Kitabı oku: «Courting Innocence»

Chapter One

October 23, 7.00 a.m., 55 degrees.

It was going to be a beautiful autumn day, even if she wasn’t getting married.

Erin blew out a breath that beat across her lips. She eyed her bedroom door. The forecast predicted sunshine and moderate temperatures. The leaves on the trees outside would be blazing with colour. Now, she just had to face it.

‘Eye of the tiger.’

She’d been dreading this day for a month – ever since the whole thing had been called off. Once she had powered through the next 24 hours, she could finally move on. To what, she had no clue, but she was bound and determined to find out.

She was even excited about the possibilities.

Fluffing her damp hair, she headed for the kitchen. Quiet sounds met her ears the moment she stepped out into the hallway. Jason and Sienna must already be up. Her roommate and her boyfriend had spent the night here, and Erin knew why. They hadn’t wanted her to be alone.

She sighed. She was so tired of people tiptoeing around her. Maybe that would end after today, too.

She turned into the kitchen with a ‘good morning’ on her lips.

All she got out was a ‘guhhhh’.

Her eyes sprang open in surprise. No wonder she’d heard only soft sounds and no talking. Her friends’ mouths were currently involved in something infinitely more pleasurable.

Heat streaked through Erin unexpectedly. That was one more thing that wouldn’t be happening today.

Her wedding night.

Her toes curled in embarrassment, but she couldn’t stop watching. Jason had Sienna trapped against the kitchen counter. The kiss they were sharing was hot, with Sienna arching back until her head nearly bumped against the cabinets. Jason had his hand shoved under the tank top of her pyjamas and was playing with her breast intimately. Sienna wasn’t being shy either. She had one hand in Jason’s hair and another wrapped around…

‘Oh, my,’ Erin squeaked.

The two sprang apart as if she’d just pulled a fire alarm.

‘Erin!’

‘Shit!’

Jason bumped into a chair, and Sienna knocked her purse off the counter. It went flying and hit the floor with a resounding thud, sending its contents everywhere.

‘I’m sorry,’ Erin gasped. She turned to leave, but bumped into the wall.

‘No, no.’ Jason was fast. He caught her wrist and stopped her. ‘My bad. I shouldn’t have started anything.’

‘We weren’t thinking,’ Sienna said in a rush. She straightened her clothes and ran a hand through her hair. Gathering it together, she looked around for her ponytail holder. She spotted it on the counter by her hip, but Jason got to it first. He put it in his pocket and pulled his girlfriend close again.

‘Erin doesn’t want us celibate,’ he said firmly.

‘No!’ Erin agreed.

‘But it’s –’

‘The day she was supposed to get married’ hung in the air like a sagging balloon.

Erin rolled her eyes. And there it was. She didn’t want anyone’s pity. She was over the humiliation and past the anger. She was even past the surprise. ‘I don’t want you guys to stop your lives, just because my plans were derailed.’

‘Are you sure?’ Sienna said cautiously. ‘It doesn’t bother you?’

‘She’s positive,’ Jason said.

Erin choked back a laugh. He wasn’t about to stop having sex on her account.

And they shouldn’t. It didn’t bother her…not that much. Her gaze took in how close they still stood together. There hadn’t just been sparks when she’d walked in the doorway, there had been fire. She could still feel it low in her belly.

Forcibly, she uncurled her toes.

‘It’s just this new apartment,’ she said. ‘I didn’t hear you two in here.’

Jason sent a grin in Sienna’s direction. ‘Not like your old place, huh?’

Sienna’s colouring flared. ‘Shush.’

Erin knelt down to help pick up the things that had fallen out of Sienna’s purse. Their old apartment had walls made of paper, and a former roommate hadn’t been shy about having her lover spend the night. The two hadn’t been the quiet types. Moans had echoed off the walls, one of which had been regularly beaten by a headboard.

The heat in Erin’s belly started to spread, and she was horrified when her nipples pinched. She missed sex. She missed being touched. She and Marty hadn’t been nearly as vigorous, but she missed the contentment a physical connection could bring.

