That Night with You (13 page)

She slipped her hand out from under
his. “Actually, Adam, I’m feeling rather tired. I was up late last
night finishing my plans.” She swiped her hand along her brow. “I
guess the excitement and the cranberry martini has gotten to me. If
you don’t mind, I think I’ll go home.”

“
You can’t go,” he
objected, his voice cracking with distress. “We have so much to
discuss.”

She gave him an apologetic pout. “I’m
sorry, but I really should go.”

“
I’ll show you to your
car.”

She rested her hand on the lapel of
his tuxedo jacket, smiling flirtatiously. “There’s no need, Adam.
You enjoy the party; get something to eat.” She waved to the
buffet. “I’ll see you Monday.”

Leaving Adam behind, Madison made a
hasty retreat from the dining room, anxious to meet Hayden. Dodging
guests, she pulled the gold purse from under her arm and retrieved
her cell phone. When she reached the lobby, she stopped, taking a
moment to send a quick text to Charlie.

No need to pick me up. Got
ride home.

Very quickly Charlie texted
back.
With who?

Hottie boss.

Hottie boss
sex?

Not like that,
Madison typed into her phone.

I’ll sleep at Nelson’s.
Jump his bones.

It’s business,
Charlie.

Yeah, right. Details in
morning.

Madison shook her head at her
roommate’s suggestion, not wanting to admit that she had secretly
hoped for such an ending to the night. She was pretty much
convinced that Hayden was her Harry, but was also painfully aware
that their one night together had meant nothing to him. After her
conversation with Hayden’s sister, Mike, she had a good idea of the
kind of man Hayden had been when they had met up in that bar: a
campus playboy. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was still the
same Lothario he used to be, or if his failed marriage had scared
him further away from commitment. Common sense told her that
another night with her boss would be a huge mistake, but despite
all the dire warnings from her head, her heart was slowly caving to
him. Her head spinning with questions while her stomach twitched
with nerves, Madison rested her hand against her forehead as a
slight pounding—the after effects of the strong drink, no
doubt—began to add to her discomfort.

Leaving the warmth of the lobby
behind, she exited the thick wooden doors at the entrance and stood
beneath the white canopy that stretched over a row of steps to the
bricked drive. A brisk breeze blew past, making her rub her hands
up and down her bare arms, regretting not bringing some sort of
wrap. Slowly descending the cascade of cement steps to the valet
podium, Madison’s mind leapt ahead to the events to come with
Hayden. Those persistent butterflies zoomed to life at the thought
of being alone with him. Again her practical mind jumped in,
tempering her excitement.

Straighten up, Madison. You
have to work with the man,
she silently
berated.

Suddenly, something wrapped around
her, and when Madison looked down, she saw a man’s black tuxedo
jacket enveloping her.

“
You’re cold,” Hayden’s
voice purred in her ear.

When he came around in front of her,
adjusting the jacket about her shoulders, she spied his muscular
torso through his sheer white dress shirt. His eyes searched hers
as he held up her cardboard tube.

“
Adam cornered me as I was
leaving.” He pulled a valet ticket from his trouser pocket. “I had
to almost threaten him with bodily harm not to harass the Martins
after I left.”

The valet came up to Hayden and took
his ticket.

“
Do you think that will
work?” Madison tucked the tube under her arm. “He seems pretty
relentless.”

“
He’ll listen. I set Mike
on him before I left. I told her to keep an eye on him and trust
me, she will.”

“
I liked your
sister.”

Hayden raised his dark brows, making
his eyes appear slightly sinister. “Really? I find that surprising.
Mike usually offends everyone.”

“
She’s honest, not
offensive,” Madison reflected. “Only people who are hiding from the
truth will be offended by it.”

He snickered while placing his hands
in his trouser pockets. “Yeah, well, my sister is a master at
pissing everyone off. My parents, her ex, even my ex.”

“
I got the impression she
didn’t like your ex-wife.”

“
No one liked Ellen.” His
handsome face sobered. “My mother begged me not to marry her. She
said I was going to regret it, and she was right.”

“
So why did you marry
her?”

He took in a deep breath of the cool
night air. “When we met I was…looking for something, and I thought
I’d found it in her.”

The lights from outside the mansion
cast a tempting glow, drawing Madison’s attention to every fleck of
gray in his eyes. “What were you looking for?”

The left side of his mouth curved into
a half-grin. “How do you do that?”

“
Do what?”

“
Get me to talk, open up,
and…I can’t seem to keep my thoughts to myself when I’m with
you.”

“
Surely there are some
thoughts you’re holding back, Hayden.”

Then she saw it; that irrefutable
flash of desire in his eyes.

The bright beam of headlights made her
turn away. A black Range Rover with tinted windows pulled up to the
podium, and the young valet attendant jumped from the front
driver’s side of the car. He came around and opened the passenger
door for Madison.

Hayden rested his hand against her
back and gently ushered her toward the car. The sensation made
Madison close her eyes for a second, relishing the feel of his
hand.

After slipping into the front seat,
she watched as Hayden tipped the valet and then went around to the
driver’s side of the car.

“
Where do you live?” he
inquired, pulling the seatbelt over his shoulder.

“
Behind the SMU campus on
Rosedale. It’s a big blue apartment building.” She set the
cardboard tube in the backseat.

“
How long have you lived
there?”

