His Reluctant Lover (8 page)

Huh?  “Wait.  What are you talking about?”  She looked out through the windows, trying to figure out what the other shop owners might have seen. 

“You kissed him!  You kissed that gorgeous guy.  We heard about him coming to town but you snagged him first!  I’m so excited for you.”  She paused to catch her breath.  “So tell me!  Was he good?  Are you seeing him after work?  Is he as sexy up close as he looks from a distance?”

“Linda!” Georgette called out, trying to stop the barrage of questions. 

“What?” she asked, laughing at how excited she was.  “Meet me for a glass of wine tonight and I’ll let you off the phone now.”

“Deal!” she agreed, knowing that Dorothy was listening in to her half of the conversation.  She didn’t want to have to explain because, really, what could she say?  She hadn’t wanted to kiss the man?  But when his lips touched hers, there was no way she could pull away because she’d been clinging to him? 

Ugh!  How was she going to deal with this? 

Georgette chose retreat rather than explanations.  Explanations she couldn’t really give because she didn’t fully understand her actions.  “I’m going up to my office.  Can you handle this afternoon’s appointments?”

Dorothy smiled with confidence.  “Absolutely.  You head on upstairs and create something crazy and fabulous for the new lines.  I know that next spring is going to be extremely busy.”

Georgette stopped in the process of gathering up her design book and pencils.  “It is?” she asked, staring at her assistant.  “What’s going on?”

Dorothy proceeded to list out all the current romances that were floating around in the summer heat.  How Dorothy knew about all of those couples was more than Georgette could figure out.  “Wow!  I didn’t know that Jessy was even divorced.”

Dorothy laughed, waving her hand in the air dismissively.  “It was a quiet divorce but it all worked out for both parties.”

Georgette nodded numbly and walked up the stairs.  She felt like her shoes were filled with lead and her stomach didn’t like the fact that Linda had seen the kiss.  How could she have been so stupid as to have kissed Dylan?  And in public!  Good grief!  This town might be busy, but the gossip mills were alive and running strong.  If Linda had seen, who else might have caught a glimpse of that kiss? 

She slumped onto her desk in her office, flipping through the pages of her sketch book, trying to come up with ideas for other wedding gowns plus evening gowns or bride’s maid dresses.  But her nervousness about the kiss as well as the fear that others had witnessed the kiss was blocking all of her creativity. 

She had to get a grip, she told herself.  She couldn’t let that man, no matter how awesomely he kissed, disturb her routine.  She loved designing dresses and she wasn’t going to let him slow her down. 

With determination, she picked up her pencil, opened up to a clean page on her sketch pad and focused.  Unfortunately, the phone rang again at that moment.  Picking it up, she greeted the caller distractedly. 

“Georgette, when were you going to tell me the news?” a female voice asked.

Georgette’s stomach tightened and she almost snapped her pencil in half.  “News?  What news Mother?” she asked.  But deep down inside, she knew exactly what her mother was asking. 

“Are you dating that very nice man?”

“I’m dating Charles,” she replied.

Her mother laughed softly.  “Charles is certainly a prime catch but he isn’t for you, dear.  Now that handsome young man we met the other day is definitely your type.”

Georgette couldn’t understand what was going on.  “Mother, first of all, when did you meet Dylan Alfieri?  And secondly, why do you think he’s such a catch for me?”

“We met him at your grandfather’s office.  Your grandmother and I were stopping by to drag him out for lunch and Mr. Alfieri just happened to be there as well.  We all had a very nice lunch together.”

Goodness, Dylan definitely had a way of getting around, she thought.  “Well, regardless, Mr. Alfieri is seeing someone else.  I was having lunch with Charles today.  Dylan and his girlfriend just happened to be there as well and Charles invited them to have lunch with us.”

“Good.  He’s a great catch.  Oh, and he’s not dating anyone,” she told her daughter.

“How do you know?”

Her mother laughed again.  “Because I asked, dear.  It’s the easiest way to find these things out.  And if you’re not dating him, then why did I hear that you were seen kissing him in the park in front of your shop this afternoon?”

