The horn honked again. Danica wrenched her gaze away from Luke to glance at the vehicle. “I need to go.”
Luke nodded. “Right. So.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll see you in the office. Safe travels home.”
She nodded back. “See you in the office.” Somehow, she managed to slide into the back seat and sped off. Her last sight of Luke was him standing on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, staring after her car.
Her mouth still bore the imprint of his, her core aching from unresolved need. Her thoughts twisted and churned, mimicking the roiling in her stomach. She’d kissed Luke! And he’d kissed her back. It exceeded any fantasy she’d ever had. For a second she basked in the recollection, reliving the pressure, the heat, the demand for more.
Then a tsunami of horror washed away the joyous memory. What had they done? He’d hired her. She’d agreed to find him a wife. She needed the contract and the money it promised for her family. Did she just risk her job and thus her brother’s access to treatment?
How would she be able to face Luke in the morning?
Her lips would not stop burning.
Four
Danica walked the last few steps toward the main entrance of Ruby Hawk, her stomach doing a decent impersonation of a tumble dryer set on high. What would she say to Luke after their kiss last night? More important, what would he say to her?
It was unprofessional to kiss a client in the best of circumstances. And this client was Luke Dallas, bad-boy billionaire of Silicon Valley, known for his countless flings with models, actresses and socialites. It wasn’t only unseemly; it was downright embarrassing.
But he kissed you back. His mouth opened first, his tongue invited hers to tangle and slide against his. She couldn’t recall arriving home or getting into bed, but she remembered the perfect firmness of his mouth—not too hard, not too soft—and how his hand on the small of her back had burned through the silk of her blouse. She stumbled on a crack in the pavement and regained her balance at the last second.
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been kissed before, she scolded herself. She was very familiar with the mechanics. No need to be so dramatic.
She managed to make it to her office without twisting an ankle and turned on her computer. A message from Luke sat at the top of her email inbox. Her hand lingered over the mouse for a second before she took a deep breath and clicked to open it.
It was short and to the point.
I trust you now have the necessary information to find viable candidates. I’m on a flight to Tokyo but I expect a new list by the time I land.
Any lingering warmth was doused. She clicked on Reply.
Thank you for the dinner. Your input has been taken under advisement as requested.
She attached the list she pulled together when last night’s sleep eluded her and hit Send. Really, it was the best of all possible outcomes. She was still employed and could still secure the bonus money he promised her. But when lunchtime rolled around, she realized she couldn’t remember a single email she’d read other than Luke’s.
The next two weeks were spent chasing leads, the kiss eventually fading from her lips but playing on a continuous loop whenever she shut her eyes. Luke was mostly out of town. He jetted around the world, seeking a backup for the acquisition in case Nestor Stavros reneged as threatened. However, her speech about communication seemed to have sunk in, because he was quick to respond to a text or an email despite any time difference. Before long, the ding of a new text or email arriving became her favorite sound.
She began the Monday of the third week with a satisfied sigh. Two of her candidates finally met Luke’s standards. He met the first one upon his return to California and immediately asked to see her again. While she was waiting to hear his feedback from the latest encounter, she went ahead and finalized the arrangements for him to meet the second candidate. All she needed was a third prospective wife, and then she would be out the door with an impressive check in hand and her professional integrity intact.
There was only one glaring problem with completing her assignment. Success meant she’d no longer communicate with Luke. She may have buried the kiss, never to be spoken of again although it starred in her most erotic dreams, but she didn’t know if she could bury how much she looked forward to their daily exchanges.