Tangled in Tulle: Tulle and Tulips, Book 1 (3 page)

A harsh laugh almost burst free. Trevor always had the right words for any situation. It was a skill that had irritated her even while attracting her. It was the attractive part which intrigued her, and had her being led to the elevator with his hand flattened at the small of her back.

Her heart leapt. Maybe from his touch or from the idea he still felt something for her.
The latter,
whispered her hopeful heart. Why else would he walk with her as he always had, touching her in some small way or another? And just like every time before his warmth seeped into her, awakened her arousal, made her feel cherished.

He’s engaged.

The argument held more weight in her mind than with her body’s reactions, and damn but her detail-specific brain reminded her Trevor didn’t habitually walk the same way with all women. In an attempt to avoid complications he put tremendous effort in avoiding casual touches a woman could misconstrue. He held himself apart from people he didn’t consider close.

He still thought of her fondly. Her cheeks and neck warmed and before long she would be flushed red with excitement.

He’s off limits.

She shouldn’t be aroused by him or allow herself to believe for a moment he was being anything less than a gentleman. He was in a relationship. He’d moved on and released the dreams they had once talked about. Sure, she hadn’t expected a rekindling of their relationship, and it was true she’d decided to focus on business until her life was back on track, but it felt as if he was essentially rubbing his happiness in her face.

It was sort of…cruel.

“Lori?” He looked down at her with tender concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yep.” How she held back the confused “huh?” that popped into her brain would remain a mystery, but she was glad for it. Maybe some of her spy training or time with Madame V, the dominant and domineering head of Elegant Entertainment, had given her more skills at concealing thoughts than she had realized. If she’d ever needed to hide questions or reactions from anyone Madame V, always ready with a violent hand, had been that person. In the end, Lori’s restraint hadn’t mattered. “Who are you taking me to meet?”

“You’ll see.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“Pity.” In the elevator, he pushed the button for the lobby floor and fell into a silence which left her too long to wonder what he was up to. With each kind-voiced announcement signaling a passing floor her hand fisted against the urge to chew off a nail. It was a habit she’d picked up in captivity and after recovery she’d resorted to acrylics to save her fingers. When the doors opened again, they were met by a petite woman built much like herself clad in snug jeans, a curve-loving T-shirt and work boots. Her blonde ponytail enhanced her face to perfection.

“Trevor.” The woman smiled warmly at him and then offered her hand to Lori with a gleeful twinkle in her blue eyes. “You must be Lori. I’m Randy, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the big day.”

The fiancée.
Lori uncurled her fingers and took Randy’s hand in a brief shake.

“He’s told me so much about you.” Excitement bubbled off the woman as her gaze danced between Lori and Trevor.

He cleared his throat, effectively severing whatever Randy may have said next. Not that it mattered. Lori didn’t believe for a tenth of a second Trevor would tell his betrothed about the call-girl he’d hired for more than companionship. And if he’d known she was undercover at the time… Well, lies layered upon lies didn’t uncomplicate matters.

“Randy manages building maintenance. You have it ready?” Trevor asked Randy.

“The crew just finished.” She turned away from the main lobby and headed toward a hallway behind the elevators.

Trevor once again placed his hand at Lori’s back. Instead of accustomed warmth, the touch shot through her, as if each fingertip was an acid-dipped needle. She stepped aside and broke the contact.

“Lori?”

“You’ve changed,” she whispered so Randy wouldn’t hear. Or maybe he wasn’t the stand up man she’d always thought him to be.

“What?” He genuinely looked confused, as if he was doing nothing wrong in touching her with Randy so close.

Even if he wasn’t unavailable his philandering attitude made him undesirable.

A few steps ahead, Randy pushed open double, frosted glass doors and stepped inside. Trevor seized the moment and halted Lori with a hand on her elbow.

“I don’t know what you’re suddenly upset about, Lori, but I haven’t changed.”

“Clearly you have.” She pulled her arm free and pointed toward the doors. “I assume we’re following Randy.”

