The Tycoon (33 page)

money. “Well, he must have more money than sense.” She ran a finger along the vase’s smooth edge. To steer her associates off the trail, she added, “Let’s just hope he’s got enough to buy Jim King’s house.”

The chatter and jokes continued, but Shannon tuned them out. The last thing she wanted was to discuss her sudden new romance with her sales team.

All of them left early, leaving her alone. She pulled the note out of her purse and studied Drake’s handwriting—bold, forward-slanted strokes, more like printing than writing. She would love to be a handwriting analyst, able to learn his hidden traits from the note she held in her hand.

She placed the bouquet on an end table beside a small wicker sofa, where she could see it from her desk, then sat looking at it, her chin propped on her palm. An invitation for another meeting and flowers from
Texas Monthly’s
Most Eligible Bachelor. How many women would like to be her at this moment? Legions, she would bet.

She had never seen more beautiful roses. And Kelly was right about the quality of the vase. Neither of those items had been picked up at a discount store. She should call him. Not to thank him would be rude. But once she said thank you, then what? He would want to get together again and she had already proved she wasn’t strong enough to resist him.

Finally, the person she called was Christa. “Want to go somewhere quiet for a drink?”

“Uh-oh. This sounds serious. Red Rover’s Lounge in the Traveler’s Hotel is quiet. I’m wrapping up here. Meet you there in half an hour.”

Happy hour was underway at Red Rover’s with Christmas carols serenading in the background. The buffet offered a plentiful assortment of treats, including hot Armadillo Eggs and cold shrimp. Shannon and Christa filled small plates and carried them to a secluded table. With her stomach still queasy, Shannon didn’t know why she had chosen something made of jalapeno peppers. She took it as another indication she had gone off the deep end.

Over cold beer, she confessed to Christa her erotic parking lot encounter with the Lockhart heir and this afternoon’s gift of roses.

Christa shrieked and nearly choked on an Armadillo Egg. She gulped quick drinks of beer to recover. “Oh my God!” she said, giggling with glee. “I can’t believe you did it in a parking lot! In December! You bitch!”

“Christa, cut it out. People are staring.”

“He’s hot for you. Oh, my God. He’s so hot for you. Don’t you see? He wanted you to show an interest in him and he got upset when you weren’t glad to see him.”

“Holy cow, how could I be glad? I was in shock.”

“Did you ever think he might be in love with you?”

Shannon shook her head, her brow tugging into a deep frown. “No, Christa, no. He was mad. He isn’t in love with me. I’ve only seen him twice. And he’s had a different personality both times. I’m wondering if he’s got a screw loose.”

“It wasn’t you he was mad at, Shannon. Who he was really mad at was himself. That was classic. I’m telling you, the guy could be in love with you. And he doesn’t know what to do about it. Or maybe he hasn’t even figured it out yet. So he acts like a dumb jerk.”

“That’s impossible. I don’t believe in love at first sight. And I doubt if he does either.”

“How old did you say he is? Thirty-five? A thirty-five-year-old single guy like Drake Lockhart has been around the block. He’s had a chance at any and every single woman in Texas. And probably some married ones. And obviously he hasn’t found one. Trust me, girlfriend. He knows what he wants. But that doesn’t mean he knows how to handle it when he finds it.”

Shannon finally laughed and shook her head. “I just can’t believe that, Christa. What could he possibly see in me that he hasn’t seen in all of those others he’s had a chance at?”

Christa studied her plate for a few seconds. “Okay, consider this. I’ll tell you what
I
saw in you before we got to be friends again. I saw a woman who’s a survivor. Someone with a brain. Street smart, with a boatload of common sense. Someone not judgmental, who’s good company and easy to be around. I saw someone who doesn’t ask for handouts, either emotionally or otherwise.

“You’ve always taken your lumps and risen above the fray. But most of all, Shannon, you’re someone who’s capable of being a friend. Someone I could share a secret with. I know you’d split your last dollar with me. You can’t have a friend if you can’t
be
a friend. Just a lot of people don’t know that. It’s my guess that most of that is what he sees in you.”

Tears welled in Shannon’s eyes. “My Lord, Christa. I didn’t know you thought all of that about me.”

“Oh, hell, let’s don’t get mushy. We’re not talking about me and what I think. We’re talking about this Texas prince.” She took a bite from an Armadillo egg and chewed thoughtfully. “These are so good. Why aren’t you eating yours?”

“My stomach’s been unsettled all day. Too many margaritas last night.”

“And what happened last night brings us to the next question related to this guy. What about you, dear friend? What do
you
want? Other than the obvious.”

“What’s obvious?”

Christa’s blue eyes grew round. “Money and sex. What else? The money speaks for itself, but the sex is another matter. It has to be
good
sex. Having a lot of money doesn’t make up for bad sex. After a while, it would be hard to fake it. Nights would get real long. And let’s face it. You can get just as pregnant from bad sex as good.”

Shannon felt a flush crawling up her neck just thinking about the time she had spent with Drake. “I don’t have to fake it.”

“Oh, that’s good. Very good. Because you know how men are. The sex comes before anything else. My second ex? He told me men think about sex their every waking minute and even dream about it at night.”

