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“What’s going on?”
“First of all, I thought I’d have to spend my birthday alone. Second, I went to a safety training conference Monday and Tuesday, and you’ll never guess who the presenter was.”
“Who?”
“Damian.”
Janae bolted upright on the couch. “What? Damian, as in Damian from the cruise?”
“The one and only. I couldn’t believe it.”
“Did you guys have a chance to talk?”
“Briefly. I told him we should just move on and leave things the way they are.”
“And he said?”
“For a minute, I thought he seemed upset, but I’m sure it’s just that he’s probably not used to women turning him down.”
“I don’t know, Karen. But I guess it doesn’t matter now since he’s gone back to wherever he lives.”
“His consulting firm is based out of North Carolina, and he’ll be back the week after Thanksgiving for at least a week working at the school revamping the safety program and doing assemblies for the staff, parents and kids.”
“Wow. I can’t believe all this has happened since I saw you a month ago. I guess you really did need that massage. So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Seeing him brought back everything from the cruise, and it’s not going to be easy to ignore him when we have to work together. I’ve got a week to figure out how to deal with him.” Her mind warned her that he was another man looking for a good time, but her body didn’t care and wanted her to throw caution to the wind. Right now she couldn’t tell which part of her had the upper hand.
Karen’s cell buzzed. She frowned at the display, not recognizing the number. “Hello.”
“Karen, it’s Damian.”
“Damian?” Her stunned gaze met Janae’s amused one.
“Or not,” Janae said with a wry chuckle.
Karen skewered her with a look. “What do you want, Damian?”
“I need to talk to you, Karen.”
“I don’t think—”
“Please, baby. Just give me fifteen minutes.”
Why couldn’t she resist this man? Sighing heavily, she said, “Fine. Fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
She gave him the information he’d need to get into the complex and disconnected. She rested her head on the back of the sofa and groaned. “He’s coming over.”
“I heard,” Janae said. “At least you’ll know why he stood you up.”
“I guess.”
She and Janae ate lunch quickly, and then the limo dropped Karen back at her place before taking Janae to the airport. Karen nervously paced while waiting for Damian to arrive.
* * *
Damian parked in an uncovered spot marked for visitors and sat in the car for a good ten minutes. Finally, he got out and walked across the lot. A limo pulled up in front of him, and the back window came down.
“Hello, Damian.”
He stared at the familiar-looking woman and searched his brain for a memory. Smiling, he said, “Janae, right? You’re Karen’s friend from the cruise.”
She nodded.
“It’s good to see you again.”
“Same here.” She eyed him for a moment. “You must care about Karen a lot to try to find her.”
“I do. I had no intention of leaving town without seeing her,” he responded.
She smiled, seemingly satisfied by his answer. “Well, good luck. You’re going to need it.”
He chuckled softly. “Thanks.”
The limo started off, then stopped again. Janae leaned out the window. “Oh, by the way, today is Karen’s birthday. Thought you might like to know.”
Damian grinned and stared after the limo as it drove off. Too bad he hadn’t had that information beforehand.
He walked rapidly to her door, hesitated a beat, took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. His heart started pounding when he heard the rattle of a chain and the door opening. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“May I come in?”
She hesitated for what seemed like forever in his mind, then finally stepped back. They stood there for a lengthy minute staring at each other, neither speaking. He took in the sight of her dressed in a pair of jeans and a pullover top. The outfit accentuated every luscious curve that he remembered. He dragged his gaze up to her face, met her hostile glare and questioned whether he had made the right decision in coming.