Her voice hardened on Randy’s name. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it as partial pain, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk, and he wouldn’t get into it with curious ears around. Whatever spun in Lori’s gorgeous mind would go un-halted until he found a better time.

“Trevor. Lori.” Randy poked her head back into the hall. “You coming?”

“Yes,” Lori answered as she stepped around him. “Though I’m still unclear what’s going on.”

That makes two of us.

He followed her into the recently vacated office space he’d had Randy’s crew clean out and waited for a reaction. Lori had slipped into the shroud of unreadable blankness she easily and frequently donned. It had taken six dates—personal, not business related—before she’d begun showing hints of the warmth and generosity of her real self. And a touch of vulnerability he’d failed to fully understand before running out of time.

“What’s this about, Trevor?”

“He’s not always good at explaining himself,” Randy said with a roll of her eyes as she moved closer to Lori. “Hell, he sucks at it.”

“Thank you, Randy.” Trevor glared at her—a betrayal of frustration he was expert at hiding. “I’ve got it from here.”

“As you wish.” The woman patted Lori’s arm and headed toward the door. “See you around, Lori.”

“Yeah.”

There it was again. The note of what he suspected to be pain, yet there were no traces of it in her eyes or on her face. Was he imagining it?

Once Randy was gone, Lori linked her hands before her. “I’m waiting for an explanation.”

“I see how you are now.”

“Yeah?”

“All business.”

“Yes, so get to it.”

“Fine.” Since his weak attempt to lighten the mood failed, he opened his arms to indicate the space. “This is about a thousand square feet larger than what you outlined in your proposal. It has a loading dock and large warehouse space complete with a walk-in cooler perfect for keeping flowers fresh. As a building tenant you would have access to the main mailroom for mail and package receiving as well as supply orders. Building maintenance, Randy’s team, handles cleaning and repairs. It is available immediately, and I think you’d find the lease terms agreeable.”

She didn’t move. Her face didn’t change as she glanced around the large, open space. Her body language didn’t shift. “You’re trying to control every aspect of this aren’t you?”

“No. I only want to see you succeed and this space has everything you could want.” Including free rent if it meant she was just downstairs from him.

“Really?”

“Yes. We’re surrounded by some great shopping, we have a private parking garage, so the walk from other downtown garages isn’t an issue, and our security keeps people and their belongings safe. You would have free rein of the build out, with restrictions only applying to structural concerns.”

“Signage?”

“On the building menus in the lobby and garage entrances, as well as on the outside of the building and on your space windows. It must be approved though.”

“Rent?”

“Due the middle of the month beginning the first month you’re open.”

“Cost?”

“Negotiable.”

“Utilities?”

“Not included. The space is wired with the ability to patch calls through the main lobby if you choose to use it.” As guarded as she’d been at times, she’d never seemed distrusting. Until now. It may be a result of whatever had gotten to her in the hall, or it could be something entirely different. Regardless, he suspected himself to somehow be the cause.

“This is going to overextend my budget.”

“If you want to do it right…”

“It’s going to cost.”

“Two large weddings a month would cover it.”

Distrust wasn’t her issue. No. She was suddenly ruled by fear even though the space would be well within her projected budget.

“You’re the landlord?”

“It’s my building.”

“Is that why the price is
negotiable
?”

He lifted a shoulder going for nonchalance. He’d give her the space for nothing if he thought she’d take it.

“I want to read the lease.”

“I have one in my office.” Did her lack of argument indicate an agreement or would bad luck or a desire for distance from him have her choosing a space elsewhere?

“You were planning this from the start.”

“It pays to think several steps ahead in business. Besides, you’re not likely to find a better deal.”

“You say you’re thinking ahead. Can you still see what’s right in front of you?”

“I do.”
A gorgeous woman who needs wooing.

He closed the distance between them and cupped her cheek. The claim that he could be part of this
better deal
clamored at his tongue’s tip. “Can you?”

Seconds hummed into minutes. She stared into his eyes. He stared into hers.

