“Great.” Nadine stepped out of my office, then backtracked. “Do you have the stuff on the counters we did for Virginia? I think that’s the feel she’s going for.”

“I’ll bring what I have.”

Most designers had very specific ideas and hated working with other people. There were power struggles and it was a mess. I’d been part of a few teams that had so many divas I thought I was on a VH1 reality show.

Nadine and I, on the other hand, worked really well together. We bounced ideas off each other and made each other’s work stronger. Together we’d made beautiful transformations, one of which was featured in Modern Homes magazine. That had brought in enough local clients to keep Patricia happy with our collaborating on projects. For a little while, anyway. With her, that was all you could ask for.

I glanced at my clock, mentally counting down the minutes till lunch.

Hmm. Maybe I’ll tell Nadine to meet me there, so I can go early and steal a few minutes with Jake.

…

Blue was getting busy, and I decided coming early had been a bad idea.

Mindy spotted me and waved. “Hey, Darby.” She glanced down at the list. “Are you going to be meeting with Nadine?”

“Yeah. I’m a little early.” I stepped forward so we wouldn’t be talking over the rest of the people in the lobby, wondering if I should ask for Jake.

“You want me to tell Jake you’re here?” Mindy asked with a smile. Apparently the girl could read minds.

“I’m sure he’s busy.”

“I’m sure he’ll make time for you.” Mindy scanned her list of names. “Let me seat this couple and I’ll find Jake on my way back.”

A few minutes later, Jake walked up front, a big grin on his face. “Finally, she comes to see me.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. A little deeper than I was expecting.

My rapid pulse pounded through my head, and it took me a moment to catch my breath and compose myself. “I’m actually meeting a client here in about fifteen minutes—not that I didn’t come to see you, I did. I just don’t think it would be very professional to be seen kissing in the lobby when she and Nadine get here.”

“I guess we better go kiss in private instead, then.” Jake took my hand and led me to the back of the restaurant. He opened the office door and walked into the tiny room. Stacks of paperwork lined the top of the desk. “So, how’s work going?” he asked.

“Kind of hectic. Nadine and I are trying to land a new client. I’m lining up the painters for Mrs. Crabtree, and…” I looked up at him. “You don’t really care.”

“I care.”

“Well, I don’t. Not right now, anyway.” I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. I’d left too fast last night, and I’d regretted it ever since. Jake took no time responding, pulling me close and parting my lips with his. With every stroke of his tongue, the temperature rose. Thoughts got fuzzy. I couldn’t catch my breath, but right now breathing seemed totally overrated.

My fingers traveled over the buttons of his shirt, and I was seriously tempted to start undoing them and get a better view of the body underneath. Only I knew that would move things faster than I wanted to go. Plus, we were in an office where someone might interrupt any second, and I had a prospective client to impress.

My chest heaving against his, I reluctantly broke the kiss and groaned at the time. “I should probably get out there,” I said. “I don’t want to be late.”

Jake buried his face in my neck and kissed a burning trail up it and along my jaw. “Should I ride the elevator of our building up and down all night, hoping you’ll show?” he asked, his voice husky. “Or should we just plan to meet?”

I ran my hand along his side, surprised at how disappointed I was that I had other plans. Usually I lived for the nights I got to go out. “I actually have a get-together with Stephanie, her fiancé, and his friends tonight. It’s probably going to be a long night with a bunch of guys telling boring stories. It’ll be extra-awkward because Karl the marriage counselor will be there.”

“If you happen to get home early…” Jake nipped at my bottom lip, and a spike of desire shot through my core. “You know where I live.”

“I think I remember,” I muttered against his lips. I pressed another hard kiss on his mouth, then pulled away before I lost all reason. I straightened my shirt and skirt, making sure they were all in place, and exited the office.

Nadine and a well-dressed woman with short, highlighted hair walked into the restaurant, and I quickened my pace to go meet them. Nadine introduced me to Ms. Barbara Covington and Mindy seated us immediately.

I waited for Ms. Covington to put down her menu to start talking business. “If you don’t mind catching me up a bit, what exactly do you want done?” I asked.

