Her Pregnancy Surprise (29 page)

She hadn’t looked old enough to be a mother of a bride, he thought as he waited. Did it matter? He had come to Tahoe to relax after the last trip and get in some serious skiing. Yesterday he and Dex burned up the slopes. Today he’d stayed inside to catch up on some work via the Internet. He’d been gone from the office more than two weeks and it’d be another few days before he returned. Couldn’t let too much work pile up.

Would she join him for dinner? She had said she was unattached, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t seeing someone, or had a significant other in the wings.

He caught himself when he turned around, trying to see over the crowd. She was just a woman he’d met. Nothing special. So what if her dark blue eyes made him think of the Aegean sea after a storm, or her peaches and cream complexion reminded him of an Irish colleen. Her dress had been flowing, enveloping a figure he could dream about. He liked her laugh, her sparkling eyes. Everything.

He reached for the bills the change woman handed him and stepped aside, thrusting them into his pocket.
An evening shared with a pretty woman sure beat listening to Dex talk about how good the ski runs were today. He didn’t need an update, he’d be out on them himself again tomorrow.

Did she ski?

Did a mother with a kid indulge in sports like that?

He had never dated a mother before. He didn’t interact well with kids, and he definitely wasn’t interested in being tied down by some woman who wanted a picket fence and a dog.

Not that he’d class her in that role—especially now that her child was grown and gone. It had to make her older than she looked, anyone could do the math, and their joking aside, he did not believe she had married at age twelve.

Not that age mattered. He would enjoy the evening, no ties implied. It was only dinner.

He headed for the dime slots. Another few hours of mindless entertainment, and he’d see if his mysterious lady would show.

As the afternoon continued, Sara forgot her worry about Amber and Jimmy, all she could think about was the stranger in the casino. He’d been so good looking, tall, with dark hair a shade longer than the accountants she worked with wore theirs. His body was trim and fit, with a hint of muscles she wasn’t used to. He seemed relaxed, yet there was a certain air of authority surrounding him.

And he sure had more than his share of sex appeal. That alone put him way out of her league. She had rarely dated over the years. Her flirting skills were nonexistent. And she still harbored the uncertainty around men that had marked her when Bill had taken off after Amber’s birth. They’d been high school
sweethearts, sure they were destined to be together forever even over the objections of their parents.

It had been a case where her parents had known best. They’d been furious with her and told her she’d made her bed, she was on her own. That had been before Amber. Even her birth had not softened their stance. Consequently they’d missed out on all her childhood.

Five years ago, Sara had learned they moved to a retirement community in Arizona. She hadn’t had any contact with them in almost twenty years. Loving her daughter as she did, she could never understand her parents’ position. She’d do anything for Amber, even if she made a mistake along the way. Wasn’t that what families were for—to support each other when hard times came? To share in the good times and love each other no matter what?

Gradually Sara gave into the pleasurable sensations of the massage. The darkened room and soft music conspired to relax. The warm oil and soothing strokes of the masseuse were heavenly. She enjoyed the sybaritic delights. If she could have afforded it, she’d do this all the time. What would her mysterious man say to that?

By the time six-thirty rolled around, Sara was in a state. She didn’t know whether to go to dinner with a stranger or not. How safe was that? On the other hand, if they ate in the hotel, how dangerous could it be? She wouldn’t get in a car with someone she didn’t know. She wouldn’t go anywhere she didn’t know. They’d have dinner, chat a while, and that would be that.

It beat staying in her room and ordering room service.

Especially after getting a complete makeover after her massage.

She lifted the flirty sea-green dress from the bed. It would be a shame to waste it. For the first time in longer than she could remember, she felt like someone else. Someone full of life and anticipation. She could wear this nothing of a dress, the super high heels she bought, and flirt like crazy. Then come back safely to her room and dream about a fabulous evening like none she’d ever had.

She’d do it.

