Unforgettable (7 page)

With the phone held tightly in her
hand, she got up and went back inside where her friend stood with
her arms crossed and toe tapping.

“
We’re going out this
weekend.” A grin spread across her face.

“
Did you tell him about EJ
yet?”

She shook her head. “No. Thankfully
it’s his dad’s weekend. Let’s hope he doesn’t tell Todd I’m
supposedly seeing a millionaire.”

Jamie shrugged. “I think I convinced EJ
you weren’t.”

What a relief. “Thanks.”

All she needed now was for Todd to
demand to meet Neil before this supposed date. The date she planned
on being the last one. But so far any plans she’d made about Neil
hadn’t worked out. Hell, she hadn’t planned on seeing him again
after the first date. Yet now they were pretty much on date
three.

* * *

Todd was late—which wasn’t
like him. EJ sat on the couch, watching some cartoon that Krista
didn’t get. It was sort of like a
Saturday
Night Live
type show for kids. Some of the
skits were rather funny, while some left her scratching her head.
But EJ loved it.

She checked her phone to make sure Todd
hadn’t called or sent a message. Nothing. “Hey, EJ. Did your dad
say anything about being late?”

“
Nope.” His gaze never left
the TV screen.

“
Is he working
late?”

“
I don’t know, Mom. Call
him.”

Her son was a genius. Why was she
fussing about it when all she had to do was call? As she scrolled
though her contacts to Todd’s number, she heard the glass door open
and a light knock on the door.

“
Looks like he’s here.” She
opened the door.

Todd stood on the other side with a
smile. “Sorry I’m late. I stopped and got coffee. Here.” He handed
a cup to her.

She took it, surprised he’d thought of
her, and stepped back so he could come in. “Thanks.” She heard the
hesitation in her own voice. He’d never done anything like that
before.

“
I was there and knew I was
coming here. No big deal.” He shrugged.

Something in her gut told her it was a
big deal. “I appreciate it. That was kind of you.” She turned to
face her son. “EJ, Dad’s here.”

“
Just a minute.”

“
He loves that show,” Todd
said.

She nodded and sipped the hot beverage.
Mmm, her favorite. Mocha. “Yeah, I know.”

“
I personally find it
odd.”

Krista glanced at the clock and hoped
the show would hurry up. Typically when she had to converse with
Todd, she liked to do it over the phone. She didn’t have any hard
feelings toward him anymore necessarily. It was still uncomfortable
at times to be around him though. They’d once shared everything
with one another, and now, only EJ.

“
Those flowers are still
holding up.” Todd took a sip of his coffee.

She glanced at them. They still bloomed
brightly. “Yeah. I’m surprised, since I don’t have a green
thumb.”

“
Still not seeing the man
who sent them?”

She shook her head. She hated lying,
but was it really lying? This was a date to show him things
wouldn’t work. Just last the last few dates.

“
A millionaire sent her
those.” Perfect timing. EJ’s show was over.

“
A millionaire?” Todd raised
an eyebrow.

Krista laughed nervously. “You watch
too much TV, EJ.”

“
But—”

She gave her son a stern look and he
shut up.

“
You two have a fun
weekend.” Krista held the door open and set the coffee on the end
table next to it. “Give me a hug.” EJ wrapped his arms around her
and she planted a kiss on the top of his head. “Have fun. I love
you.”

“
Love you too. Come on,
Dad.” EJ grabbed his duffle bag and went out.

Todd stood there. “I’d like to sit down
soon so we can talk.”

“
About EJ?”

“
Not really. We’ll set
something up soon. Enjoy your weekend as well.” Todd went out the
door.

Krista shut the door. Just what she
needed. Todd to throw a curveball in this when she was already
stressed enough about Neil. Now she had a feeling Todd wanted to
talk about them. But there was no them. After all, he was the one
who told her that he’d fallen out of love with her. He couldn’t
have possibly re-fallen in love with her, could he?

A
low-key date wasn’t as easy as Neil had thought it would be.
Simple,
he kept reminding
himself. It was the way to win over Krista. And he was pretty sure
that this date was simple. It certainly wasn’t the type of date
he’d usually offer a woman. Perhaps he’d learn a thing or two from
this for the future.

Everything was ready; now all he needed
was Krista. He’d planned on picking her up, but she’d been
stubborn—as usual. She was meeting him at a park about five minutes
from her house.

One last check and he was
ready. The drive over to the park was short, but his mind was still
clouded with her. It seemed as though his life was revolving around
this one woman. One moment he liked it, the next he wanted to run.
The last time he’d been head over heels for a woman, it hadn’t gone
well. Krista was certainly after his heart, even though she didn’t
know it. Hell, even if he handed her his heart on a platter, she’d
have some reason to refuse it. And that was why he was so crazy
about her. She didn’t care at all about his place in the world or
the fact that he owned a chain of successful hotels. He had more
money than he’d ever dreamed of, and he could give her any type of
life that she’d ever want. He couldn’t remember the last time a
woman was interested in him for
him.
Even then, he wasn’t sure Krista
was all that interested in him.

