Caught (Men of the Show Book 3) (7 page)

“Uh, one second,” she stammered as she rushed back to her desk.

She yanked open her bottom drawer and pulled out her purse. Digging into the deep pockets, she unearthed her mirror and grimaced at her tired reflection. She tugged a brush through her lifeless hair, cringing with a curse when static lifted the strands around her face and on top of her head. She tried to tame it before wiping at the black smudges of mascara under her eyes. Pinching her cheeks to bring some color back to them, she quickly dabbed on lip gloss and called it good enough on such short notice.

Shannon brushed a hand down her tweed skirt and took a breath, trying to still the butterflies suddenly fluttering around in her stomach. She lifted her chin, striving for an air of confidence she hoped she pulled off, and opened the door.

Matt, who was chatting animatedly with Megan, glanced up. He smiled when he spotted her, his blue eyes brightening and his perfect white teeth on display. With his loose fitting jeans, dark chocolate boots and a hunter-green winter jacket, he could have stepped straight out of a winter spread of a fashion magazine. Faint ruddiness remained on his cheeks from the cold air outside.

“Matt!
 
This is a surprise. What are you doing here?” she finally said as her brain reengaged, forcing herself to ignore how gorgeous he was.

He stepped forward. “I’m sorry. Did I come at a bad time?
 
I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Shannon shook her head as if trying to clear out the massive amounts of confusion thrashing around, while Megan watched their exchange with interest. “No, no interruptions. I’m sorry. You caught me off guard. Please, come in.”

She held out her hand toward her office and followed him in. She closed the door behind them, but not before quickly turning and mouthing “Oh my God!” to Megan, who gave her two thumbs up.

Shannon smiled at him as she sat behind her large mahogany desk. “Please, have a seat,” she offered before her mind winced, hating the formality in her tone. She tried not to stare as Matt unzipped his jacket, revealing a navy V-neck sweater coupled with a gray T-shirt, which outlined his broad shoulders and strong chest, before he sat down. He glanced around, taking in everything.

“This is a nice office. Nice view,” he said as he craned his neck to see out the small window.

“Thanks. I try not to get distracted by it too much.”

“I can see that. Although a bit too high to do any good people watching.”

“Yeah. So, what are you doing here?”
 
She sat back in her chair, trying to appear calm and relaxed even though excited jitters skipped inside her. She didn’t mean to sound rude or impatient, but she had to know why he’d shown up at her office out of the blue.

“Oh.”
 
Matt turned back and slouched down in the chair comfortably, propping one ankle on his knee. “I’m in town to work out with a buddy of mine, Dusty Reynolds—he’s the catcher for Chicago—and so I thought I’d stop by...”
 
He broke off and gave her another big smile. “I remembered you mentioning that you worked here.”
 
At her continued silence, he cleared his throat. “Anyway, I wanted to see if maybe one night we could do dinner or something while I’m in town. Nothing big or anything…just…hang out.”

“I see,” Shannon murmured, struggling to ignore the disappointment coursing through her that she couldn’t be anything more than a friend to this fine specimen of a man. “Yeah, that’d be fun.”

“Great!” he said with another big smile. “It’s cool to know someone else here in the city to hang with.”

“Just let me know when and where and we’ll go from there. With my schedule, the more advance notice, the better. Where are you staying, by the way?”

“The Waldorf.”

She smiled. “You don’t skimp, huh?”

Matt shrugged. “I like it. It’s nice.”

“Nice?
 
I guess that’s one way to describe it. Expensive is another.”

He lifted his big shoulders again, his gaze lingering on her and her skin prickled in anticipation of something—what, she didn’t know—but soon his eyes broke away and he stood. “I won’t keep you. I’ll call you to schedule something.”

She rose as he walked over to the door. “Sure, sounds good.”

Shannon waited until he disappeared from sight before sinking back down into her chair. She couldn’t believe he’d showed up. In Chicago. At her office. She hadn’t expected to have contact with him again anytime soon, if ever, but now here he was and he wanted to get together with her for dinner. As a friend.

“That’s all you want, Shannon,” she muttered aloud. “All you can have at the moment. A friendly, gorgeous, ridiculously sexy
friend
.”

But, as she turned to her computer to force herself back to work, she struggled to ignore the voice calling her a liar.

*
 
*
 
*

Matt walked out of the office building and shoved his hands into his coat pockets feeling somewhat successful. His and Shannon’s interaction right off the bat had been stiff and formal, not as smooth as he would have liked, but he could fix that, no problem. Next step, calling her and scheduling dinner.

He’d found his mind wandering back to Shannon as he packed for his trip home to Arizona, unable to forget the taste of her on his lips and the feel of her in his arms, and he’d pondered whether to try something before bolting the door completely on any possibility between them. He hated playing the what-if game, so he decided to at least try, and if she turned him down, then at least he’d made an effort and his mind would be free of second guesses, which he hated.
 

He’d had to make a call home, informing his mother of his decision not to be home for Thanksgiving, which had upset her as he expected, but he’d promised to be there for Christmas. Then he’d had to come up with a reasonable excuse to be in Chicago since he didn’t think Shannon would react well to learning he’d come to town just to see her. She’d already made it abundantly clear she didn’t have time for anything else in her life outside of her job. Plus, he wanted to gauge her reaction. If she responded positively, happy and interested, and agreed to go out with him a few times as a “friend,” then he’d make a move. If she acted put out and annoyed, turning him down…well, then they’d all save face, he’d have his answer, and could head out to Arizona on the next flight.