Shannon had no trouble believing that about Drake. From what she had seen of him, he was a highly sexed being. Since meeting him, she had spent a good deal of time thinking about sex herself. “I don’t want to deal with any of it, Christa. I’m trying to make a living and build my business. Getting involved with him, or anyone, would cause me all sorts of problems.”

Closing her eyes, Christa shook her head. “Shannon, Shannon, Shannon. You are fibbing to your friend. What’s your definition of involvement? You’ve done it with him twice when you don’t even know him. You’ve even done it without protection and risked getting pregnant or catching something really bad. How much more involved could you get? So tell me the truth. What’s really bothering you? Why are we having this meeting?”

Shannon rested her elbows on the table, clasping her cheeks with her palms. “I’m scared, Christa. I just can’t understand what he could possibly see in me.”

“Don’t think about that,” Christa said. “I say grab that wild horse and ride that sucker all the way to the buzzer. How many women even get a chance at a young, good-looking millionaire? Most rich guys are old and fat. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but meanwhile, just look at the fun you can have.”

Dark flashbacks battered Shannon. The hookups she’d had with men who obviously had no futures, including two years of clandestine trysts with the married Justin Turnbow, whom she had once thought she was in love with. She had never had difficulty attracting men. Finding one worth having or who hadn’t lied, cheated or used her had been harder.

Over the years, she had armored herself with a perverse wisdom learned from experience:
Get over one lost lover by hooking up with another one.
When the new had worn off one, she had simply drifted on until she bumped into another one.

“You just described my life and my attitude from a few years ago, before I came back to Camden,” she said. “It was a colossal mess and I was miserable. I’m much happier now without a man around at all.”

“But you live like a nun. I hear talk from all quarters, you know. I know of a dozen guys who’d like to date you, but they’re afraid to ask you. The Ice Princess, they call you.”

“I don’t care what they call me. For the first time ever, I’m in control and I’m going to stay that way. My God, if I let myself, I could go completely bonkers over Drake Lockhart. What sane woman wouldn’t? He could hurt me in a big way. That common sense you just mentioned? It tells me to stop it now.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “But I’m afraid of that, too. I’m scared that if I don’t give this a chance, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

“Exactly,” Christa said.

“So here’s what I’m thinking. I’m going to call him back and thank him for the flowers and sort of feel him out, see what’s on his mind. If he still wants to play around, I’m thinking I’ll tell him okay, but I want to have just sex. No emotions. That way, when he drops me, it won’t hurt so bad.”

Christa barked a laugh and she nearly choked again on a drink of beer. “Good luck with that.”

“That should make him happy. Don’t men want sex with no strings attached?”

“Not if they’ve fallen for someone, Shanny,” Christa said softly. “Emotional sex is different from sex for fun.”

A huff burst from Shannon’s chest. “You’d think I’d know that, wouldn’t you? But to be honest, except for Justin, I don’t know if I’ve ever been involved with a guy where there was a sincere emotional attachment. I mean, I’m thirty-three years old and the only lips I’ve ever heard say those three little words belonged to a man who was married to someone else. How can I not think getting involved with Drake Lockhart will turn out like all of the other jerks I’ve known?”

“All I can say, Shannon, is relationships are hard. And I’ve had plenty of experience. As for love?
”—s
he flipped her hand—“
Pfft.
It’s whatever people think it is. Everyone, male or female, gambles and hopes. They make plans, buy presents, take trips, go through all kinds of gyrations. No one ever really knows what’s going to happen, but they still take the chance.”

Shannon grabbed her napkin and dabbed more moisture from the corner of her eye. Ever since she met Drake, she had been on the brink of something she couldn’t quite grasp. “Hope. That’s the key word, isn’t it? If only I could get over fearing his motives. Or that I might wake up beside him some morning and he’ll have three heads. Or God knows what else.”

“You’re crossing bridges before you get to them, Shannon. You do that all the time. Do yourself a favor and do not tie a can to this guy’s tail….Yet.”

Chapter 20

Having made a decision how to deal with Drake, Shannon awoke on Thursday morning reenergized and without a hangover. Her stomach had calmed and she no longer had a headache.

When she reached Piper Real Estate, the fragrance of roses permeated the air even in the reception room. In her office, the rosebuds had opened into baseball-sized, lemon-colored blooms.

If softening her attitude toward him by sending flowers had been Drake’s plan, it had worked. She felt peculiarly appreciative. Thus, vulnerable.

After being shored up by last evening’s talk with Christa, she had gone to bed with what she would say to him firmly fixed in her mind. But she had awakened this morning with a new speech. Then there was the option of not calling him at all. She believed in fair play and not calling him wasn’t fair, even if she was nervous about talking to him. So here she sat dithering over calling him and thanking him.

Finally, taunted by the flowers, at midmorning, she closed her office door, drew in a deep breath and keyed
Unknown Number
into her cell phone.

“Hey, you, it’s me,” he said on the first
burr
.

She heard a smile in his voice, but his answering so quickly caught her off-guard. “Oh. Uh, hi. I didn’t expect…I got the flowers. They’re beautiful….I didn’t expect them. So thanks.”

She scowled. She sounded like a silly fool.

“You’re welcome. The card was with them or you wouldn’t be calling.”

“Yes. Yes, it was.”