Jason passed Sienna her pocketbook, and Erin snuck a look at the way he stroked his hand up and down her friend’s spine. The intimacy was almost weightier than it had been watching the two kiss.

She stood quickly. ‘I’ll just grab some cereal and head back to my bedroom.’

‘No, don’t,’ Sienna protested. She stuffed the last of her things into her purse. ‘Jason’s making waffles.’

Erin lifted an eyebrow.

‘Hey,’ the big guy said. ‘I think I’m offended.’

‘He makes killer breakfasts,’ Sienna promised. She wrapped an arm around Erin’s shoulders and directed her to the table. ‘You just sit and take it easy. I’ll get you some coffee and orange juice.’

Oh, this was exactly what she hadn’t wanted: kind words, pats on the shoulder and an endless stream of hugs. ‘You two don’t have to wait on me,’ she protested.

‘There’s not room for the three of us to be traipsing around in here,’ Jason said, ending the argument.

Their new apartment was much nicer than the old place, but it wasn’t much bigger. Real estate was hard to come by in the DC area. It also wasn’t cheap.

Defeated by the two of them, she took a seat and watched them work. They moved together fluidly, each taking on their own tasks. More and more, Jason had been convincing Sienna to stay at his place across the Potomac in Virginia. Neither of them was familiar with this kitchen, yet they smiled at each other and shared gentle touches as they tried to find the silverware and syrup.

The intimacy was no longer as blatant as when they’d thought they were alone, but it was sexual. And the presence of the feeling in the room was enough to make Erin squeeze her thighs together tightly. It wasn’t all embarrassment. She hadn’t been hurt by walking in on them.

Frankly, she was hot.

Her skin was tingly, and her ears were warm. It had been a long time since she’d felt the flare of arousal. Even longer since anyone had touched her that way.

She frowned into her coffee. It had been longer than the month of her broken engagement, to be honest. She couldn’t remember any guy kissing her like that. Like he needed her as much as he needed his next breath…Like he couldn’t get enough of her…

Certainly not Marty.

She put the coffee mug back down.

Was that what he’d meant by boring?

She was startled when Sienna slid into the seat beside her. Even at breakfast, her friend looked like the poster model for Miss Manners. Her spine was straight, her shoulders were pulled back, and her legs were crossed demurely.

‘Did you sleep OK?’ Sienna asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

Erin hadn’t missed the fact that Jason had known exactly how to prepare it.

She shrugged. ‘Not well.’

‘I’m sorry. Once you get past today, I’m sure you’ll rest better.’

‘Yeah,’ Erin agreed. Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead. She’d never wanted an autumn wedding anyway. She hadn’t wanted her new life starting when everything around her was dying or going dormant. It just wasn’t a good omen.

‘Did you have anything you wanted to do today? We’ve cleared our schedules.’

‘You two don’t have to babysit me.’

‘Did you want to talk?’ Sienna asked quietly.

Not really. Erin was so talked out. She’d already cried on her friends’ shoulders for hours. She poured some cream into her coffee and swirled it round and round. ‘I’m OK.’ With a sigh, she confessed, ‘I think Marty did the right thing.’

‘What?’ Sienna squeaked.

Jason merely stood staring at her, leaning against the counter with his arms wrapped across his muscled chest.

Erin swept back her hair. The dampness from her shower was drying, leaving the blonde strands wavy. ‘I’m not saying he did it the right way, but, more and more, I think we narrowly avoided making a mistake.’

Sienna touched her arm. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘Because I miss the wedding itself: my dress, the flower arrangements, the reception with all my family and friends. I miss it all – but I don’t miss him.’

There it was, the truth that had been bothering her so much was out. She risked a look at her best friend.

Sienna didn’t look convinced. ‘Are you sure you’re not just angry with him? You were together for so long.’

For seven years. Last year of high school, all of college and grad school.

‘I’m not angry with him. At this point, I don’t even think about him.’ Not Marty in particular, anyway. She thought about their plans together, their habits as a couple, the way they’d used to talk, sex…The question that consumed her most, though, was why.

‘Then you’re right,’ Jason said. ‘You avoided a bullet.’

She had, but who did that? Spent all that time together and walked away without looking back? Had they ever been in love?

