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Jules drew in a shaky breath, his obvious desire for her taking the sting out of his words. She wanted nothing more than to lose herself in him tonight, but the thought of facing the morning-after guilt and awkwardness was more than she could handle. Nik was too perceptive, and that made him dangerous. Sleeping with him again before telling him about Ava was a terrible idea.
Nik stood and offered her his hand. “Let’s get you home.”
CHAPTER11
“Ican get home on my own,” Jules said as they reentered the ballroom, where the auction was wrapping up.
“I don’t like the idea of you driving. Between the wine and what happened? It’s risky.” No way did he want Jules driving herself home. She was still somewhat shaky from her near panic attack, and that combined with the wine he’d given her made driving irresponsible. “I can have my car brought around for us.”
Jules was shaking her head before he even finished his statement. “Thank you, but it’s not necessary. I’ll call a taxi or rideshare. I’ll be safe. Besides, I need my bag, and there are a few people I need to speak to before I leave.” The stubborn set of her mouth told him not to argue.
Nik surrendered, not willing to ruin the progress he’d made tonight. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll get a car for you while you talk to anyone you need to.”
By the time Jules returned with her bag and coat, Nik had a car waiting. He made sure Jules was securely in the car, then closed the door and watched it take her away before striding back into the ballroom. He needed to make arrangements to wire the money for his winning bid. Someone had thrust paperwork into his hands in the chaos, and he had left it sitting on the table when he’d escorted Jules out. Fortunately, it was sitting where he left it. He was sliding it into his suit pocket when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned to find Meg frowning at him, arms crossed over her chest.
“Jules is on her way home?”
“She just left.” Nik had seen Jules and Meg together over the past two days and had concluded they were friends, but Meg was still Jules’s subordinate, and he didn’t know how close they were. It wasn’t his place to share anything about Jules’s life.
“Good. Tonight was harder on her than any of us expected. I saw Michael talking to you. What did he want?”
Nik weighed his words. Meg was clearly close enough to Jules that she knew about her ex-husband, and Meg’s contempt for him showed in both her tone and posture. “He was angry that I outbid him on the date.”
Meg smirked. “I can imagine. He doesn’t like to lose. He hasn’t bothered Jules in a long time, and we were all hoping he was out of her life for good. When he started bidding, Daniel and I bid as high as we could afford to, but Michael has deeper pockets than we do. Not as deep as yours, though.” Her gaze held speculation now. “Just what kind of management consultant are you, again?”
Nik was amused. Meg was in turns protective, concerned, appreciative, and defensive. Her scattergun questions were meant to throw him off balance, to elicit information he didn’t want to give. Her obvious desire to look out for Jules kept her questions from annoying him.
“A very successful one.”
Meg rolled her eyes at his answer. “Fine, keep your secrets. But thank you for doing what you did. You helped my friend out of a tight spot. Did you know who Michael was when you humiliated him so thoroughly?”
“No, she told me who he was after he stopped by our table and acted like an ass. I didn’t need to know who he was. Anybody who knows Jules could see she was uncomfortable with the idea of him winning the date with her. When it looked like no one could match his bid, I stepped in. It was the least I could do.” Nik tried to keep his satisfaction over winning from being too obvious. He didn’t want Meg to think this was anything more than someone helping out a friend in trouble. Nik could only hope that his purchase of the auction would give him an opportunity to spend time with Jules away from work, and to work on convincing her to reignite the sparks that were still buzzing between them.
Meg’s eyebrows climbed at this description of his over-the-top bid, but that wasn’t what she latched onto. “You’re right. All of her friends in the room tonight knew she was in trouble up there. But you’re not her friend. Or did you know Jules before you arrived here yesterday?”
Dangerous waters.He had no idea if Jules had told any of her friends about meeting him before, and he wasn’t going to violate her privacy if she hadn’t. From how Meg talked, he doubted Jules had told her anything about their previous connection.
Nik chose his words carefully. “I had met her before, several years ago. We didn’t stay in touch, and it was a pleasant surprise to find out who I would be working with when I arrived.”
“But she told you about her history with Michael? Even though she barely knows you? And then she let you kiss her?” Her skepticism was impossible to miss.
Ah, there was the reason for this conversation. Meg had seen the kiss and was looking out for her friend. Nik had heard the door open briefly, but his back had been turned, and he had been focused completely on Jules. He didn’t care that Meg had seen the kiss, but he didn’t know how Jules would feel about being seen kissing him. Even if Meg was a good friend, being caught kissing a colleague who appeared to be a near stranger might be embarrassing for her.
“I didn’t say we barely knew each other, just that we lost touch. Now that we’ve reconnected, who knows what might happen. We’re both single.” It was that thought that had been driving his actions. Reconnecting with Jules yesterday had turned this deal from being a pain in his ass into something he was excited about. If he was honest with himself, it was she who had engaged his attention, not the deal, but he wasn’t going to share that with anyone yet.
There was a long pause before Meg responded. “How much did she tell you about her life now?”
“I know she has a daughter, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Meg visibly relaxed at his words. “Ava is the most important person in her life.”
Nik filed this information away, because this might assist in his pursuit of Jules. And he intended to pursue her. If that meant winning over her daughter as well, then that was what he’d do. Nik would hold nothing back to win. He wasn’t going to share that with Meg, though.
Meg’s brow was wrinkled, her mouth pursed as she continued looking at him. “When did you say you met Jules, exactly?”
Meg’s continued effort to dig for information reinforced that she must be a very good friend to Jules. Nik wasn’t going to let her questions get under his skin. Winning over her friends would be one less hurdle for him to overcome later.
“I didn’t. We met at a gaming conference almost five years ago but didn’t exchange contact information.” He shrugged. At the time, his regret at the lost opportunity to connect with Jules again had been fleeting. Having found her again, the regret was back with intensity. All he could do now was make up for lost time.