She watched his smooth hands glide
over the wood and leather steering wheel as they pulled out of the
fancy bricked driveway. “A little over a year. I moved in with my
roommate, Charlie, after I finished my degree at UT. It was close
to where I was doing my internship.”
“And where was that?”

“
It was on my
resume.”

“
Madison, do you know how
many resumes I saw? I had thirty people apply for the jobs you and
Adam got. Forgive me if I can’t remember every detail on your
application.”

“
I interned at Pellerin,
Everly, and Walters.”

“
I know Curtis Pellerin,”
he told her. “We’ve shared some clients. How did you like working
for him?”

“
He was very nice to me. He
even wanted me to stay on, but it wasn’t what I was looking
for.”

“
And Parr and Associates
was?” he snickered. “I find that hard to believe.”

She took in a deep breath, debating if
she should lie her butt off or tell him the truth about her
high-rise aspirations. “Actually, no. I wanted to get on with MA
Architects. My dream is to build skyscrapers…buildings that touch
the sky.”

“
I understand. I was just
like that when I was in school. I didn’t want to take over my
father’s firm, but by the time I graduated with a master’s degree
in architecture I was warming up to the idea. However, if given the
chance, I would love to build skyscrapers, too.”

“
Then why don’t
you?”

“
Because Parr and
Associates has a great reputation with home design. It’s taken a
long time to build up that reputation, and after being in this
business for a while, I discovered I like the simplicity of
designing homes. I know some big building architects, like over at
MA, and the headaches associated with designing and building those
steel and glass beasts are enormous.” He paused as he turned to
her. “Besides, pleasing homeowners has its rewards. When you see
the finished product and know people are going to be living inside
of something you created, building a life and raising a family, it
makes it all worthwhile. You’ll see when Pat and Stevie build your
design. It gives you a sense of accomplishment.”

“
You told me that they
wanted to make some changes to my plans. What kinds of
changes?”

Arching back slightly, he appeared
uncomfortable with the question. “They love it as is, but that
could change as we get down the road. Homes are an ever-evolving
process during construction.”

Confused by his comment, Madison
cautiously studied his profile. “I thought we needed to talk about
the changes to my design. That’s why you offered to take me home,
isn’t it?”

His gaze locked on hers. “I
lied.”

“
Why did you do
that?”

He diverted his eyes to the road
ahead. “You know why.”

A zap of dread mixed with excitement
tore through her. The statement could have meant a number of
things, but instead of pursuing questions about his intentions, she
kept quiet and eased back in her seat. She had the answer she had
been hoping for. Hayden Parr was interested in her…very
interested.

***

When his black Range Rover parked in
front of her blue five-story apartment building, the recessed
entrance of glass doors and dim lights loomed ahead. As she debated
between inviting him up or dashing for the entrance, Hayden spoke
out.

“
I’ll see you to your
apartment.” He turned off the engine and climbed out before she
could protest.

As he came around and opened her door,
a flutter of panic seized her. The sensation reminded her of their
first night together. He had brought her back to his apartment, and
had opened the car door of his Porsche for her. When he had reached
for her hand, his touch had instantly calmed her, giving her the
courage to forge ahead.

“
Give me your hand,” he
urged, snapping her back from the past.

Hesitantly, Madison took his
outstretched hand, and when their fingers met, a burst of
electricity passed through her. She considered if he had felt it
too, but his frosty eyes were impossible to decipher.

Pulling her to him, Hayden shut her
door, and still holding her hand, led her toward the building
entrance.

“
Oh, my plans,” she glanced
back at the car, “I left them in the backseat.”

“
Leave them. I’ll bring
them to the office on Monday.”

Neither of them spoke as they walked
the rest of the way to the glass doors, and when he opened one of
them for her, she let go of his hand, disappointed to lose the
warmth of his touch.

Inside, they slowly made their way to
the pair of silver elevator doors in the lobby as Madison’s mind
clamored for something to say.

“
You really don’t need to
see me up. I’ll be fine.” She eased his jacket from around her
shoulders and held it out to him. “Thank you for this.”

Ignoring the jacket, he pushed the
elevator call button. “There is something we need to settle between
us.”

“
There is?”

He took the jacket and slung it over
his arm. “Yes, we have unfinished business.”

The silver doors slowly cranked open,
and he held them as she stepped inside. Once he had followed her
in, he motioned to the console.

“
What floor?”

“
Five.”

He punched the button, and while the
doors were slowly closing he moved next to her.

“
What ‘unfinished
business’?” she asked, clutching her purse to her chest.

With an amused grin, he noted the
apprehension in her green eyes. “You’re keeping secrets from
me.”

She swallowed hard.
I’m keeping a hell of a lot more than that from
you,
she thought, but insisted, “I’m not
keeping anything from you, Hayden.”

“
Are you sure about
that?”

She stood beside him as the car
climbed upward, hunting for things to say to him; witty comments or
alluring statements to offset the torment he was creating in
her.

“
I don’t keep secrets,” she
finally offered, figuring it was close to the truth.

Once they arrived on the fifth floor,
she moved toward her apartment as she searched her purse for her
keys. Hayden followed her, and she was acutely aware of his
presence.

“
I think you keep a great
deal to yourself, Madison. You don’t say much, but your eyes give
you away.”

She found her keys and spotted her
apartment just ahead. Quickening her step, she moved to work the
lock on her door. “I think most people are like that.”

“
Perhaps, but none of them
are like you.”

Her hands shaking, she unlocked the
deadbolt and glanced back at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment.
Good night.”