Perfectly Flawed (5 page)

Adrianna gaped, and was grateful she was seated. She thought of standing, since it would be the polite thing to do, but was sure her legs wouldn’t hold her. Towering over her was Sean Reid, all six feet of him, the hard muscle of his body evident even under the casual blazer.

His brown hair had grown out a little, and he was every bit as swoon-worthy as she remembered. If anything, his shoulders looked broader and his thighs…
oh, God
…she was losing it. Already.

Sean turned to look at Adrianna, recognition dawning. She melted under the warm gaze of his beautiful caramel-colored eyes. She’d never seen eyes like that. Or
a body like his. No, not quite like his. He was big, kind of rough looking, sculpted with big, impressive muscles. And the way those pants fit…

Regaining his composure rather quickly, Sean held out his hand to Adrianna. As she reached
out, her hand trembled, and she hoped he didn’t notice.

“Hello, Adrianna. We’ve met before. May I say, it’s nice to see you
again.”

The way he said her name, in that deep, masculine voice.
It would be her undoing, she was sure. When his strong hand grasped hers, Adrianna stopped breathing. The electricity between them couldn’t be denied.

“Sean.
Nice to see you.” It was all she could think of to say, as her mind wasn’t functioning properly.

“Oh, you know each other,” Emmett commented.

“Yes, we met at a baseball game once,” Sean said, and Adrianna was glad he’d responded, because she wasn’t sure she had the ability to talk.

Realizing that she hadn’t taken her eyes off of him since the moment he’d entered the intimate conference room, Adrianna gulped some water and stared at her notepad as if it were the porthole to another world. Maybe she could just disappear, no questions asked.

No, it was more likely she was losing her mind. There was no way she could work with Sean in close proximity without—

“Adrianna, do you have any questions about what we’ve discussed so far?” Emmett was all business, seemingly unaware of the undercurrent between his new hires.

She shook her head.

“Okay then, Sean’s been briefed already, so I’ll leave you two alone to brainstorm. If you need me, I’m just down the hall.” Emmett left and the heavy wooden door sealed behind him, its weight enough to close it.

Sean sat across from Adrianna and she became acutely aware of the rapid beat of her heart. Then, looking at his ruggedly handsome face, she saw that smile again. The corners of his luscious mouth turned up and his eyes beamed. Sure that her discomfort was obvious, Adrianna’s cheeks warmed.

“Well, where shall we start?” Sean said, the smile never leaving his face.

Chapter 7

As he had glanced through the conference room window while walking down the hall, Sean had thought he recognized the back of that blond head. That brilliant light hair he remembered and it seemed too often he was left looking at it from the back as she walked away.

His heart had skipped a beat when he thought it might be her, but he just couldn’t believe it.
Adrianna, here? No way
.

Stepping inside, there she had been, so stunning the sight nearly knocked him off his feet. Those blue eyes, the prettiest ones he’d ever seen, looked up in surprise, and Sean felt an ache deep inside. He’d tried to convince himself that he’d forgotten her, moved on.

The ragged feeling in his heart confirmed what Sean knew to be the truth: he had never forgotten her. He never would.

Sitting across from her, Sean took time to savor her beauty. That long, wispy blond hair caressed her cheek and fell tantalizingly past her shoulders. Getting lost in her soft blue eyes would be the easiest thing to do, way too easy. Adrianna had worn a light, frilly jacket, teasing him with her femininity, but underneath was a stretchy undergarment tight over the round curves of her breasts.

Imagining holding her, touching her, was doing nothing to quell the throb building inside just from being in her presence. The effect she had on him rattled him to his core. With her flawless, smooth skin and pouty lips, Adrianna enticed while seeming innocent or unaware of her allure. And that made her even more desirable.

Luckily, they were seated across from each other, giving Sean some sense of modesty and not flaunting the evidence of his desire openly. Not that he was a modest guy, not at all. But historically, he’d failed to make the right move with Adrianna. And he didn’t want her getting the wrong impression. Well, it was the right impression, but he didn’t want to give her any reason to walk away—he at least wanted a chance with her.

Adrianna fumbled with her papers and gazed at the desk, clearly uncomfortable. Sean only hoped that was because she was attracted to him, but could find no reassurance that was the case. Trying to stay cool, or appear so anyway, he leaned back in the chair and slumped down into the soft orange cushion.

“I didn’t know you did social media,” Adrianna said.

Her voice was like a soft melody playing over his body.

