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He looked implacable, except that twin flames danced in his eyes. “You mean you need a headliner. Try your pitch on someone else.”
“The fund-raiser would be good for Serenghetti Construction, too,” she tried, having rehearsed her bullet points. “It’s an excellent opportunity to further community relations.”
He turned away again, and she placed a staying hand on his arm.
Immediately, she realized her mistake.
They both looked down at his biceps, and she yanked her hand back.
She’d felt him, strong and vital, his arm flexing. Once, fifteen years ago, she’d run her hands over his arms and moaned his name, and he’d taken her breast in his mouth. Would she ever stop having a heated response to his every touch, every look and every word?
She stared into his eyes, which were now hard and indecipherable—as tough as the rocks he blasted for a living.
“You need something from me,” he stated flatly.
She nodded, her throat dry, feeling hot despite the weather.
“Too bad I don’t forgive or forget a deliberate betrayal easily. Consider it a character flaw that I can’t forget the facts.”
She flushed. She’d always wondered whether he’d known for certain who’d ratted out his prank to the school administration, earning him a suspension and likely costing Pershing the hockey championship that year. Now it seemed she had her answer.
She’d had her reasons for doing what she’d done, but she doubted they’d have satisfied him—then or now.
“High school was a long time ago, Cole,” she said, her voice thin.
“Right, and in the past is where the two of us are going to stay.”
His words hurt even though it had been fifteen years. Her chest felt tight, and it was difficult to breathe.
He nodded at the curb. “Yours?”
She hadn’t realized it, but they were near her car. “Yes.”
He pulled open her door, and she stepped off the curb.
A swimming sensation came over her, and she swayed.
Still, she tried for a dignified exit. A few more steps and she’d put an end to this uncomfortable reunion...
As the edges of her vision faded to black, she had one last thought. I should have eaten lunch.
She heard Cole curse and his hard hat hit the ground. He caught her in his arms as she slumped against him.
When she floated to consciousness again, Cole was saying her name.
For a moment she thought she was fantasizing about their sexual encounter in high school...until the smells of the construction site penetrated her brain, and she realized what had happened.
She was cradled against a warm, solid body. Her trench coat was bunched around her like a cocoon.
She opened her eyes, and her gaze connected with Cole’s. His golden-green eyes were intense.
She was also up close and personal with the new scar traversing his cheek. It looked painful but not jagged. Had he taken a skate blade to the face? She wanted to reach up and trace it.
He frowned. “Are you okay?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Yes, let me down.”
“May be a bad idea. Are you sure you can stand?”
