Can't Buy Me Love (17 page)

Greg
stood in the hallway, looking suspiciously around him, but when his eyes fell
on Lena, his jaw dropped.

“Holy
Christ. You’re even more gorgeous than I remember.”

Lena
laughed. “Come on in. Watch the dog toys.”

“Dog?
Where is he?” he asked, peering around furniture. “I love dogs.”

“He’s
over at his doggy-sitter’s house for the evening. She’ll bring him back over in
a few hours.”

“Apart
from the initial penitentiary feel that your hallways have, I like your place,
Lena. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s really nice in here.
You’ve made it a home.”

“Thanks.
Let me grab my wrap and I’ll be ready to go.”

“Take
your time. I’m
sure
my car will still be there when we get back out.”

Grinning,
she pulled a shawl and her purse from the chair where she’d laid them earlier
in the evening. “OK, you wuss. Let’s go.”

Lena
was having a good time. It had been a long while since she’d actually enjoyed
one of these events, since she was normally spending her evening avoiding
Chase. She still missed him. She still wanted things to be better between them.
And, no matter how much she enjoyed Greg’s company, she still wished that she
were with Chase. Which wasn’t fair to Greg, she realized, storing that piece of
information away to deal with later.

After
a really nice buffet of finger foods and cocktails, the band was starting to
tune up for the evening, and the night was transforming into a night of
dancing. Greg had gotten sucked into a business conversation with some law firm
colleagues, so Lena wandered about the room for a while, saying hello to people
she knew, and generally making the social rounds. As the band began to play the
opening sounds of their first set, Lena started to make her way back to find
Greg. She was just passing the open doorway out into the rest of the facility
when she ran into a rock. Or at least it seemed that way. Chase was standing in
her path, and he sure wasn’t moving.

He
lowered his head until his eyes were looking into hers.

“You’re
here with somebody, Lena,” he said quietly.

“Yes,”
she replied carefully. “I am.”

“I’m
surprised to find that it’s bothering me,” Chase admitted. “Quite a lot,
actually.”

Lena
swallowed. “I’m not sure what to say to that.”

“And
I’m not sure what to do about it.”

They
stood there for a moment, until Lena sighed. “I should get back. I hope you
have a nice evening.” She stepped to the side to move around him, but he gently
reached out a hand to circle her elbow.

Lena
looked down at his hand in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Come
outside into the hallway with me for just a moment, Lena.”

“Why?”

“Because
I may have made a mistake,” he said, even as he drew her gradually toward the door
and out into the hallway.

Away
from curious eyes, Lena pulled slightly away from him and looked up into his
eyes. “What kind of mistake?” she asked.

“The
kind of mistake that makes it hard for me to sleep at night.”

She
blinked. “I see,” she said, then sighed deeply. “I’m willing to talk with you,
but not here. Not now.”

But
Chase moved closer to Lena, until he was only inches away from her.

“Greg
Cartwright is a very wealthy man,” he said.

Lena’s
eyes flashed fire as she looked up at Chase. “Yes. He is,” she managed to say
evenly. “What’s your point, Chase? Because if you were just speaking to me
about making a mistake, it would seem to me that you are well on your way
toward making another one.”

“I’m
not really making a point. I’m just suggesting that your actions are easy to
misinterpret. If, indeed, I have.”

Lena
drew back, unwilling to allow Chase to continue to hurt her. She took a deep
breath. And slowly counted to ten. “Greg is a very nice man,” she said at last.
“I’m with him tonight because he’s got a good sense of humor and a kind heart. Now
I should go,” she added quietly. When she looked up at Chase, his eyes were
locked on hers, his gaze expressing a mixture of anger and need. She blinked at
the intensity of emotion she saw reflected in his stare.

“Yes,”
Chase finally agreed, but he didn’t move away. Instead, he took one step
closer, his movement bringing him into full contact with Lena.