‘I just want to understand.’ Marty was the one who walked, but she was having a tougher time. She hadn’t seen it coming. Her hands tightened around her coffee mug. ‘What was so boring about me?’

‘Whoa,’ Jason pointed a stern finger at her. ‘You are not boring.’

‘But that’s what he said.’

‘He said that things had got boring, but he never tried to fix them,’ Sienna said, jumping in. ‘Jason’s right, you’re sweet and fun and friendly.’

‘And sexy as hell,’ Jason muttered as he concentrated on pulling a waffle out of the cooker.

Sienna’s head whipped around.

He shrugged as he brought over a plate and placed it in front of Erin. He dropped a kiss on her forehead before looking at his girlfriend.

‘What? It’s the truth.’ Catching the back of Sienna’s chair, he leaned in. ‘But her loss, I’m taken.’

Erin couldn’t have been more surprised when Sienna caught his face with both hands and pulled him in for a sizzling kiss. ‘And don’t you forget it.’

He let out a low growl. ‘Not likely.’

He gave her another quick peck and headed back to the waffle maker.

Erin blinked. The man was having the most amazing effect on her normally conservative friend. ‘He’s just joking.’

Jason looked over his shoulder so fast, he nearly poured waffle batter into the sink. ‘What are you talking about?’

Erin rolled her eyes. ‘I’m cute. The friendly little blonde.’

‘And you think guys don’t find that hot?’

She stared at him blankly.

He shook his head and returned to making breakfast. ‘Bullet dodged. Huge, huge bullet.’

‘He is the Sloan Gunman,’ Sienna said dryly. ‘He should know.’

They ate their waffles, which were surprisingly delicious. Being a man, Jason had fried some bacon, too, so the meal was salty and sweet and thoroughly unhealthy.

Perfect for a cancelled wedding day.

Was he right? Could there be a fiery, intense relationship out there waiting for her, too? Erin nearly snorted into her orange juice, but Jason wasn’t the type of guy to lie to save her feelings. She trusted him, because he’d always been brutally honest with her. He didn’t treat her like she was made of fine glass.

She dipped her bacon into the syrup on her plate.

OK, maybe she was attractive – she couldn’t quite make the leap to sexy – but Marty was the only lover she’d ever had. He’d been her first, although there had been another man whom she’d really, really wanted to have that honour.

Yet he’d walked away from her, too.

‘So what’s the plan from here?’ Jason asked.

‘I thought maybe we could go back to the ice rink,’ Sienna said.

That was where they’d gone on the day Erin had met Jason. She hadn’t even known her roommate was dating a former hockey player until he’d taken them to the rink to help her work out her anger and frustration. Jason had taught them how to fire a slap shot that day, and they’d been friends ever since.

‘I’ll make a call, but that’s not what I meant,’ he said. He sat back in his chair, coffee mug in hand. ‘What’s Erin planning to do with her life?’

Sienna sucked in a breath. ‘Don’t push her. Not today.’

‘I want to find a job,’ Erin said without hesitating. ‘I want to take cooking lessons and maybe start a blog. I could do more charity work.’

She’d do anything to make herself less humdrum and tiresome. She’d gone into her engagement with no thoughts past being someone’s wife. Now, she wanted more. She wanted to stand on her own two feet. She wanted to explore her interests. And she wanted to find a man who thought she was sexy and captivating.

She sat up a little straighter and felt something brush against her bare foot. Looking down, she saw a stiff black piece of paper.

It was a business card, a classy one. Black with gold trim, it had Sienna’s name on it with a phone number underneath. Erin felt excitement rise within her. When Sienna tried to snatch it, she pulled it out of reach.

Luxxor Limited.

‘Is this where you’re working?’ Her roommate had recently got a job, but Erin hadn’t been able to ferret any information out of her.

Sienna turned pale. She shared a look with Jason, but then admitted, ‘Yes.’

‘Don’t you like it there?’ Erin had thought Sienna was happy with her work. She always seemed to be in a good mood when she came home from a day at the office.

‘I love it.’

‘Then why won’t you ever talk to me about it? What do you do there?’

‘I’m their communications director.’

