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Then he just rocked on his heels and looked at her expectantly. As if he knew what she’d decide, and he didn’t even have to argue his case.
Of course she could say no. It would be the wise thing to do.
Taking Lukas up on his offer was crazy. Reckless. Especially when deep down she’d wanted him for years. And past experience proved that she hadn’t been able to resist him.
How was she going to move into his building for six weeks and keep her distance, be his business manager and, in August, walk away without ever a taste of forbidden fruit?
She wasn’t. It was as simple as that.
Holly was tired of being wise, of being sensible and responsible. She had chosen wisdom and responsibility and a slow hearth fire of love when she’d married Matt.
And look where that had got her.
No, that wasn’t fair. She’d loved Matt. She could never regret that love, those years. But all the memories in the world didn’t make her less lonely every night. They didn’t keep her warm. And it wasn’t enough to date Paul anymore. Paul was a place marker. Nothing more.
And Holly wanted more.
Somewhere deep inside her—or maybe not so deep inside her—she had felt that desire quickening to life. Maybe it had started last fall when she’d realized how hollow and empty her life had become. Maybe her move toward the Peace Corps was part of it, an attempt to help her find herself again.
Or maybe it was Lukas’s gallery. There was an energy there that had spoken to her. She had felt it in the paintings, in the sculptures and textiles. She had spotted it in the fire of the opals set in silver. She had caught glimpses of it in some large photos that weren’t part of the gallery offerings at all. They were snapshots really—of the land, of the mines, of Lukas and an old man she was sure had to be his friend Skeet. She’d wanted to look more closely at them, but Lukas hadn’t given her a chance. He had urged her on to the next room to other displays.
Or maybe it was Lukas himself.
For the first time she faced squarely the temptation that was Lukas Antonides. A temptation she’d resisted—wisely—for years.
He didn’t want what she wanted.
He didn’t want commitment, permanence, family—the things she and Matt had valued. Lukas was a man of drive and enthusiasms, not of constants. He spearheaded efforts. He wasn’t there for the follow-through.
But sometimes there was no follow-through.
Sometimes the man you had vowed to love and share a lifetime with wasn’t there anymore. Sometimes all your hopes and dreams were dashed.
What then?
She would never find again what she’d had with Matt. It hadn’t been perfect—neither of them had been perfect—but it was theirs.
And now it was gone. Playing it safe and responsible hadn’t guaranteed a lifetime of happiness.
So why not take a risk?
She wasn’t a child any longer. She wasn’t a skittish, nervy adolescent.
She’d felt the pull of Lukas Antonides for most of her life. He didn’t want what she wanted in the long run. But life wasn’t only about the long run, she’d learned.
Six weeks ought to be long enough for both of them. In six weeks she would go off to the South Pacific and put the past behind her.
In the meantime, she’d take it one step at a time. One word at a time.
She said, “Yes.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
YES?
Lukas had been staring out at the Manhattan skyline telling himself to shut up, not to give in to pressuring her, not—for once—to push. At least not until she said no, at which point he was prepared to argue with her again.
And then she said...yes?
His gaze whipped around, and he stared straight at her. He expected her to be looking in the other direction—out the window, at the floor, anywhere but at him. He expected her to say, Er, I mean, no.
But Holly was looking straight into his eyes, not averting her gaze at all. Staring resolutely at him.
Like a deer caught in headlights. Well, maybe. But she didn’t look precisely stunned. She looked intense, committed. Alive.
Lukas didn’t let himself wonder what had prompted her. He didn’t even know what had prompted him to make the offer. As always, he had responded to the circumstances. And, let’s face it, he had done what he’d wanted to do. How could he not want her close?
So he’d jumped right out of the frying pan and into the fire. It wasn’t enough to tempt himself by accidental-on-purpose meetings and invitations to dinner. Now he had drawn her into his building, his work, his life.