Pleased with things so far, despite the slow progression, Matt headed down the sidewalk in the direction of his hotel. A quick blare of a car horn caused him to glance across the street. His eye caught someone standing on the opposite side of the busy road watching him. When recognition clicked, his heart froze and a flash of cold panic washed through him. He stopped, ignoring the grumblings of everyone around him as they bumped into him on the crowded sidewalk, and stared at Natalie. She gave him a small smile as a crowd swallowed her up. After the mob dissipated, an empty space faced him.

Matt’s head swiveled back and forth, but he didn’t spot her again, and he wondered if he’d imagined everything, if the girl only strongly resembled her. Another person collided with him and swore, spurring him into motion, and he made his feet move.

He’d been a little worried about the situation with Natalie, not really sure if he should pursue anything with anyone else until he was confident she would adhere to the restraining order, but he couldn’t put his life on hold because she wouldn’t accept they were no longer together. Things had been so quiet that he’d believed she’d finally gotten the message. He hoped she’d moved on, realizing there was no going back, which meant he could move on himself. But now he questioned his decision. If she was following him, in direct violation of the order, the last thing he wanted was to involve anyone else in his messed-up state of affairs.
 

Matt spotted his hotel up ahead. He needed to call his lawyer and discuss whether he should notify the authorities, especially since he lacked proof other than a vision he questioned the validity of. He didn’t believe the situation was volatile, only an annoyance, but he’d lay low for a couple of days before calling Shannon in order to make sure the coast was clear. His eyes were playing tricks on him, however. Natalie was back in Michigan and would have no knowledge of him traveling to Chicago. As far as she knew, he was home in Arizona where he normally was this time of year. There was no reason for him to believe otherwise.
 

Chapter 7

A few days later, Matt pulled his big body out of the tight confines of the backset of the cab and studied the building in front of him. Shannon lived in a high-rise not horribly far from the water and he had to guess each apartment sported a spectacular view. Rent must cost a pretty penny here—not that Shannon didn’t make a healthy salary. Associates at big law firms usually pulled in a solid paycheck in order to compensate for the long hours they put in as they climbed their way up to partner. His father had been one of them until he broke out on his own.

He nodded to the doorman who opened the door for him, and headed across the shiny black marble floors toward the elevators, appreciating the lavish lobby area with its dark wood paneling and strategically placed floral arrangements. Pressing the button for the forty-eighth floor, he rode up while trying to ease the nerves inching into his neck and shoulders. He wanted things to go well, but he was still drawing a blank on how to tell her the training story was lie and that he was actually here for her. Inspiration was not striking, so he was going to have to roll with the punches and see how things went throughout the night.

Stepping out of the elevator and onto the dark gray plush carpeted floor of the short hallway, Matt stopped outside Shannon’s door and knocked. He waited a few seconds before hearing the tip-tap of her heels and then the door swung open.

“Hi,” Shannon said, friendly enough, but she appeared a little frazzled, still dressed in her work suit.

“Hi,” he said and stepped in when she made room.

“I got home a bit later than expected,” she explained as she closed the door behind him. “Make yourself at home and I’ll be ready in a minute.”

He nodded as he walked into the main room. He’d been right about the view; wall-to-wall windows faced the water in the faraway distance behind the surrounding buildings. Soft beige carpet sat underneath a loveseat, which faced a flat-panel television, and a couple of matching chairs, all situated around a glass coffee table whose top was barely visible beneath the scattered books, clutter of flies and a laptop.
 

Matt unzipped his black overcoat and inspected the tiny kitchen area, which was snug and would barely fit more than one person. The apartment was nice but a little too small for him. Tight corridors made him uncomfortable, his big frame clumsy and in the way. Aside from the mess on the coffee table, the rest of the place looked unused, since she was most likely never home.

Hearing her footsteps on the tile in the hallway, he turned as Shannon entered the room. She’d changed into black leggings and riding boots, highlighting her sexy long legs. A rose cowl-neck sweater accented her fresh skin nicely, making her cheeks glow a soft pink. She wore her hair down and she’d refreshed her makeup as her eyes appeared darker and smokier than when he’d arrived.

“Sorry again. Are you ready?”

“Yep.”
 
Matt held out his hand. “Your coat?” he said when a puzzled expression crossed her face.

*
 
*
 
*

Shannon gave him a shy smile as she handed her wool peacoat over to him and put her arms through the sleeves. She couldn’t remember the last time any guy had helped her into her jacket, if ever. His mother had trained him well. If he had manners like this and they were simply friends, she could only imagine how he would treat anyone he was romantically involved with.

Once her coat was on, he held out his elbow and said, “Shall we?”

She grinned, recalling he’d said the same thing to her at the wedding. “Absolutely.”
 

They walked over to the elevator and waited for the lift to arrive. “I like your place,” he said. “Nice views.”

“Thank you.”
 
She gave him a sideways glance. “You really notice the views, don’t you?” she teased.

Matt shrugged with a crooked grin. “I’m all about the views. You should see the amazing mountain views I have in Arizona.”

The elevator dinged, and they stepped in. “They are nice when you have the time to appreciate them,” she agreed. “Here, it’s dark when I leave and dark when I get home for the most part, so I don’t get to enjoy them too much.”

“You need to make time.”

“Stop and smell the roses, huh?”
 

He chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”

They walked through the lobby and out onto the street, where he took her lightly by the elbow and led her to a taxi waiting for them.

“I paid him to wait,” Matt said when she raised her brows in surprise.

They climbed into the backseat and Shannon tried not to notice how close Matt sat next to her. His woodsy cologne tickled her senses, which made her want to bury her nose against his neck, so instead she turned away to watch out the back window.

“May I ask where we are going?”

“Sullivan’s. I hope you like steak?” he asked, suddenly looking concerned. “I guess I shouldn’t have assumed you ate meat…”