Lena
knew then that he was going to kiss her, and she automatically started to pull
back from him.

“Chase.
This isn’t fixed. Don't...”

Ignoring
her vague protests, Chase reached out with a groan, and hauled her into his
arms. His lips descended to meet hers, and his mouth closed over hers with a
muffled cry of triumph. He had missed her, missed this. His hands framed her
face as he ran his mouth from her lips to her throat, and back to her lips
again. When he felt a slight response from her, he deepened the kiss, thrusting
his tongue into her mouth, meeting her own tongue with fire. His hands moved
into her hair, over her back, down her arms. He was unable to stop the kiss,
unable to control the powerful emotions that swept over him. He wanted this
woman.

Lena
had given up the fight before it even began, her arms creeping around his back
to pull him closer. She was on fire as she moved in his arms, not able to get
close enough to quench the thirst that he had created. She gasped as his lips
found the sensitive spot behind her ear, and then moved back over to her mouth
again. Opening her lips tentatively, she felt his tongue move boldly between
her teeth, his kiss deepening as she responded hungrily. Unable to pull away,
and wanting his kiss to go on forever, Lena was surprised when she felt his
hold on her loosen, and his kisses beginning to gentle. She looked up at him in
confusion as he pulled away, sliding his hand along the side of her face,
gripping her nape tightly in his strong hand.

“I
want you, Charlene,” he said simply, his breath coming quickly. “God help me, I
still want you. But not here.”

Lena
shook her head, unable to say anything until she had caught her own breath. Chase
just held her close, running his hands along her back until they had both
cooled off to where they could speak.

“We
need to get back inside,” he said quietly. “But before we do, you have to know
that you and I are not over. Not by a long shot. We need to talk, and soon. Preferably
before both our grandfathers kill us,” he added with a slight smile.

Lena
took a deep breath and pushed away from him, moving several feet away so he
couldn’t touch her, and so she wouldn’t be tempted to reach for him. “I’m with
someone else tonight, Chase. This wasn’t fair – not to me, and not to him. And
not to Gillian, either,” she added, thinking of Chase’s date for the evening.

“Fair
has nothing to do with this.”

“I
have to go,” she said firmly.

Chase
nodded once, then shoved his hands in his pockets. With one glance back at him,
Lena took a deep breath and headed for the ladies’ room. She had to do some
major repairs before she headed back out to meet Greg. And she had to get her
head screwed back on straight, because she was with a really good man tonight. And
he didn’t deserve this kind of behavior from his date.

“Lena.
There you are. I was just about to send out a search party. Are you all right?”

Lena
had spent the past ten minutes in the ladies’ room, fixing the damage that
Chase had done to her hair and her makeup. She had emerged looking lovely on
the outside, but her spirit was in turmoil.

“I’m
fine,” she smiled slightly. “Dance with me?”

“Of
course. It would be my pleasure,” he said as he set his drink down on a nearby
table and offered her his arm.

Lena
moved into his arms on the dance floor. Wishing she felt for this man what she
felt for Chase, she knew she had to be honest with him. After the confrontation
with Chase in the dark hallway, she was more aware than ever that things still
weren’t resolved between them. And until they were, she had no business being
with someone else.

She
and Greg moved well together. He was handsome. Kind. Intelligent. Everything
she was looking for. But he wasn’t Chase. And as infuriating as Chase was these
days, she was still... she stopped moving.
Aw crap
, she thought. She was
still in love with him. Damn it all to hell and back.

“Lena?”

She
shook her head. She was standing in the middle of the dance floor with one of
the most amazing men in the room, and she was in love with Chase Hamilton.
Damnit
.

“Lena?”

“I’m
sorry, Greg. I’m about the worst date you’ll ever have. Seriously. You’ll tell
your children about this someday. But I probably should go.”

Greg
took her arm and walked her off the floor and over to a quiet table. “OK, tell
me what's going on.”

