Running From Fate (24 page)

He wove through the crowd and grabbed a back table, ordering a coffee to hold him while he waited
. 
Kim was always late. 
He stood up when
he
finally
saw
her
cherry red c
onvertible
pull
up a
t the curb.
S
he
sauntered
in the door
wearing a red silk dress that clung to her body like a second skin and ended well above her knees.
Her
blond
hair fell down her back in perfect curls and a large ruby on
a
gold chain rested in the valley between her breasts.
Other male dinners were turning and staring at her in slack jawed amazement.
  He could almost hear the blood pressure in the room rising.

A month ago he would at least have felt some masculine pleasure at being in the company of such a lush beauty.
Today, all he felt was a slight annoyance at the necessity of this meeting.

When she stopped next to his table he leaned forward and lightly
brushed his lips against her cheek before pulling out
a
chair
for her. 
She looked a little disappointed by his lackluster greeting, but she didn’t say anything.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you,” Kim gushed in her overly sweet voice.
  She rested her elbows on the table and bent forward.  She was obviously trying to attract his attention to her overly abundant chest, but he was just afraid that her breasts would pop out and knock over his coffee.  The table was miniscule after all.

He cleared his throat and tried to erase the ridiculous image. 
“It’s been less than a week Kim.”

“Well it seemed much longer.”
Pouting, she put her hand over one of his where it was laying on the table and
batted her lashes
,
gazing
into his eyes
in what she though was a provocative manner
.
“I’ve missed you terribly.”

He pulled his hand away from hers and sat back
, picking up his coffee
.
“I have a very busy day
scheduled
, but I agreed to this lunch because I have something to talk to you about.”

“If it’s about the Stanley’s dinner party,” she interrupted, “you don’t need to worry about a thing.
I’ve already accepted for both of us and I found the most darling dress to wear.
Mrs. Stanley is a bit of a prude so I couldn’t get what I
really
wanted.”
She winked.
“But I think
you’ll like it.
Plus, you should see the underwear I got to go with it.
I’ll model it for you after the party tonight.”

“I told you that I have a very busy day, Kim.
I’ll probably be working into the night.
There’s no way I can
go to a party
.”

A waiter came up to take their order and Kim looked ready to snarl at
the poor man
for the interruption.
He was young, however, dark haired, and muscular and he couldn’t seem to get his eyes above her chest.
Her expression immediately changed.
There was nothing Kim liked better than being admired.

“Yes,” she purred.

“Um,” he stammered and swallowed audibly
, his Adam’s apple bobbing
. 
“What can I get
for you
?”

“I’ll just have a salad and a bottle of water,” she told him.
“I have to watch my figure.”
She turned to James.
“Honey, what would you like?”

“Just a
nother
coffee for me,” he said.

The waiter nodded and backed away, trying to keep his eyes on Kim.
He backed into a customer’s chair
, almost knocking it over.
Only when the woman seated there poked him in the back did he swivel around
and head for the kitchen
.

Kim smiled smugly and then turned back to James.
“What was it you were saying about tonight’s party?”
s
he asked.
“Surely you can take a few hours away from work for me.”

The conversation was really starting to get away from him and James could feel his patience straining.
He was begging to wonder what he had ever seen in her.
“Forget about the party for a
second,” he almost growled.
“I didn’t even know about the damn party.
I came here to discuss something entirely different.
”

“Fine then Mr. Grouchy, what is it you want to talk about?”

He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst.
“Our relationship was advantageous for both of us,
at least for a while,
but I know that it was never exclusive.
”  She looked away in seeming guilt.
“
I think that the time has come to end it.”
He waited for the explosion.

“End it, end what?”
Her face at first showed confusion then it cleared as she realized what he was saying.
“End it!” s
he screeched.
“Why you son of a bitch!
I do the
breaking up
not you
!”

The other customers were starting to stare and James briefly considered trying to calm her down.
From personal experience, though, he knew that it woul
d be an almost impossible task. 
Instead, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

She stood up abruptly, sending her chair clattering to the floor, and poked a manicure
d
finger
nail
in his chest.
“I don’t need you anyway.
I already have someone better.”
With that parting line she flounced away.

“Where did she go?”
t
he waiter asked forlornly several minutes later
when he showed up with the salad
.
  He obviously hadn’t heard the commotion.

“I’m afraid that
something came up.”
James’ mouth quirked in amusement.
“
And s
he had to leave suddenly.”

**********************************************
************

Five hours later
he
found his car turning down Mira’s street with no clear memory of how he had ended up there.
He had meant to stay at the office and get some more work done, but he had been too distracted
. 
His
mind kept wandering back to the time in London.
Considering his
intense reaction to Mira, he had been a little wary of spending an entire weekend in her company.

Despite his apprehension,
however, the weekend
had gone
extremely
well.
Not only had they secure
d a lucrative contract, but she
had been surprisingly good company.
He
couldn’t remember the last time he had acted so foolishly or had so much fun
.

Maybe it was thoughts of
her
that had brought him here, but as long as he was in the neighborhood he might as well stop.
There was some business that he needed to discuss with her anyway.

He pulled into the dr
iveway, cut the engine, and
sat there.
This is
stupid, he
thought
. 
He
was just fooling himself.
From the moment he had climbed in his car and headed
here, he had
known
that it had nothing to do with business.
Mira touched something in him. 
When he was with her he felt more like the man he used to be, before the betrayals and the selfishness of the world he lived in had hardened him.
He knew
that could be dangerous to him,
but
the appeal
was stron
g
and he wanted her
—
badly
. 

H
e got out of his car and stood for a mo
ment, absorbing the atmosphere.  It had been too long since he had even noticed nature’s beauty. 
The sun was shining,
brighter since the earlier rain,
a warm breeze was blowing, and there was music on the air.
At first he thought the noise was coming from a bird but, after listening for a second, he realized that it emanated from the
somewhere else
.
Curious, he
turned from the door and
headed in that direction.

The music was coming from a large, open window at the back of the house.
He drew even with
it and peered in
to what appeared to be the kitchen.
Looking around, he spotted a portable CD player sitting on a counter
.
A bouncy, lively beat was coming from it, something he had
never heard before.
A movement caught his attention and he turned
his head
.
His body stilled and he was momentarily
immobilized
, transfixed by the unfolding scene.

Mira was standing in front of the refrigerator, rooting through its contents.
She was wearing a faded green t-shirt and short, ragged denim shorts.
Something about the way she stood and the tilt of her head prodded his memory
.
He froze, teetering on the brink of some revelation.

The tempo of the music increased and Mira’s body picked up the rhythm.
Hips pumping and breast swaying, she executed a turn and pushed the refrigerator sh
ut with an enthusiastic twitch. 
James felt his mind empty as his body was seized by a hot bolt of lust.
He felt a familiar heaviness grip his lower body and, wryly admitted that he hadn’t come over here to talk about business.
He would remain in control, he vowed, and keep his emotions separate, but one thing
was certain
. 
He
would have her and
it would be
on his terms.