Georgette groaned.  “It wasn’t a kiss.  Not really,” she thought, frantically trying to come up with what the scene possibly could be.  Unfortunately, her mind was drawing a blank. 

“Well, you should be kissing him.”

“I’m dating Charles.  He’s a very nice man.”

“Charles is wealthy and astonishingly good looking.  But he’s a very straight-laced man, Georgette.  He isn’t right for you.”

Georgette sighed.  “I didn’t know you disliked him so much.”

“What’s not to like?  He’s a sweet guy, very smart and has all the right connections.  For the right woman, he’ll be perfect.  But you are not the right woman for Charles.  He’s just too…uninspiring.”

“He’s a very kind gentleman.  Which is exactly what I want in a man.”

Her mother snorted.  “Honey, you don’t know what you want but I guarantee that Charles won’t have it.  Anyway, don’t forget about dinner next week dear.  It is still on your calendar, right?”

“Of course, mother.”  Georgette actually had no idea what dinner her mother was talking about, but she didn’t have the brain strength to even investigate the issue. 

“Good.  Now I’m going to call around and see if anyone saw more of that park today.  You say you weren’t kissing him, I’m sure others might have a better idea.  Talk to you later, dear!”

And the phone line disconnected.  Georgette stared at it, wondering why her mother was even thinking about calling around to others to find out what her daughter had done after lunch!  She hated gossip! 

The phone rang again but Georgette ignored it this time.  She didn’t want to hear any more questions about her post-lunch excursion across the grass.  It was crazy!  Why did everyone have to know her business?  Maybe she should move to New York or Los Angeles where she’d be anonymous. 

Of course, the phone call might be business related but if that were the case, Dorothy could handle it. 

“Georgette?  Phone call for you.” 

Georgette looked at the caller ID and cringed.  It wasn’t a friend, it was a frenemy.  Not someone she wanted to talk to at the moment.  “Take a message, Dorothy, please.”  With that, she gathered up all of her stuff, grabbed her purse and walked out the back door.  Dumping everything into her car, she raced down the road, looking for solace from the crazy emotions that were still raging through her body as well as the gossips that were hounding her. 

Georgette loved the ballet.  In her opinion, it was one of the most beautiful of the arts.  She loved the soft movements as well as sudden bursts of energy, the gentle, elegant sway of the dancers’ bodies and the way the dance told a story. 

And tonight, she loved the darkness surrounding her.  Occasionally, she felt eyes on her and she suspected that some people might be gossiping about her, wondering about her relationship and that dratted kiss that so many people either had heard about or had actually witnessed.  She hadn’t heard from Charles and found out that he’d gone on a business trip suddenly.  She was grateful that he was out of town and wasn’t around to hear all the gossip but was also worried that he’d heard about it and that was the reason for his abrupt departure.  She wished that people could just mind their own business! 

She realized that she was tensing up and consciously forced her mind and muscles to relax once again.  Looking down at the stage, she let the dancers capture her imagination and she thought of several ideas for new wedding gowns using the flow of the dance, the sway of the movement.  Her fingers were literally itching to start drawing the ideas out but she once again had to remind herself to relax and let the images meld in her mind.  She would work them out, make them better, if she could just relax and watch the ballet.

The tingling started with the hairs on the back of her neck.  Her fingers reached up, skimming along her neck but there wasn’t anything there.  Nor should there be!  What was she expecting?  A spider to crawl up her neck while in the theatre?  Stranger things had happened but…

“You look beautiful,” a deep voice said while a large, male body took the chair next to her. 

Georgette looked up and her eyes clashed with his dark blue ones even in the darkness of the theatre.  “What are you doing here?” she demanded furiously, only to be shushed by her mother and grandmother who were sitting in front of her. 

Georgette sank back into the chair, feeling silly for reacting so strongly to this man.  She couldn’t have revealed more if she’d shouted out her feelings to the whole theatre.  She was silent for a long moment, but when his arm moved around her, resting on the back of her chair, she stiffened, but was able to remain silent. 

She felt the heat before she felt his fingers and every part of her was on high alert.  “Keep quiet,” he whispered in her ear.  “Too many people are talking about us already.”