‘Director? That’s great!’ After struggling to find a job after receiving her degree, Sienna must be thrilled.

‘Thanks. It’s a small office.’

Small or not, it had been smart enough to hire a great employee. Erin wiggled the card between her fingers, but the company name didn’t ring any bells. ‘What does Luxxor do?’

Sienna shifted in her seat. ‘It’s confidential. The company likes to keep a low profile.’

Erin frowned. In DC, that could mean a few things. Defence contractor, intelligence related, even political fundraising. None of those seemed to suit her friend, though. ‘Oh, come on. Tell me. Please?’

‘I…I can’t.’

Erin pouted. ‘I was supposed to get married today.’

Sienna looked pained.

Jason just laughed. ‘You’re evil.’

‘I just want to know.’ Curiosity had been killing her. She could keep a secret, but she hated when she was kept out of the loop – especially if it was to ‘protect’ her. Her family had done that her entire life and where had it got her?

Blindsided when she’d been dumped.

Jason reached out to gently hook Sienna’s hair behind her ear. ‘She’s just embarrassed.’

The look that his girlfriend threw at him could have melted steel.

‘Why?’ Erin asked. What could a company possibly do that would be that embarrassing? ‘Do you make feminine products? Erectile dysfunction pills? Urinal cakes?’

Her eyes widened. ‘Oh, no. It’s not the call centre your mom referred you to?’

Sienna covered her face with her hand, while Jason fought not to laugh.

‘It’s a…’ he started to say.

Sienna grabbed his wrist. His gaze locked with hers, and he turned his hand over to take hers.

‘Matchmaking service,’ he finished. His thumb moved over the back of Sienna’s hand in a gentle caress.

Erin put down her fork and sat back in her chair. She looked at the card again. ‘Matchmaking?’

‘Of a sort,’ her roommate replied. She fiddled with her unused knife. ‘It’s very exclusive, catering to high-end clientele.’

Erin ran her finger over the crisp edge of the stylish card. Matchmaking…Take charge. Be aggressive. Go for the gusto. She didn’t know what was running faster, her pulse or her thoughts.

‘You can’t say anything to anyone,’ Sienna begged. ‘Not even your parents or your brother.’

Why would she say anything to them? This was information she needed. She wanted to break out of the norm and try new things. This was certainly new. ‘It’s that confidential?’

‘Yes.’

‘I won’t tell a soul.’

Sienna’s shoulders relaxed. ‘Thank you.’

‘Thank you for finally telling me.’ Erin lifted an eyebrow, but let the question go. Jason and Sienna had met at a charity function before Sienna had started working at Luxxor. But this was interesting…

She set the card beside her plate.

Sienna held out her hand. ‘I’ll take that.’

Uh uh. No way. ‘I’d like to keep it.’

‘I’m sorry. I’m not allowed to hand out my business cards to anyone but clients.’

So she wasn’t high-end enough? Erin cocked her head, ready to argue, but it obviously wasn’t a question that Sienna would be open to. She’d have to find someone else who’d be willing to give her more information. For that, she needed Luxxor’s phone number.

She lifted her chin stubbornly. ‘I’m your roommate. I need to know how to get in touch with you.’

‘You have my cellphone.’

‘But what if you drop it or it loses power? What if you get sick and need me to call into work for you?’

‘Jason has the number.’

‘Well, now I do, too.’ Erin deliberately took another bite of her waffle. Sienna stiffened, but Jason squeezed her hand, and the subject was dropped.

Yet Erin’s gaze kept going to the card as they finished their breakfast. Luxxor Limited. Her mind was awhirl, and, surprisingly, not over her cancelled wedding. She’d wanted to move on. Had the opportunity just fallen into her lap?

Did she have the guts?

When the meal was over, she helped clean up, but the first thing she did was take the card to her bedroom and hide it away. Sienna might not like the idea, but the more Erin thought about it, the more she liked it. A matchmaker might be exactly what she needed.

She was determined to do things differently this time. She wanted to stir things up and meet new people. Try new things. Broaden her outlook. Obviously, she needed help understanding men.

And who better than a relationship expert to tell her why her former fiancé had found her so boring?