The Weekend Proposition (7 page)

“That must have been difficult for your mother.”

“Yeah, it’s always been the two of us. She worked hard to support us. She helped me get through college, but I had to take out some loans. My mom’s been sick. Before we got a solid diagnosis as to what was actually wrong with her, we hit some tough times but it isn’t anything we’re not used to. She had to have a lot of tests.”

“Would you like to sit here?” He pointed at the large brick fireplace in an out cove by the lake. “Doesn’t look like anyone else has claimed it.”

Alone could be good.

“It looks cozy.” She sat down on the bench in front of the hearth. “I love the smell of burning wood, especially in the fall. I’d love to have a fireplace someday.”

“I have two in the penthouse, but neither is wood burning. I debated whether I should buy a house out in the suburbs away from the city.”

“Would you like that?”

“I think I would, but I need to be close to the agency. Emergencies come up all the time and I can’t be forty minutes away.”

“You need to have your own life.” She reached for his hand. “You can’t be the CEO all the time.”

“Is your mother okay?” He sat close enough to her that their thighs touched. She shivered from the contact. Without missing a beat, he pulled his jacket off. “Put this on.”

“No, you’ll be cold.”

“I’m fine.” He draped the jacket over her shoulders. “I want you to be comfortable.”

She tilted her head to the side and breathed in his scent he’d wrapped her in. “Thank you.”

“Better?”

“Much.”

“About your mom...”

“Right. She has MS. It took some time to diagnosis her, and finding the right treatment course has been challenging. It makes it hard for her to waitress. She hates not being able to work. She worries all the time about the rent and the other bills, but I told her I’d take care of things. She just needs to focus on feeling better.”

“You’re a good daughter.”

“What else can I do? You have to take care of your own.”

“You’re pretty special.”

“I haven’t done anything with my life yet.”

“You will.” When he stroked her cheek her stomach fluttered. “You’ve had a rough start. Listening to you makes me realize how much of my life I take for granted.”

“I didn’t tell you those things about my life to make you feel bad. I’m going through some hard times right now, but I know things will get better. Thanks to your proposition, we won’t get evicted, I can pay off my loans and I’ll be able to help my mother.” She wanted him to understand why she had accepted his offer. “You came to me at a vulnerable time.”

“When I saw you in the kitchen the other night, I heard the stress in your voice. I know what I did was unconventional but I have no regrets.”

“You don’t?” She leaned into his face.

“I’m glad you’re here with me.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “You got it cut.”

“Huh?” She was still stuck on the fact that he was glad she was there with him.

“Your hair, it looks pretty.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re a gorgeous woman. I can’t seem to get you out of my head. I had a horrible golf game today.” He brushed his lips along her jaw, stopping at the corner of her mouth. “Do you know why?”

Her nipples hardened when the warmth of her arousal flooded her panties. No one had ever made her feel this way. “Why?”

“Because I want to know what it’s like to really kiss you. No games, no pretending. Just the two of us here, right now. I want to kiss you because no one is watching.”

“Kiss me.” She swallowed hard, a little frightened because the terms had shifted between them.

He took her face between his hands, possessively pulling her mouth to his. She closed her eyes when he ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip. “Every time we’re together, I want to kiss you like this. Hold you close and tell you how much I want you.”

“I want you too.” Could this be happening? He wanted her for real.

He pressed his lips to hers, wasting no time deepening the kiss. Moving his hands from the side of her face, he ran them through her hair. She wanted to get closer, so she scooted into his lap and draped her arms around his neck. She felt the urgency, the lust in his kiss. The more he took, the more she wanted to give.

He trailed his hand down her face and to her collarbone, allowing his lips to take the same path. He left heated kisses in his wake, taking his time to reach the spot just below her earlobe. He nipped at the skin before swirling his tongue along her neck.

“You’re so beautiful.”

The low tone in his voice sent vibrations straight to her pussy. It had been over a year since she’d had any sexual contact. She’d never had the attention of a man like Spencer before. No one had ever touched her with such attention to detail or took the time to tell her she was beautiful. She believed him when he whispered into her ear.