Promptly at seven, she stepped from the elevator, feeling as exposed as if she were wearing a bikini. The sales woman at the boutique had assured her she looked terrific in the dress, but it clung like a second skin and didn’t even reach her knees. The new, shorter hair felt as if she’d been scalped. She suspected the sultry look she’d tried for with the new makeup probably looked silly.

Before she could dash back into the elevator, however, he appeared looking as sexy as she remembered. Now he wore a dark suit, pristine-white shirt and dark tie. His eyes captured hers as he sauntered across the expanse, letting her know by his quick glance, that encompassed everything from the new hair style to the sexy heels, that he liked what he saw.

“Matthew Tucker,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Sara Simpson,” she replied, taking his hand. Instead of shaking it, he drew her closer, tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow when he turned. He headed toward the bank of elevators that serviced the rooftop restaurant.

“I made reservations at the Starlight Room,” he said. “Dinner and dancing, sound all right?”

“It sounds perfect.”

All her worries fled. He wasn’t trying to whisk her away somewhere. They would stay right in the hotel and if things got awkward, she could walk back to her room. But if the evening went well, she’d have a wonderful start on her new life.

“So tell me all about Sara Simpson,” Matt invited when they were seated beside one of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lake. It was pitch dark outside, with only the lights from town and scattered homes on the shore offering any break to the stygian night. A cloud cover had drifted in, blotting out the stars. The windows reflected the soft lights of the restaurant.

A combo playing nearby provided excellent background music, and an opportunity to dance.

Sara looked at him, wondering what about her boring life would appeal to such a fascinating man. A look at his expensive clothes convinced her he would know nothing about struggling to earn a living, working her way through college while raising a child. A single man in his early thirties would know nothing about the turmoil at home when said child was a teen and angry she never met her father. Or the difficulties a woman had competing with the old boys network at work. Her life now suited her, but to tell someone else how she spent it sounded boring.

What she wanted was to have Matt consider her exciting and daring. A woman of the world, totally at ease with going out to dinner with a stranger. She wanted to forget she was a mom and have him see
her as a woman of mystery. Someone he’d be glad he’d coerced into having dinner with him.

“The brief version?” she asked, stalling as she frantically tried to come up with something exciting.

“We’ve got all evening, why be brief?”

She leaned closer. “All right, but you have to be discreet.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How discreet?”

“I don’t want my cover blown.”

Amusement danced in his eyes. “You have my promise.”

“I am a kind of detective, ferreting out facts people often want secreted down to the tiniest detail. Depending on the consequence, I expose them. Making them come clean on all fronts.”

He looked intrigued. Sara sat back, satisfied. She wasn’t just some boring accountant who would make his eyes glaze over with talk of debits and credits. Could she expand her mysterious occupation through dinner? She’d never tried it before, but the challenge was proving to be fun. The real key would be to tell only the truth, while giving a different impression.

“That’s the short version, I suspect,” he said.

She nodded. “So tell me about you.”

“Maybe I’m one of the people who assists those who want to guard their information,” he said, his eyes holding hers.

“What?”

“Security. Boring, I know, but there it is. My company designs and implements security features for businesses, from basic burglar alarms, to sophisticated fire walls in mainframe computers. I’m in the computer division.”

“You work with computers?” She couldn’t believe
it. He looked tan, fit, athletic. How could he be stuck behind a computer all day?

“Among other aspects of the firm. Actually I’m one of the partners. Computers are my speciality. Disappointed?”

Oh, no. He thought she was some super detective with a glamorous life and his would disappoint her. That’s why she shouldn’t tell tall tales.

“Not at all. I find computers fascinating.” And frustrating if they didn’t work the way they were supposed to. She was never able to troubleshoot problems herself, she always had to call the tech in. “Do you work here at Lake Tahoe?” she asked.

“No. Headquarters are in San Francisco. But I travel a lot. I’m here on a break. Just got back from Moscow.”

“Moscow?” Her eyes widened.

“Ever been there?”

She shook her head.

“Your work is local, then?” he asked.

“San Francisco.”

“Ah.”