“I just got a fat settlement in my divorce and I want to redo everything.” Barbara swung her hand through the air. “Kick that guy to the curb and use his money to start over again. Men always have expiration dates. I say get rid of them before things go sour.”

“That’s how Darby feels, too,” Nadine said.

Jake chose that moment to arrive at our table. His raised eyebrows made me think he’d overheard the previous comments.

I set my glass off to the side of my plate. “I wouldn’t say that. I simply think that people get too wrapped up in this unrealistic view of happy relationships that last forever.”

“They don’t last forever,” Barbara said. “That’s why you choose someone with money. That lasts longer.”

A knot formed in my gut. I looked at Jake, pleading with my eyes for him to not take this conversation the wrong way. I’d be mortified if he thought I cared about a guy’s money. Rich or poor didn’t have any sway on if I thought a relationship would work out.

“Sorry to interrupt.” He held up my keys. “Look familiar? They were on the floor of the office.”

The keys jangled together as I took them from him. “Yeah, I probably need those.”

Nadine looked at me, her eyes wide and questioning.

“You ladies let me know if you need anything.” Jake smiled at me, and the heat still filling his eyes sent a swirl of warmth through me.

“Sorry about that,” I said after he walked away, working to turn my thoughts back to the job at hand instead of when I could kiss Jake next. “Where were we?”

We talked color scheme and style, and by the end of the meal, Nadine and I had landed a new client.

A client who made me worry about how people saw me and my anti-relationship stance.

Chapter Fourteen

I got into Stephanie’s car and relaxed on the cushy passenger seat. It seemed like Steph and I hardly got to talk anymore, and I was excited to spend time with her.

Stephanie turned down her radio. “Dish before my phone rings.”

“Maybe you should just silence your phone,” I said as she pulled out of the parking garage and onto the street. At least Steph had e-mail capability on her phone. It was turning into our main form of communication. “If we were sinking and you could save me or your phone, which would you pick?”

“If I had my phone to call for help, I could save you, my phone, and myself.”

I shook my head. “Too bad I went under and you can’t find me now. Hope you and your phone have a lovely life together.”

Steph reached out and took my hand. “I’ll never let you go,” she said, doing her best Kate Winslet in Titanic impression.

I laughed. “Can you believe we watched that movie in the theater over and over?”

“What was it, like, three times?”

“I think it was four. And we cried every time.” I shot her a mock-stern look. “Tell anyone that, though, and I’ll have to disown you.”

Steph laughed, and then her phone’s ring broke through. She glanced at the display and sent it to voice mail. “I feel like I’m on the phone all day long, lately, and rarely talking to the people I want to. It’ll get better after the wedding, though.”

“But then you’ll be a busy wife. It’s okay. I’ve only got twenty years before I retire and move in with Drew.” I injected my words with sarcasm. “I’m sure it’ll fly right by.”

“Stop changing the subject. Tell me about seeing Jake today.”

“He took me back to his office and we kissed for a few minutes.” My lips tingled at the memory of those minutes. Damn, that guy could kiss. I told Steph about my new client and how Nadine had told her she and I had the same values, then threw my hand up to my chest. “I’m not a gold digger. I have no desire to marry men and take their money. She even said to never marry poor, because when the relationship fails, you need to get something out of it.”

“She’s even more cynical than you,” Steph said. “And she’s found a way to make money off it.”

The air vent was blowing right in my eyes, so I turned it away from me. “As my recently shitty luck would have it, Jake came to bring me my keys at the same time Nadine said I felt the same way, so that was nice and uncomfortable.”

Stephanie took a sharp turn, and I gripped the handle over the door. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize we were so close to the turn.” Her GPS spoke in the background, giving the next set of directions. “You like Jake, though, right? So far so good?”

“Yeah, I like him. I have fun when I’m with him, and he’s funny, and he does have the smokin’-hot thing going for him. Plus, he’s well aware of all my rules. He said something about hanging out tonight, but since I had this thing, I told him I couldn’t.”

“Hello? Why didn’t you invite him to come along?”