“I guess there are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” That got her attention. Adrianna’s focus shifted and she looked at him intently, as if he were a mystery.

“We don’t know each other at all.” Adrianna looked away. Her eyes flicked back down to her papers, like she wanted to crawl between the pages.

“I’d like to remedy that.” Sean cringed inside, but kept his body relaxed, not wanting to give himself away.
Too strong, too soon
, he was sure.

Adrianna gave a brief smile, but no joy flashed in her eyes. She was a hard one to figure out.

“I didn’t know you were a graphic artist.” And that was true. Sean knew zero about this amazing woman.

Adrianna seemed to relax at that comment, edging into a subject she was familiar with. “Yes, for a long time. All through school, it was my haven. When things got bad it was my non-destructive way to escape. I’d spend hours at the computer.”

“So you have destructive ways to escape too?” Sean blurted out, then thought better of it. But it was too late.

Adrianna shifted in her chair. “Don’t we all?”

She had a point.

“I could use some coffee.
How about you?”

Adrianna nodded, stood immediately, and grabbed her coat like she was spooked. Sean understood that. Being in this small space, so close to each other, was causing serious reactions for him too. Needing space, and wanting to break free of the work environment, he stood and opened the door for her. The light floral scent of her perfume intoxicated him as she swept past, and Sean breathed it in, wanting her more by the second.

“I’ll just let Emmett know we’ll be back in a bit.” Then, not wanting Adrianna to vanish into thin air as he half thought she would, he said, “Stay right there. I’ll be back in two seconds.”

Adrianna smiled.
That amazing smile that melted him. God, how in the world was he going to work in close proximity to her?

He was back in a flash, and it was such a relief to see Adrianna standing in the hall, right where he’d left her.

“Hungry? It’s nearly eleven, a bit early. But I know a good place around the corner.”

“I didn’t have time for breakfast, so I am kind of hungry.”

“Okay then, settled.” Glancing out the window at the ever-darkening sky, he added, “Better wrap up. Looks cold out there.”

*****

Dooley’s was an Irish pub open for the lunch crowd. The bar was maple and the floor unfinished wood. The place was warm and homey. And dark, lit only by wall sconces.
Romantic
. They even had white tablecloths. He waved to the guy at the bar and guided Adrianna to a table along the wall.

“The food is great here,” Sean said, taking one of the menus from the clip stand on the table and handing it to Adrianna.

“Smells good in here, like steeping meat, vegetables, and pastry.”

“Shepherd’s pie, beef stew,
pick one.” Sean raised his hand and a waitress appeared.

“What will you have to drink?” she said.

“Adrianna?”

“Coke.”

“Okay, and I’ll have a Guinness. Give us a minute to look at the menu.”

The waitress disappeared, and Sean watched Adrianna study the menu. Anything she did intrigued him; she had a way of making every task memorable. Maybe it was just that the room seemed to light up when he was around her.

“You could have something stronger, you know.”

“
Than what?”

“Coke.”

“I’m only nineteen.”

“Me too.
They aren’t going to check; my uncle owns the place.”

“I don’t drink alcohol.”

“You never have?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Oh. So why not?”

“I have my reasons.”

“I figured that. Care to share them?”

“No. Not just now.”

And that was it. Another mystery tagged on to the enigma that was Adrianna Brooks.

The waitress was back. “What will it be?” She looked at Adrianna.

“I’ll have the veggie burger, please, no mayo.”

“And I’ll have the Reuben sandwich with the curry fries.” Sean took a gulp of his beer as the waitress walked away. “So we come to one of the best Irish pubs in the city and you order a veggie burger?”

“Habit,” Adrianna said, sipping delicately through her straw. Those sweet lips around the straw; he couldn’t look.

“What kind of habit?”

“You sure have a lot of questions.”

“You are a woman that inspires a lot of questions.”

“Well, if you must know, I grew up on one diet after the other. And some habits are just hard to break. I tend to order the most diet thing on the menu.”

“Weird.”

“Not really. I take it you’ve never been in any beauty pageants?”

Sean laughed.
“Right. I don’t think so.”

“Well, then you wouldn’t understand what it’s like—the constant pressure to keep your weight down. And I don’t know why I’m telling you this anyway. I suppose it would be better if I let you assume I look the way I do without effort. It would be cooler for you to think so. But I don’t. I have to work at it.”

Sean looked at the perfect woman sitting across from him, and try as he might he couldn’t fathom her as anything but beautiful.