“What were you doing in Moscow?” She tucked away the knowledge he was also from San Francisco. Would they ever run into each other once they returned home? Would he ask her out again?

“Helping a firm set up Internet security, so pirates and hackers don’t get in. Before that I was in Brussels working on some of the mainframes for the EU.”

“And before that?” She was fascinated. Imagine having a job that took him all over the world. That’s what she wanted. A chance to travel and see other cultures, visit historic sites, learn to eat Italian food properly in Italy, or see a bullfight in Spain.

“Hong Kong. Crowded as all get out, but exciting.”

Sara could only stare at him. He spoke about traveling as casually as she talked about going to the supermarket. “You’ve been all over the world?”

He nodded.

The waiter temporarily halted their conversation as he served dinner, asking if they needed anything else. Once he departed, Sara looked at Matt.

“I would love to travel. In fact, I was just thinking earlier with Amber married, I’m free for the first time in years. No ties to keep me home. I can travel whenever I want. Splurge and indulge my desires.”

“Are those the only desires you wish to indulge?” he asked, softly.

Heat washed through her at the look in his eyes. She dropped her gaze to her meal and didn’t answer. But a mental picture of Matt and her locked in a heated embrace immediately came to mind. Thank God he couldn’t read her mind.

“Hey, buddy. I wondered where you disappeared to.” A tall man with shaggy blond hair stopped by the table, obviously addressing Matt, but with his eyes on Sara. “I was available for dinner, but you didn’t invite me,” he said.

“As you can see, I had other plans,” Matt said.

“And you’re not sharing?”

“No.”

Sara glanced at Matt who was looking at her with amusement. He inclined his head slightly. “I might make an introduction if you leave immediately,” he said to his friend.

“Or I could join you,” he suggested, making no move to pull out one of the empty chairs at the table.

“Sara, this obnoxious guy is a fellow partner at Aste Technologies. Dexter Braddox. Dex, Sara Simpson. And no, you can’t join us.”

“We came up for the skiing and the first thing you do is dump me for work, and now I find you with the prettiest woman in the place. Does that seem fair?” Dex asked.

Sara smiled at the compliment, knowing they were kidding each other, but feeling like the center of attention between two very good-looking, successful males. She’d never been in such a situation before.

Dex chatted for another minute, then left. Sara looked at Matt. “Should you have invited him to join us?”

“No. I definitely didn’t want him in on our evening. Let him find his own woman.”

So Matt considered her his woman—at least for the evening. She smiled at the sheer delight she felt and resumed eating.

They discussed the food, the ambiance of the restaurant, and the activities the area held. Then Matt said,

“Since we both live in the city, maybe I know where you work. Or is that top secret? Do you live near your office? Do you even have offices?”

“I live near Fort Mason, and it’s an easy bus ride to work on Montgomery Street where the office is located. Sometimes I walk on really nice summer days. It’s good exercise.”

“We’re practically neighbors, then. I have a place in the Marina district.”

She nodded, knowing they might physically be not too distant, but the small apartments near Fort Mason were nothing compared to the lavish homes in the
ritzy Marina district. A view of the water seemed to be required of those places. Her view was of the city buses that traveled the street.

“Who watches your place when you’re gone?” she asked. She was finished eating. Would he want to extend the evening or suggest they leave?

“The mail I don’t have sent to the office friends bring in periodically. My secretary deals with most of it. No plants, no pets, nothing that requires a lot of attention,” he said. Glancing at the dance floor, he noted several couples were dancing.

“Care to dance?” he asked, glancing at her empty plate.

Sara had been hoping for some dessert, she’d seen a tray of fancy chocolate concoctions when they’d first entered the restaurant. But dancing sounded almost as decadent. Not that she was a good dancer. She hadn’t a lot of practice, but how hard could swaying to the slow tempo be? She was tempted beyond resistance to be held in his arms. She had noticed the glances from other women while they ate. Matt was the best looking man in the place, and Sara felt a wave of gratitude he seemed intent on her.