When he moved his hand to her breasts, she arched her back and moaned.

“I’m sorry.” He sighed as he pulled away.

“For what? From where I’m sitting, you have nothing to apologize for.” She kissed his lips, hoping that would get him to resume. “I think we were doing just fine.”

“No.” He slid her off his lap. “This is wrong.”

“Why?”

“This wasn’t part of the conditions of our agreement. It isn’t fair for me to change things now.”

“I’m nothing more than a business proposition.” She felt like such an idiot. Of course a man like Spencer Cannon could never want a girl like her. They weren’t in the same league.

“That’s not true. Please don’t feel that way.”

“Save it.” She got up and headed down the path. She’d never been so humiliated. How could things have gone from feeling so right to so ridiculously wrong in ten seconds?

“Wait!” He followed her. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’m here because you paid me to be. There’s no reason for you to apologize. You didn’t lure me here under false pretenses. I accepted your money.”

“Let me explain.” He reached for her arm and spun her to face him. “A physical relationship will complicate things. The last thing I want is for you to feel obligated to have to do anything with me. I didn’t pay you to sleep with me.”

“I didn’t take your money to sleep with you.” She wanted to make that point clear.

“So, we’re in agreement?” He looked relived.

“No.”

“What?” He sounded exasperated.

“I mean yes, I agree I didn’t take your money to have sex with you but it doesn’t mean I don’t
want
to have sex with you.” She waved her hands in the air. “This
is
complicated.”

“See.”

“You’re making this harder than it has to be.” She pointed at him.

“Maybe so.” He pulled her close to him. “But one could argue that there’s already something wrong with my moral compass. I’m not going to cross any lines.”

“You’re not forcing me to be here. I’m a big girl. I agreed to your proposal. I’m here to convince your family you’ve moved on. I’m doing that.”

“You are, and I appreciate it.”

The laughter in the distance stopped their conversation. Spencer glanced in the direction of the sound. His jaw tightened and his shoulders tensed.

“Shit,” he muttered. She saw the disgust in his expression. “Horrible timing.”

“Am I on the clock again?”

“Ava and a few of the other girls are headed in our direction.”

“Then let me do my job, Mr. Cannon.” She grabbed him by his shirt and claimed his lips. He didn’t pull away but to her delight relaxed against her and inserted his tongue into her mouth.

No reason to do that for a make believe kiss.

The footsteps and the giggling come to a stop when the girls reached the pretend lovers. Spencer pulled away but not before placing soft kisses on her swollen lips.

“Hey, you two.” Ava’s silicon-filled lips curved into a phony smile revealing her unnaturally white teeth. “We’re heading to the afterhours rehearsal party. There’s music and a bar. Everyone is invited.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time.” Spencer placed his arm around Coda’s back. “We’re just heading to our room.”

“Come on,” Ava insisted. “Coda’s young, Spencer. You have to keep up with her or she’ll leave you behind. I’m sure she loves the club scene.”

“Not really,” Coda said. “I’m more of a homebody.”

“Then you’re perfect for Spencer,” one of Ava’s friends said. “Ava and Spencer spent a lot of time at home.”

Ava winked at Spencer, sending him some kind of secret signal.

The group cackled like a bunch of catty schoolgirls. Didn’t these rich sophisticates have anything better to do?

“Spencer and I had lots of fun at home, didn’t we, baby?” Ava continued her attempt to jog his memory.

“You ladies have a good night.” Spencer guided Coda down the path. “Let’s go.”

“Bye,” one of the girls yelled.

“Ava, I think it’s over,” someone said. “He looks pretty content.”

Coda couldn’t hear Ava’s response because Spencer had them out of earshot within seconds.

“What exactly did you see in her?” Coda asked. “You don’t look like the type of man who falls for desperate women.”

“I was a busy man who didn’t have time to fall for anyone,” he said. “Ava was convenient. We attended all of the same functions anyway. After a while it was just understood we would go together. I let my grandfather and Pierce make choices for me. I made mistakes. I don’t ever intend on repeating them.”

