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Rissa chuckled. “Heck, I hope not after all that bumping and grinding the two of you did Friday night and early Saturday morning.”
Nadia shrugged. “Women have been known to sleep with men they don’t like.”
“Not most women and definitely not you.” Rissa finished the last of her coffee and tossed the cup in the trash can at the side of Nadia’s desk. “But I still don’t understand. Why are you afraid of getting involved with Jaxon? Do you think he will play you like Benson did?”
“Of course not.”
“Then what is it, Nadia?”
“I’m not his type. He should be interested in a woman with grace and refinement. One full of sophistication.”
“That’s utter nonsense. If Jaxon says he loves you and wants to marry you then that means you are the woman he wants. Besides, worrying about if you’re Jaxon’s type might be the least of your problems, Nadia.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know Jaxon. Your mouth knows him. Your tongue knows him. In other words, your entire being knows him. I bet you spent this weekend remembering how good things were with him. How the real thing was better compared to your dreams. How he knocked all your fantasies right out of the ballpark.”
Nadia rolled her eyes, refusing to admit everything Rissa said was true. “You act as if Jaxon will become an addiction.”
“It’s a good chance he might. Maybe he already is. I think you’ve fallen for Jaxon, but you’re fighting it like hell.”
Nadia sat straight up in her chair. “I don’t love Jaxon.”
Rissa waved off her words. “You can deny it all you want but the signs are there. Anytime you mention his name your eyes light up. Your breathing changes. Personally, I think it’s wonderful that he loves you and wants to marry you and has told you so. How many men are that up front with a woman?” Rissa then glanced at her watch and stood. “I gotta leave now to get to work on time. Remember I’ll be out of town the rest of the week on that business trip to San Diego. However, if you need to talk, I’ll just be a phone call away.”
Nadia nodded, knowing this issue with Jaxon was something she had to figure out for herself.
It was past six on Thursday when Nadia finally left the academy for home. Usually, she didn’t work so late but Langley had called with the budget for Ravnel Technologies’ sponsorship. It was more than she and her staff had anticipated. Definitely a lot more than the Dunnings Financial Group had agreed to give them. Langley even mentioned that Jaxon had suggested using the local theater instead of the high school’s auditorium. Additional funds would be allotted if she chose to do so.
She had immediately liked the idea and had called an impromptu meeting with her staff to see what they thought. Everyone got all excited. They couldn’t wait to share the news with the students tomorrow.
Jill and Paige had called before Nadia had closed up her office. Both were excited about the surprise party for Quade Westmoreland’s wife, Cheyenne, this weekend and wanted to know when she’d be arriving. When she’d told them she had just purchased her ticket that morning, Paige asked why she hadn’t caught a ride with Jaxon on his plane. Saying he probably would not have minded since he would be attending the party, too.
She’d told Paige there was no way she could have imposed like that. What if he was bringing a date? Jill agreed with Nadia and said although Jaxon had never brought a woman to any of the family’s functions before, that didn’t mean he would never bring one. After all Jaxon was single and good-looking. Paige still thought it shouldn’t be an issue. All Jaxon had to do was to tell his date that Nadia was nothing more than a family friend.
Nothing more than a family friend...
She hadn’t yet told her sisters how her relationship with Jaxon had taken a turn since that time she’d invited him to dinner. In a way, she was glad she hadn’t shared the news since she and Jaxon were back to not having a relationship at all, although according to Jaxon, he loved her and wanted to marry her.
She would admit she wasn’t as shocked now by what he’d said as she had been on Saturday. That had been five days ago. Since then she’d done a lot of thinking. Rissa had been right. Nadia was falling for Jaxon.
It had taken her five days and sleepless nights to finally accept that. She had thought a lot about him since Saturday and now it was Thursday. She missed him and constantly replayed in her mind the time they’d spent together. She also replayed in her mind the dinners they’d shared, both at her home and on his jet.
However, more than anything she thought about that day last year when they’d been introduced. She had been attracted to him from the start and, according to him, he’d been more than attracted. He claimed he’d fallen in love with her. Could she believe that? Hadn’t he said at lunch that day that his father had fallen in love with his mother the same way?
She’d also heard about such things happening to a couple of the Westmoreland men, like Bane. He swore he’d fallen for Crystal when he’d come upon her walking home from school. He hadn’t hesitated to turn his motorcycle around and introduce himself. And Dillon claimed he’d fallen in love with Pam even though she’d been engaged to Fletcher. Could she believe such a thing happened to Jaxon?
Getting into her car, she started the engine. As she drove out of the parking lot, she thought about what she’d seen that night when they’d viewed the Milky Way. She hadn’t mentioned it to Rissa because her friend was one of those believers and would have sworn that was the sign Nadia needed that she and Jaxon were destined to share everlasting love. Were they?
I meant everything I said about my feelings for you. I love you and have from the moment we were introduced. If you change your mind about me, about us, then you know how to reach me.
Why was she remembering Jaxon’s words now? Why had she thought of them a lot this week? Why was her heart beating so fast? And why was she getting off the exit that would take her to Jaxon’s hotel? It was one of the newest hotels in the city and she’d heard it was one of the fanciest. When it was first built it had seemed out of place in a ranch town. However, now it fit. More importantly, it fit a man like Jaxon.
She pulled into his hotel and parked her car. Why was she here? Would he be upset that she showed up unannounced? She couldn’t worry about that now. The one thing she did know was that she missed him and more than anything she wanted to see him.
Jaxon was about to order room service when he heard the knock at his hotel room door. He frowned, hoping like hell it wasn’t Clementine Ellerey. The woman had had the audacity to come to his hotel room a few days ago. He’d opened the door, but of course he hadn’t let her in.
He’d tried telling her in the nicest way that he wasn’t interested. When it seemed his words were falling on deaf ears, he’d had to be frank. She wasn’t his type and he would appreciate if she left him alone and moved on and not invite herself to his hotel room again. Ms. Ellerey hadn’t liked that one iota and threatened to ruin his name in town by saying he’d sexually harassed her. There had been no doubt in her mind the townspeople would believe her over him. After all, she was a hometown girl and that meant something in Gamble.