Then again, that kiss. She’d been on
fire. Oh yeah, she’d wanted him all right. If they’d been inside
her home, he’d have had her naked on the couch in no time, sinking
into her warmth. He’d have made love to her until she’d lost her
voice and then he’d do it all again.

Pleasing her was something he didn’t
think he’d ever tire of. A challenging woman—that’s what he liked
about her.

Neil pulled up to the park and found a
spot. She’d given him a general idea on where to meet. But he
didn’t see her yet. While he waited, he’d find the perfect
spot.

After he climbed out of his vehicle, he
scanned the area. The green fields led to a lake that he imagined
often filled with geese. There was a tall oak tree that supplied a
good amount of shade that was nestled near the water.

Picking up the picnic basket and
blanket, he made his way over to the tree. He laid out the soft
white cashmere blanket then set the basket in the middle. He’d
brought candles to light, but now that he was here, he saw how
silly that was. The land wasn’t flat enough and the only fire he
wanted to start today was Krista’s.

He heard the sound of a breaking twig.
Turning, he saw Krista making her way to him and her beauty caused
his heart to race. She wore a simple white sundress. Her long red
locks were straight. He smiled when he saw the heeled wedge sandals
she wore, giving him a glimpse at her rock-hard calves. God, he
wished he could run his hands up and down her legs, feeling their
smoothness. Slowly he’d make his way higher until one finger could
dip into her slit and feel her wetness.

Damn it. He ached to touch her. To have
her arch her back, lay her head against this blanket, and let him
pleasure her. He wanted to see her face as she released. Would she
be a woman who bit her bottom lip to suppress the moan, or would
she let her mouth hang open and lose herself in her orgasm as she
chanted? At this moment it didn’t matter how much longer she made
him wait, it was his goal right now to find out how this woman
released.

“
Hi.” She smiled and took a
seat, tucking her legs under her.

“
You look as pretty as
ever.”

“
Thanks. You look handsome
yourself.”

He grinned. Maybe she was fantasizing
about ravishing him. “I hope this is okay. I packed a picnic for us
and this spot looked good.”

She looked around. “It’s very
private.”

“
Yes. Though that wasn’t my
intention.” Not totally.

“
Sure.” She winked at
him

Her mood was much more at ease today.
He liked this side of her. “Any fun plans this weekend?”

“
Other than today, not at
the moment.”

He was surprised she didn’t have a full
agenda. “For a single woman, you don’t do a lot. How
come?”

She shrugged. “What should I be doing?
Going to clubs every night and shopping?”

The women he usually dated did. “Not
necessarily. I guess I want to learn what you like to
do.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear. “My life is boring in capital letters. I have no excitement
whatsoever.”

“
I don’t think your life is
boring. If you’d let me, I’d like to be in it more.”

He waited for her to tell him this was
it, but she didn’t. Was she coming around? Had the kiss changed
things for her?

Neil opened up the basket and pulled
out some of the contents. He set out a bowl of grapes and a small
platter of cheese and crackers. He’d packed two plastic cups and a
small pitcher of wine.

“
That’s the never-ending
basket.” Krista giggled.

“
In the event you don’t want
wine or this, I also have two cans of coke and PB and
J.”

“
You packed soda and peanut
butter and jelly?”

He nodded. “I did. I wanted to impress
you.”

“
You have.” Her smile filled
her face.

Today was on track to being the perfect
date.

* * *

Krista took a bite of the cheese and a
cracker. She couldn’t believe that she was sitting in the middle of
park, drinking wine and having a snack with Neil. This was not at
all the type of date she’d pictured having with him, but she was
enjoying it.

He was fun. He’d been sharing different
stories about his life and people he’d met through his business.
Some funny stories about those who had stayed at his hotels. If it
wasn’t for the fact that they were from two totally different
worlds, she would’ve thought he was perfect for her.

She took a long sip of her wine as Neil
cleaned up.

“
Was lunch okay? I know it
wasn’t much.” He set his empty glass back inside the
basket.

She handed her cup to him. “It was
perfect. Thank you. I enjoyed getting to know you a little better.
What’s next?”

He grinned that sexy smile of his that
made her heart pitter-patter. “The movies.”

“
Oh yeah?”

“
I’ll leave it up to you. Do
you want to see a new release or one that’s been out for a
while?”

It was so high school. Either go see
the movie that would be packed with people or the movie where they
could sit in the back of the theatre and make out. “We’ll have to
see what’s playing first, before I make my decision.”

He closed the lid on the grapes. “Would
you like to ride with me? I promise not to bite.”

“
Uh,” she hesitated, “I
don’t want to leave my car here for the day
unsupervised.”

“
I understand.”

They finished packing up lunch and
Krista stole little glances at him. His white button-down shirt was
rolled up, revealing his tanned arms.

As they strolled toward the parking
lot, Krista caught a glimpse at the black two-seater Mercedes he
drove. Wow, it was nice. She’d love to go for a ride in it, but if
she was going to keep in control of this date, she was going to
have to climb into her ten-year-old Nissan Sentra.

“
I’ll meet you there.” She
removed her keys from her purse.

“
Sounds like a plan.” He
winked and opened his car door before climbing in.