She
looked down at the table, and then up at the earnest man sitting next to her,
waiting patiently for an answer. She owed him that much, she knew. “Greg, look.
Before I met you, I was dating another man. He’s here tonight. I thought it was
over, I really did. But I don’t think it is. Not on my part anyway. And until
it is, it’s just not fair to you for me to be with you. Not without telling you
the truth about this.”

Greg
nodded seriously. “OK. Point him out to me and I’ll beat the crap out of him.”

Startled,
a short laugh burst out of Lena, and she was relieved when Greg laughed with
her. “Is that all?” he asked. “Geez, I thought you were going to tell me that I
had bad breath, or was stepping on your feet all night.”

“What
do you mean ‘all’? You’re not mad?”

“Of
course not. You and I just met. I like you. Quite a lot, actually. But I’d rather
you be honest with me now than lead me on for weeks and then dump me.”

She
sighed quietly. “I’m sorry. I should have realized that I wasn’t ready for
this.”

“I
pushed you a bit. As I said, I like you.”

“Thanks
for being so understanding.”

He
shrugged. “So. This other man. Is it over for him?”

“I
don’t know. I think so, but we’ve never really talked it through,” she answered
truthfully.

“What
happened between you, if I may be so rude as to ask?”

“Chase
overheard a conversation I had with my brother, misinterpreted it, and decided
I was a rotten person,” she said with a slight smile.

Frowning,
Greg shook his head. “Chase Hamilton? He’s a good guy – I know him from some
business dealings. Does he know he misinterpreted things?”

“I
don’t know. I mean, I told him so, but I’m not sure he believes me. And really,
the fact that he thought it of me in the first place means he doesn’t trust me.
And now I’m not entirely sure I trust him. So we’re at a bit of an impasse.”

“So
there’s hope for me down the road?” Greg asked with a grin.

Lena
smiled back. “Not if my grandfather has any say in it. Or his grandfather for
that matter. But since I know better than to trust my love life to two old
geezers, I’d say that the jury is still out. But Greg, I’m not interested in
stringing you along. It’s not being kind to you, and it’s going to stress me
out to know that I’m being so unfair.”

Shrugging,
Greg stood up and held his hand out to Lena. “I appreciate your honesty. So OK.
Just promise you’ll call me if that rat bastard Chase Hamilton ends up breaking
your heart. I’ll be your rebound guy,” he grinned. “But here’s the thing. Tonight,
you’re still here with me. So dance with me, sweetheart. We’ll make the guy
jealous as hell. And maybe by the end of the evening I’ll be able to convince
you to dump him and elope to Vegas with me.”

Lena
laughed and stood up, taking his offered hand. “OK. Let’s dance. Greg, you’re
amazing. Thank you.”

He
winked at her. “Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t even started to show you my dance
moves.”

The
band was just starting a new set, and for the rest of the evening, Lena and
Greg moved to an 80’s tribute on the dance floor. From ‘I Will Survive’ to
‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ to ‘Hungry Like the Wolf,’ they laughed as they
occasionally stumbled into one another, but sang along and danced like old
friends. Once or twice, Lena caught sight of Chase on the dance floor with
Gillian, and she had to fight back the intense wave of jealousy she felt when
she saw them together.

Just
as Lena was about to cry out for mercy, the band switched to a slow song –
‘Best that You Can Do.’ Without bothering to ask, Greg pulled Lena into his
arms.

“Oh
thank God,” he groaned as he encircled her with his right arm, his left hand reaching
for hers. “One more fast song and I was going to be headed to the hospital
tonight. I think I nearly had an aneurism.”

Lena
nodded, her head resting on his chest. “Holy cow. I was nearly riding in the
ambulance with you. On the next stretcher over. I haven’t moved that fast since
little Timmy Owens nearly pulled an open bottle of vegetable oil off the
kitchen counter last week at the shelter. You can really dance, Mr.
Cartwright.”