“That’s why she thought you’d be here alone? She thought you’d pick up where you left off.”

“I suppose, but I gave her no indication that would happen.” He took her hand. “Are you really a homebody?”

“Yeah, I was never into the club thing. Between school and work, I didn’t have time.”

“You didn’t miss much.”

“Good to know.”

He held the door open for her as they walked into the lobby.

She spotted an elaborate black piano just outside the banquet room. “That wasn’t here before.”

“They brought it in for the ceremony.” He stopped and looked it over. “It’s exquisite.” He ran his fingers along the keys with the care she imagined he’d use on his lover. With one hand he played a few notes. It sounded nice.

“Will you play something?” she asked.

“What? No.” He withdrew his hand from the keys. “Would you like to stop at the bar for a drink?”

“No, since Ava’s at the club, there’s really no reason for us to be seen in public. You can go if you’d like, but I’m headed to bed.”

He looked as if she had hurt him, but for the life of her she couldn’t understand why. He’d made it perfectly clear why she was there.

“I see Tyler and a few of the guys at the bar.” He motioned with his head toward the lounge. “I think I’ll have a scotch. Are you sure you won’t join me?”

“If you don’t mind I’d like to call it a night. I’m going to call my mom and then go to bed. Tell Tyler I said hi.” She leaned forward, lingering at his lips for a few seconds before kissing him. When she pulled away he looked stunned. “That was in case Tyler and the guys are watching.” She kissed his cheek. “I wouldn’t want you to say I wasn’t good at my job, Mr. Cannon.”

“Coda, I—”

“Goodnight.” She cut him off because she didn’t want to hear any more explanations as to why they couldn’t be intimate. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night.” He nodded as she turned and headed up the staircase.

When she got to the landing, she looked down to find him watching her. She gave him a quick wave before continuing up the steps.

Chapter 6

Friday morning, Spencer woke with a headache. He’d stayed at the bar a little longer than he anticipated he would and had drunk more than he should have. As he looked around the suite, he couldn’t recall how he’d even gotten back there. Had he retrieved the blanket and pillow from the closet? He hadn’t drunk like that since college. Losing control wasn’t something he liked to do.

He felt like a jerk for turning Coda down the night before. He couldn’t get the look of disappointment on her face out of his head. What right did he have to want her? A sexual relationship wasn’t part of the deal. He would never pay a woman for sex. Being intimate would blur the lines. He had two more days to keep his determination.

By then he would have survived the weekend, escaping Ava’s advances, and Coda would have a comfortable sum of money to help her get a better start in life. He wanted her to have that. There was a sparkle in her eyes that couldn’t be ignored. He had great respect for a woman who wanted to make her own way in life. Her work ethic and determination were admirable. He’d never met a woman quite like her before.

He rolled off the couch, stretched his aching back, and headed for a hot shower. The steam would do him some good. He needed a couple of aspirin and a cup of coffee. He squinted at the clock. It was after eight. How had he overslept? He walked down the hall and peeked into Coda’s room, but she wasn’t there. Hopefully she had made her way down to breakfast. He hadn’t even heard her leave the suite.

After his shower, he answered a few emails. He had to meet his grandfather, Pierce, and Tyler in thirty minutes to discuss the logo issue with the most stubborn client he’d ever encountered. If they didn’t resolve this issue soon the client was going to pull the campaign. The agency had never lost a client before, and he wouldn’t allow it to happen on his watch.

As he looked out the windows overlooking the property, he heard the double doors to the suite open. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark blue camisole tank top that revealed a thin line of skin just below her belly button, Coda came into the foyer with a large cup of coffee and a white paper bag.

“Hey.” Her smile lit up the room and stirred his insides. “You’re awake.”

Why did she always look so happy to see him? Her mood only made him feel worse about last night.

“I never oversleep.” He walked toward her. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You were out.” She gazed at his bare chest and unbuckled belt. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Sorry.” He reached for his t-shirt. “I just got out of the shower.”