His fingertips vibrated.

Awareness vibrated.

“What do you say, Lori?” Yes, he saw what was in front of him. The opportunity to win back the woman he’d loved from their first meeting. It may take patience and some creative business, but he would win Lori back. “Is my proposal favorable?”

“I’ll look at the lease.”

Chapter Four

“I can’t believe how easy Masters has made this for you.” Elegance in stilettos, Misty dropped into one of the two butter-smooth leather chairs that had just been placed behind the half-moon shaped reception desks in the lobby. Her skirt slid up her thighs, the blouse draped even as she slouched and her hair looked flawless despite the labor she’d been putting into her warehouse space where she’d create her floral arrangements.

“All the more reason I think there’s a catch he hasn’t yet revealed.” Exhausted from the exhilaration of progress made in a few fast weeks, Lori dropped her sketch pad and clipboard to the desk and claimed a cream-colored chair of her own. Before opening, an ivory satin skirt embroidered with the business logo would be mounted to the front of each desk. “I still worry he’s going to show up to micro-manage everything given how much control he took of things in the beginning.”

“And yet he hasn’t shown himself since handing you the keys.” Misty grinned a grin that bordered on lecherous as two hunky delivery guys carried in a couch. “Which is sort of sad because I still want to get a look at him.”

“You’d have a better time with one of these guys.” Trevor played too many games even in absence. Mind games.

He sent emails and flyers about sales or marketing samples from competitors. Dropped off quick notes of congrats on her progress, which made it obvious he was checking in. Left voice mails with wedding-related thoughts. Always ended the notes and voice mails the same way.
Yours.

The information was helpful though it all had her wondering if he was shopping the competition. The notes made her wonder if he was spying on
her
. The voice mails… The voice mails held the most power and had her listening to his voice over and over, envisioning herself as his bride, as a woman worthy of him. Imagining a deeper meaning to his parting word.
Yours.

Damn. She hated insecurity.

Trevor wouldn’t have signed his name on the line by hers if he didn’t believe in her. He wouldn’t have risked the money. Without him, she wouldn’t be waiting for sample dresses or new entry doors etched with her logo to be delivered. She certainly wouldn’t be watching her furniture get set up.

“It’s shaping up to be everything you imagined, Lori.”

“More. It’s so much more.” She still struggled to believe her dream was coming true, and almost said as much, but Misty would only tell her she was crazy.

The construction crew, currently on lunch break, had been working monster hours without complaints, screw-ups or mishaps to quickly transform what had been barren space. Individual doors led into private, glass-fronted suites for consultants to meet with clients for planning. Each suite’s door would have an etching suitable to the wedding element—dresses, flowers, invitations, tuxedos, cakes, catering, music, venue, registry, jewelry, hair and makeup.

The back wall curved gently, with private dressing rooms and attached waiting rooms surrounding Lori’s office. A small break room opened onto the wedding dress sample room and flower cooler section—separated by a free standing, glass wall—complete with rows of tables for arrangement work.

Each dressing room had a back entrance leading into the warehouse and alterations area for the sales associates. Lori was eager to get the dresses in and work with brides to find their perfect choice, or make it for them. Misty had claimed flowers, and other specialists were either already on board or were being trained to handle the other planning areas.

Whether clients came in for one aspect or several, the specialists would work together, updating one central database for each wedding so everyone knew at a glance what plans had been made to ensure everything stayed on track and fit together beautifully.

The groundwork was exhausting, but surprisingly enough she already had brides calling to book appointments. Being busy kept her mind from straying to her feelings for Trevor too often.

“You have another delivery, Lori.”

She looked up to see Mitchell, from building security, carry in a giant bouquet of balloons. Neon pink, sunshiny yellow, teasing teal and passionate purple, the helium filled orbs danced in delight with their strings held in the outstretched fingers of a giant, stuffed white rat, standing on its back legs and dressed in knight’s armor.

A snort of laughter nearly erupted from Lori. Misty didn’t manage to hold hers back.