Page 11 of Dreams That Bind Us
“Impressive,” James commented, easing forward, keeping his posture soft, as he stuck out a hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Anna…in person."
She gulped, looking like she'd split and run at any second. After an awkward pause, she accepted his hand, giving it one firm shake.
"You, too," she replied mechanically, yanking away as if he'd burned her. He let go, not wanting to spook her any more than he already had.
Take it easy. Don't be too aggressive and scare her away again.
He shifted closer, his eyes roving her feminine face. "I've heard great things about your furniture," he added, with a nod to the side. "I'm glad to see that it's lived up to all the hype." He vaguely heard Gus shout for help and was relieved as Jack moved away, leaving them alone.
Her mouth twitched to the side and he watched as she nibbled at her plump bottom lip. "It's nothing really."
He held his hands up as she started to move away. "Please, wait," he implored. Anna sighed, her chin lifting. "I'm sorry I scared you the other day, and I'm sorry I spilled my coffee all over you."
She stared at a point just over his shoulder, stubbornly refusing to meet his gaze. He bit his lip to keep from smiling.
"Don't worry about it,” she murmured.
"But I will until I can make it up to you somehow." He noted the way she held herself, so inflexible, as if blocking herself off from everything. "Please. Have dinner with me."
Anna's wide eyes finally shot to his as she sidled back. "No. That's not necessary."
"It is," he insisted, following her. "Please. Let me treat you to dinner tonight."
Her frame was rigid as she shook her head. "No, I'm out of town tonight."
"Okay. How about tomorrow?"
"I'll be away for a few days."
Unwilling to accept defeat, he added, "At least give me your number. I'm certain I'll need to add to our current furniture order. The fourth floor isn't completed yet."
Her eyes narrowed, shooting fire, and he almost chuckled. "Gus and Jack know how to reach me."
God, she's intoxicating.
"They do,” James conceded. “But they'll be done here soon and on to other projects. I'll need to contact you myself."
With a resigned sigh, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small, white rectangle—her business card. "Here." She held onto it as he grabbed it, not letting go. "But only contact me about business."
His smile was his only response, unwilling to agree to those terms.
We'll see about that.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," she muttered as another delivery truck pulled up. "I need to take care of this." She strode across the parking lot, her back ramrod straight.
James watched her retreat, his thumb rubbing across the card as his mind churned with ways he could wrangle a dinner date. The ridges of the design on the thick cardstock caught his attention. It was simple with bare details: the business name, phone number, and the simple logo. His eyes narrowed—he'd seen that logo before, very recently, and he grinned when he realized where.
Gotcha, Anna!
Anna scurried away as quickly as her feet would allow, her head pounding with each heartbeat. She ground her teeth—of all the clients, it had to be him.Him!
There was literally no way she could have known that the mysterious James was the owner who had placed the massiveorder she'd been working on for months. Her contacts had been Gus and Jack.
This was bad. Really bad. Now he had her business cardandher phone number. He'd track her down somehow, she knew it.
She glanced at her right hand that was still shaking from the encounter. The tingle she'd felt when her hand had connected with his was unlike anything she'd experienced before—that electric buzz that shot from his skin to hers. She shivered and clenched her fist.
This can't be happening. It’s just a nightmare and any moment I’ll wake up, it's not real.
