know what's bothering him."

If Max kept touching her hair, kept looking at her perfectly curved mouth, he'd have to kiss her.  "Maybe it will work itself out," he said gruffly.

"I don't know, Max.  Childhood problems don't just disappear.  They carry over no matter how old you get."

Max guided Tessa for a few moments in silence.  "I worry about Ryan being an only child.  There are inherent problems in that.  He doesn't have to share.  He gets all my attention.  And I wonder if he's lonely."

"He doesn't have to be an only child forever.  You could remarry."  The slight tilt of her head, the quirk of her brows, seemed questioning though she'd uttered a statement.

It was on the tip of Max's tongue to ask if she was applying for the job.  But he realized he couldn't ask in a teasing way because her answer would have too much significance.  "Yes, I guess I could."

She seemed startled by his reply.  Her green eyes grew as dark as an evening forest and just as mysterious.  Would she ever think about settling down?  He couldn't imagine her ditching her career.  It meant too much to her.  A nagging voice inside his head whispered, She stayed to help Ryan.  But he couldn't listen to the voice and take any comfort from it because her staying was strictly short term.

As other couples crowded the dance floor, Max tightened his arm around Tessa and brought her hand into his chest.  The sensation of her softness against him went straight to his head and other more elemental parts of his body.  The burning realization that he wanted more than to simply be pressed against her made him finally face up to the facts.  He wanted to take Tessa to bed.  He wanted to make love to her, hold her throughout the night and wake up with her in the morning.  Did that mean he was ready to put his marriage to Leslie in the past?  Did that mean he wanted an affair with Tessa?  Because that's all he could ever have.

Tessa succumbed to the delicious tingling that had begun as soon as Max surrounded her with his arms.  She told herself this was simply one dance, nothing more.  But the feel of his wool suitcoat against her cheek, his arm possessively holding her, his fingers intertwined with hers, led her to believe this was where she wanted to stay for longer than one dance.

If she lifted her head just a smidgen, her lips would brush his jaw.  She imagined pressing them there, whispering...I love you?  What could that mean for them?  Max was as traditional as ever.  Time hadn't changed that.  Even if she'd find a job in New York, could he accept a woman whose career was as important as her personal life? 
Whoa, girl.  Reality check.  You have no idea what Max feels
.

As he closed her tighter in his arms and his lower body pressed against hers, she did know he desired her.  She thought he'd back away, but he didn't.  Swaying with her, guiding their small steps, it seemed he needed to just feel and enjoy the desire and closeness, too.

After another dance and another hour of conversation with Tessa's cohorts, Max and Tessa caught a cab and went back to the hotel.

When they stepped into the elevator, he pushed the button for her floor.  "I'll walk you to your room."

Before this stay with Max, she might have protested.  Before this stay with Max, he never would have joined her in New York.  Everything had shifted and changed between them.

At her door, he took a package from his pocket.  It was a small rectangular box wrapped in silver paper with a tiny white bow.  "Ryan has something to give you when you get back.  I'd rather give this to you now.  Happy Birthday, Tessa."

Her fingers trembled as she unwrapped the box.  She did it slowly, stalling, prolonging the moment.  She'd received few gifts in her life.  Leslie had always remembered her birthday.  But this...this gift she'd remember forever.  "Are you sure Ryan was all right with you coming to New York?"

"He was fine with it.  He wanted me to come to make sure you came back to Jenkins."

An alarm went off inside Tessa.  Was Ryan afraid she'd leave him as Leslie had? She was becoming more and more sure she didn't want to leave...

Max took the paper from her fingers and stuffed it into his pocket.  She stared at the box, almost afraid to lift the lid.

"Open it," he urged gently.

Nestled on the soft bed of cotton, she found a sparkling gold chain.  Her hand shook as she gently slid her finger under it, bringing it from the box.  "Oh, Max.  It's beautiful."

"I noticed the one holding your ring looked worn.  The salesclerk said this would be strong enough to hold the ring, plus it's something called diamond-cut so you can wear it alone.

Tessa's eyes misted over at Max's thoughtfulness.  To do something like this...didn't that prove he cared?  "Will you put it on for me?"

He smiled a slow, lazy smile that made her pulse leap.  "Isn't it a little late?  In a few minutes you'll be getting undressed."

That thought created pictures that made her shake because she thought of him undressed, waiting in bed for her.  Holding the chain out to him, she turned around, not able to find a suitable reply.  She wanted to feel the gold next to her skin.  She wanted to see it gleam.  She never wanted to take it off.

Max clasped it, then lifted her hair to let the necklace slide properly in place.  The pads of his thumbs along her nape under her coat collar, his tall presence behind her, his caring, caused her breath to come in short puffs.

Gently, he turned her around.  Gazing into her eyes, he said, "Beautiful."

She leaned closer to him, wanting an intimacy that scared her to death because she'd never wanted it before—not like this.  As he bent to her, their lips touched and clung.  The kiss was so tender that a longing and yearning and aching greater than Tessa had ever known swept through her.  Breathless from the impact, she parted her lips.

Max caressed the small of her back, bringing her slightly closer.  Everything about Max excited her, intensified the desires that had lain dormant for so long.  He was stability and comfort and safety, but passion and adventure, too.  And she loved him.  Irrevocably.

Max gauged his response, called on his self-discipline and restraint as his tongue glided against hers.  He'd known her kiss would arouse him easily, just as dancing close to her had.  But tonight he'd wanted to steal whatever he could get without going too far.  Now he was at his limit.  Why couldn't Tessa want the same things from life he did?  Why couldn't she be...more like Leslie?  No.  Then she wouldn't be Tessa.

He slowly ended the kiss, wishing, hoping, dreaming.  But when he opened his eyes, he had to face reality—Tessa standing at a hotel room door.  Tessa's life.

Her cheeks were rosy, her mouth shiny from his kiss.  Clearing her throat, she reverently touched the necklace.  "Would you like to come in?"  She quickly added, "We could make coffee...or call room service...or something."

If he stepped into that room, they'd both regret it in the morning.  "It's late.  I'd better not."

Her fingers hadn't left the chain.  "Thank you, Max."

All the sensations rushing through him were bittersweet, both enjoyable and painful.  "You're welcome.  Do you have your key card?"

Taking it from her purse, she slid the card into the lock.  The green light flickered, and she opened the door.  "Good night, Max."

"Good night, birthday girl.  Sleep well."

Her shy smile, her just-kissed expression, the longing in her eyes, almost led him to throw caution and reality to the wind by hauling her into his arms again and carrying her to the bed.  But his conscience and his discipline took him a step back.

Tessa went inside and let the door close behind her.

Chapter Thirteen

Dancing in New York was but a dream as Tessa sat on one of the sets at WHBT, waiting for the camera to roll.  Since this was a live show, the host, Mark Thompson, watched the monitor, waiting for his cue after a briefing of news and weather.

Tessa hadn't met Mark before this morning, but he seemed personable enough and eagerly interested in her career.  They'd had a brief discussion about her past experiences and the upcoming Summit, and he'd told her he'd stick to those topics.