I could see the hesitation in his body language. He wanted to come and comfort me, but we both knew that would be a bad idea. There was too much potential energy between us.
"Did Emma tell you about Kaylee?" Dean asked. I wanted him to leave so that I didn't have to think about him, but I also really just wanted him to stay. He took a step closer to the table, leaning his tall frame against the empty chair Emma had been sitting in. I could barely smell his cologne, masculine and clean, from here. My heart started speeding up in my chest.
"She did. You know Kaylee better than I do, but she seems like she will make a great mother." It still surprised me at how easy it was to talk to him. The few times we had been left alone together, Dean always outmaneuvered my initial awkwardness and made it easy to talk to him. The last time we had started talking like this, we ended up picking Emma up late because we lost track of time.
He gave me one of his notorious smiles and nodded. "She is going to be great. Owen too."
I brushed a strand of hair off of my cheek, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my appearances. I knew I shouldn't care, but I did. I wanted to say something incredibly witty and funny, something that would make him laugh and make his blue eyes sparkle. Just as I was about to speak, Dean's phone beeped.
"Excuse me," he said, clicking the headset in his ear. He stepped out toward the hall, leaving me with my thoughts. I may have watched his ass as he walked out, though.
I could hear him in the hallway as Emma came back into the kitchen.
"You should go talk to him," she said, sitting back down in her chair.
"Daniel's awake? I didn't want to disturb him."
Emma gave me an exasperated look. "Not Daniel. Dean."
"Why would I want to do that?" I tried my best to sound aloof, but I could feel a blush starting to warm my skin.
"Because, Ms. Blushy-Face, I see the way the two of you look at one another. I see the way his eyes gravitate to you when you walk in a room, the way you suddenly start blushing and fixing your hair whenever he's close. Anyone who knows you could see there is something between the two of you." She crossed her arms and gave me a look that dared me to deny it.
"Emma, it can't happen. The Saunders have a strict no-dating policy between employees. It's a clause in our contracts." A clause Daniel made very clear to me when Dean was hired, I thought to myself. I crossed my arms and gave her a equally stubborn look. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure Jack
would give you an exemption from the policy if you asked," Emma answered.
"It's in every employee's mandated contract. That's not something that Jack can change without approval from the board of directors. Even if he wanted to, Jack would have to jump through some serious hoops to do it, with no guarantee that the board will even allow it." I fiddled with the pad of paper on the desk next to my computer.
Emma made an exasperated noise. "Rachel, it's obvious that the you two have feelings for one another. Screw the policy and follow your heart."
I turned slowly and gave Emma my full attention. "That is a sweet and romantic notion, but it isn't a feasible one. We breach our contracts, and we'd never be hired in this town again. My non-disclosure agreement would make it impossible for me to switch clients, and Dean's considered a 'loose cannon', especially after the incident protecting your sister in Dubai. If he was fired for messing around with the boss's personal assistant, he would be un-hireable, regardless of the reason. That's not a risk that either one of us is willing to take."
Emma pouted her lips. I knew she would be contemplating a way around our employee contracts, but I wasn't going to try and stop her. I hoped she would just forget the whole thing and let Dean and me handle this ourselves. Despite our "obvious attraction", what we were doing was working. It involved a lot of ignoring one another and simply making sure we didn't put ourselves in tempting positions. It had worked so far.
"Fine. I get it. You signed a contract, and losing your job is a bad thing." Emma glared at me, but I held firm. This wasn't something she could change. It was how it was.
"Thank you. I know you mean well, but just leave it alone, please." I gave her a serious look. She sighed and nodded.
"I won't press it again. I'll let you get back to work. I'll see you at dinner, though, right?" Emma gave me a hopeful smile. I nodded. Everything was back to normal.
Emma wandered out of the kitchen, and I could hear the stairs creak as she made her way up to the guest room she used as an office when she stayed out here. I turned back to the computer screen, the blank page still mocking me. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then tried to dive into my work and forget the way Dean's eyes crinkled when he smiled.
Chapter 2
June 5th, 1990
An old man walked by wearing a Speedo swimsuit that left nothing to the imagination. You've got guts, dude, I thought, and then snickered in my head. Yup. You’ve got guts- and that's the problem! The man continued to strut up the beach, but my eyes didn't follow him. I was pretending to read a book, laying on my stomach facing the ocean, but really I was just people watching. I had read the same paragraph four times and hadn't turned the page yet. The tourists were just too interesting.
Granted, I was a tourist too, but that wasn't going to stop me from people watching. My roommate, Jenny, nudged my beach chair with her foot, tipping her head toward the man who had just walked by. I peeked over the top of my Ray Ban sunglasses just in time to see him scratch himself.
"Thanks, Jenny," I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She gave me a innocent smile and made sure the long brown hair in her side ponytail was still tight against her head.
"No problem, Rachel. I thought you would appreciate that," she said with a laugh as I rolled my eyes at her. "Even with a view like that, I am having a great vacation. This was a great idea, Kimberly."
Kimberly leaned forward on the opposite side of me and adjusted her big floppy hat with a satisfied grin. This trip had been all her doing. Her aunt owned a little vacation condo a few miles from the beach and was renting it to us three girls for practically nothing. Pooling our money together for gas, we had taken a road trip in Jenny's beat-up station wagon and were now enjoying a week of fun in the sun. It was the perfect way to celebrate our graduation.