She knew that!  And he wasn’t helping the situation by sitting next to her, much less leaning over and whispering in her ear. 

She almost moaned out loud when his warm fingers slid along the skin of her neck.  Bowing her head, she tried to hide the shiver of awareness but his expert fingers knew exactly what to do.  They left a trail of fire as he caressed her skin at the nape of her neck, her ears and down along the edge of her black cocktail dress.  “Stop,” she whispered.

Dylan pretended not to hear her and leaned his head down lower.  That was probably a mistake he thought because he could now smell her very soft, very subtle perfume.  His body instantly reacted to that smell and he loved it!  He’d never smelled anything so sexy and beautiful.  There was just something about this woman that drove him harder and got under his skin in a way that he really enjoyed. 

“What did you say?” he whispered into her ear. 

His hand was still on her neck so he felt and absorbed her shiver.  “Stop it!” she came right back. 

He didn’t stop.  His fingers slid down her spine as far as they could go before the chair stopped him.  “Why should I stop?” 

“Because people will start to…” she stopped speaking when the audience erupted in applause.  Thankfully, Dylan pulled his hand away and she breathed a sigh of relief.  The lights of the theatre came on and she stood up, desperate now to get out of their private box during the intermission.  Taking several steps away from him, she made her way towards the exit. 

Out in the hallway, crowds were milling about and conversations created a low level hum around her.  She looked around, her eyes scanning the room, desperate to figure out how to get away from him.  She’d been so glad that Charles was out of town but right at this moment, she would have loved to have his arm to lean upon. 

“This way,” Dylan growled into her ear.  He didn’t wait for her to agree, but simply put a strong hand on her upper arm and pulled her along the hallway.  She knew that others were watching and she tried so hard to pretend like this was just a friendly conversation, but it was very difficult to keep the smile on her face under the circumstances.  Especially when Dylan slammed through one of the side doors, plunging them both into a back hallway lit only by low level lights further down the hallway. 

“Don’t run away from me,” he growled a moment before he pulled her into his arms.  And just like that, Georgette was surrounded by his strength, the heat poured through her and she arched into his embrace.  There was a split second when she thought to be outraged, when she knew she should pull back and get out of his arms, maybe even give him a piece of her mind.  But then his tongue touched her lips, demanding entry and she moaned as she opened her mouth, desperate to feel that crazy sensations she’d felt when he’d kissed her the last time. 

His fingers slid into her hair, dislodging the pins at the back and several tresses spilled over his hand.  She didn’t care.  She wanted more.  She wasn’t sure what more was, but she needed it from this man, right at this moment.

He pressed her back, pinning her to the wall so he had both hands, one of which slid higher on her waist, then slowly, firmly back down again.  His hand found her bottom and she gasped when he jerked her body more completely against his, against his erection which was shockingly large. 

She pulled away, her mind reeling with the crazy need that hardness created within her.  She wanted him to lift her up and impale her onto his body.  Or maybe just lay her down onto the carpet and have his wicked way with her.  She didn’t care!  Not at all.  All she knew was that she wanted him so desperately, rational thinking was a thing of the past. 

A door slamming down the hallway broke through her lust filled mind and she jerked out of his arms.  Gasping for breath, she walked away from him, her eyes unfocused and her hands shaking so badly she had trouble picking her clutch purse up off of the floor where she’d dropped it.  She discovered what his large hands had done to her hair and almost sobbed out her frustration.  Quickly, her hands tried to fix her hair.  She walked several steps away, unable to look up at Dylan, ashamed of what she’d just done with him.  Again!

The group of theatre attendees at the other end of the hall were loud and she was truly grateful for the interruption.  She had no idea what might have happened if they hadn’t come out.  Georgette would like to think that she would have had the willpower to stop with Dylan, but deep down inside, she knew that she probably was deluding herself. 

“Let me help you,” he offered, reaching out to tuck one of the curls in but she jerked backwards. 

“Please,” she whispered, her fingers shaking as she slowly reached up to adjust her hair.  “I can do it.”