“And I’m not very good at it anyway.” Adrianna took another sip of Coke.

“At what?”

“Staying thin.”

Sean pondered that. “Well, you are a ten.”

Adrianna giggled. “Oh, you rate women? I’m appalled.”

Sean grinned. “Nothing you have to worry about. You’re perfect.” He watched her blush, making her all the more adorable.

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure, what do you want to talk about?”

“How did you get into social media?”

“Oh, like you, I’ve been doing it forever. I was attached at the hip to my computer since I could first sit up in a chair.”

“Hmm, you did start young.” Adrianna widened her eyes.

“Okay, tease. Yes, I did start young. I just seem to have the knack for it, and was always on social media sites, just goofing off. Goofing off led to a pretty good career.”

“What about college?”

“What about it?”

“Everybody seems to be going to college.”

“Are you?”

“No, I mean everyone else.”

“Oh. Well, no, college isn’t for me.” Sean balked for a second, a familiar tinge of second-class-citizen syndrome hitting him. He couldn’t afford college right out of high school, and now he wasn’t all that interested anyway. “I have a career. A college degree wouldn’t make any difference.” He shrugged. “Are you in college?”

The waitress dropped off their meals without a word.

“Nope. Don’t plan to go to college.”

“But you can afford it.”

“That’s not the point. And I don’t want my dad paying for it anyway.” Adrianna messed with her veggie burger, smearing mustard on and arranging the lettuce just so.

“Why not?
It’s expected. I mean, most fathers would pay for their daughter’s college if they could.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want my father paying for anything.” Adrianna studied her food as if it held answers to some unresolved questions.

“Fair enough.”

“And I’m doing okay with graphic design. Not great. But it will get better. This gig at the law firm will help.”

Sean took a big bite of his Reuben, the peppery flavor of the corned beef as good as he remembered. “Yes, the law firm,” he said, chewing. “Guess we should co-ordinate.” Although he still had no idea how he was going to get any work done around such a beautiful woman.

But Adrianna just sipped her Coke, showing little interest in talking business.

Fairly quickly, Sean’s food disappeared. He glanced over to see that Adrianna had hardly touched hers. “I thought you were hungry.”

“I ate half.”

Sean looked closer. “Half? I only see two bites.”

“Big bites.”

“Okay.” Sean grinned. He didn’t really want to leave, but couldn’t think of an excuse to hang out longer.

“Check,” he said, holding up his hand to flag the waitress when she came near.

Adrianna pulled out some cash and handed it across the table.

“What’s that?”

“Um, a ten-dollar bill.” She smirked at him.

“Yes, I can see that. I’ve got the tab.”

“No, you don’t. This isn’t a date. It’s a business meeting.”

“Do you have to make everything difficult?”

“I’m not trying to.”

Sean shook his head. He pushed the ten back toward her. “It’s a business expense. I’ll cover it.” He looked up at her. “Satisfied?”

Adrianna sighed and stuffed the bill back in her purse.

Sean opened the door to exit and the wind nearly whipped it out of his hand. He put his arm around Adrianna, instinctively protecting her. “It’s bad out there. Let’s hurry. I don’t want you getting too cold.”

*****

The law office seemed bright and sterile after the dark intimacy of the pub. It smelled of new fabric and air freshener, wiping out the olfactory sense of roasting meat and oven bread. Sean followed Adrianna, walking toward the conference room, and spotted Emmett coming down the hall.

“So, did you have time to go over things?” Emmett had his coat on, and was looking ready to go.

“We went over a few things,” Sean said.

Adrianna looked away, but Sean caught a glimpse of the smile she tried to hide.

“Okay, I know you both can do a lot of this work from your office. But I think a few meetings in person would be good.”

Sean saw Adrianna start to speak, and he had a feeling he knew what she was going to say. He cut her off. “Yes, Emmett. That’s a good idea. I do think we need to meet again. How about Monday morning?”

“Perfect.” Emmett walked down the hall toward the office lobby, and both Sean and Adrianna followed. She turned to glare at Sean as she passed, and he noted her displeasure. But he didn’t care. Nothing was going to keep him from seeing her again, even if it did have to be a business meeting.

They all chatted during the ride down in the elevator, which was short. “Okay then. See you both Monday.” Emmett headed toward the parking structure, and Sean started to follow.

Adrianna walked in the other direction.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“No, I mean, why are you headed outside? Isn’t your car in the lot?”