Dylan stood there, watching her slender arms because he couldn’t see her hands.  When she was finished, she stood in front of him, looking at the floor.  “Are you okay?” he asked, moving closer. 

She stepped backwards but he caught her hand.  “Georgette, answer me.”

Georgette bit her lip, furious with him for putting her into this position and disgusted with herself for letting him pull her out here.  “No!” she snapped at him, trying to pull away from him.  But he wouldn’t let her move back, nor could she move forward because his enormous body was blocking her.  “No, I’m not okay and no, if I don’t want to answer you, then I won’t do it.”

He laughed softly, but held onto her arms.  His grip wasn’t hard, but it was firm, not allowing her to run away from him like she had that day after lunch.  “Okay, so you’re stubborn and you’re angry.  Can you at least explain why you are angry with me?”

She looked up at him askance, stunned that he didn’t know why she was so furious.  “You accost me in the park and I have to dodge phone calls for the rest of the afternoon from people trying to find out when I broke up with Charles and started dating you.”  She poked him in the chest for emphasis.  “Charles is now gone and I can’t reach him.  Tonight you drag me through the other theatre guests to a private place and…” she couldn’t finish the sentence, throwing her hand up in the air as if that explained it all. 

“And kissed you again?” he offered.  He shouldn’t laugh, but he was secretly thrilled that Charles was out of the picture for a while.  Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to take advantage of his absence since he had to go out of town himself in two days.  He was only here tonight because Philip had given him the seat in their private box, with the comment that Georgette would also be here tonight.  The old man was plotting against his granddaughter but Dylan wasn’t complaining.  It seemed that Philip had the same ideas about Georgette that Dylan had. 

“Yes!  You kissed me!  Don’t let it happen again.”

Dylan laughed.  “You kissed me back.  Or do I need to remind you?” he said, moving closer.

“No!” she gasped, putting her hands on his chest to push him away.  “Don’t you dare!”

“Oh, I dare all right!”  And his hands moved from her wrists to her waist, pulling her against his hard frame.  “I’m going to dare over and over again until you admit that you want me.  And once that’s out of the way, I’m going to make love to you until you can’t see straight.  Any questions?” he asked, his face barely an inch away from hers.

Georgette couldn’t answer him.  Good grief, she could barely breathe!  She glanced to the right where the small group of people were standing, some of them starting to look in their direction.  “Couldn’t we talk about this another time?” she asked, looking at his chest in front of her. 

“No.  Because you’ll just ignore the question.”  He hesitated for a moment.  “Or I could come by after the ballet tonight and we could discuss it in the comfort of your home.  Would that work better?’

“Absolutely not,” she replied, shivering at the idea of this huge man inside her house.  Her home wasn’t big enough for someone Dylan’s size.  He’d dwarf her small, comfortable rooms, make them feel wrong.  “You’re vibrating,” she said, referring to his cell phone that was just underneath her hands, obviously in his coat pocket. 

“So are you,” he said, sliding his hand up and down her back, causing her to shiver.

Georgette closed her eyes, trying to pretend that he wasn’t affecting her this way.  But it was impossible because he was just too perceptive.

“No,” she gasped.  “Really, you’re vibrating.  You have a call.”

Dylan chuckled, feeling the vibrations himself now.  “So I do,” he said.  Stepping back, he took her hand in his, not letting her escape while he looked at the number.  Grimacing, he glanced up at her.  “I have to take this.”

Georgette sighed with relief.  “I’ll give you some privacy,” she said and, before he could stop her, she slipped inside to the theatre.  The lights were dimming at that moment, indicating that the intermission was coming to an end. 

But instead of going back into their box, she caught her mother’s attention, pulling her to the side.  “I’m going to head home.  I have a headache.”

Ellen looked at her daughter with concern.  “The headache wouldn’t have anything to do with the gorgeous man you’re trying to outrun, would it?” she asked. 

Georgette gave an unladylike snort.  “Not at all.  I’m just going home to try and contact Charles.  I miss him,” she lied.  She hadn’t thought of Charles since their lunch the other day except to hope that he hadn’t heard about the rumors of her kiss with Dylan.