Judy Duarte – Triplets Found: The Virgin's Makeover / Take a Chance on Me / And Then There Were Three (страница 14)
“Hey, if you’d like some time to sort through all of this, I understand. I can go for a walk.” He nodded toward the doggie bed on the floor. “I can even take Barney.”
“That’s all right,” she said, sniffling. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Yeah? If the situation were reversed, Sullivan would need time to regroup.
Did she expect to switch gears and keep going? Apparently so, because she stood over the desk and began to peruse the paperwork he’d already laid before her. But before they could return to the business discussion they’d been having, another wave of tears surfaced.
“I’m sorry.” She sniffled and wiped her face with the back of a hand.
“It’s none of my business,” he said, “but it seems to me as though you don’t want to talk to the guy. I’d think you’d be curious about your roots.”
“I
If anyone understood rejection—the fear of loving someone and having them walk out—it was Sullivan. Without a conscious thought, he slipped an arm around her and gave her a friendly squeeze. He didn’t say anything, though. Hell, he didn’t have any training in this kind of touchy-feely stuff.
But apparently, he’d lucked out. Lissa hadn’t needed any words of wisdom, because she leaned into his embrace, drawing comfort he didn’t usually offer anyone.
They stood there for a while, not talking, not really moving. But something weird began to happen. The friendly hug triggered a powerful awareness of Lissa as a woman.
She fit nicely in his arms. A little too nicely. Sullivan couldn’t help savoring her scent—something that reminded him of a peach orchard in the spring. And he grew pleasantly aware of the softness of her breasts as they pressed against his chest.
Without a conscious effort, his hands slid along the contour of her back, offering comfort, while providing proof of the curves she hid behind loose-fitting clothes.
He had an unwelcome urge to brush a kiss against her hair, to nuzzle her cheek. But he refrained. And even though he meant to keep things between them on a business level, he continued to hold her, unwilling to let go until she’d had her full dose of compassion and pulled away.
Lissa could have remained in Sullivan’s arms all day and into the night.
His musky scent taunted her. While he held her against his hard, muscular chest, she fought the urge not to nestle against him.
His hands slid up and down her back—in an effort to comfort her, no doubt. And she found her body stirring, her hormones begging for more than a friendly touch.
But there was too much going on in her life right now, too many emotions running amok. She didn’t need to shoot herself in the foot by reading more into his embrace than he intended.
She took a deep breath, stepped out of his arms, then let the air go, deflating her lungs and her silly dreams. How could she make something out of his efforts to be kind and supportive?
“I’m sorry for falling apart in front of you.” She offered a wobbly smile. “You’re proving to be a friend, as well as a business associate.”
He nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want to take the guy up on the offer to talk?”
No. She wasn’t sure about anything.
“We can discuss marketing later,” Sullivan added. “Even if you don’t want to see him, maybe you need to take a walk or something.”
It wouldn’t help. The questions that had been brewing for years, the questions she hadn’t asked her father while he was here, would only prod her into doing what she needed to do.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the business card he’d given her. She flipped it over and spotted the home and cell phone numbers he’d written on the back.
He couldn’t have gotten far.
She placed a hand on Sullivan’s cheek. “Thanks for understanding.”
Then she picked up the telephone and placed a call to Jared Cambry’s cell phone.
Lissa and Jared sat across from each other at the Golden Corkscrew, a trendy little restaurant that offered the best food and drink the Pacific Northwest had to offer.
For the most part, their plates remained untouched, a silent testimony that they had too much to talk about, too many reasons not to eat.
Lissa agreed to have her blood drawn at the Portland General annex lab located at the clinic in town, before heading back to the vineyard. And Jared promised to let her know as soon as he’d heard anything.
But their conversation didn’t end there, and Lissa believed he might be telling her the truth, that he might actually want a relationship with her, whether she was able to donate bone marrow or not.
He’d shown her photos of his wife, Danielle—a pretty woman with curly brown hair that reached her shoulders. From the way he talked about the woman, Lissa suspected they had a loving marriage, just like her parents had.
She still had the photograph of Mark, the boy who needed a bone-marrow donor. And through wallet-sized pictures, she met her other two siblings—seventeen-year-old Chad, who wore a football uniform and held his helmet, and fifteen-year-old Shawna, a pretty girl with braces.
“That’s an older picture of Shawna,” Jared said. “She’s had her braces off for about six months.”
“I’d like to meet them,” Lissa said. “Someday. I’m pretty busy right now, with the launching of the blend.”
Jared smiled warmly. “Your parents must be very proud of you. I certainly am. And I’d like to order a case of Virgin Mist as soon as it goes on sale.”
She returned his smile, glad that he’d recognized her accomplishment and wanted to be supportive. “It’ll be on the market after the reception later this month.”
“Well, I hope the unveiling is everything you want it to be and more.”
“Thanks. It will be a pretty special event. And I’ll probably have to break down and go shopping.” She blew out a sigh. “I hate dressing up.”
“Why?” he asked. “Most women love that stuff.”
“Dressing up just draws attention to me and makes me feel awkward.”
“I don’t know why. You’re a beautiful woman, Lissa.”
Her mother had said as much on many occasions. Her dad, too. But for some reason, hearing Jared compliment her made it almost seem true.
“I’ve got a ton of self-confidence when it comes to the vineyard, to farming and making wine, but…” She let the words drop.
Jared reached across the table and took her hand.
“You and I are going shopping. I’m going to buy you a whole new wardrobe, one that makes you feel good enough to stand out in a crowd.”
“Oh, no,” she said. “You don’t need to do that.”
“But I want to. It’s a very small way to make up for not being there for you.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “Please? It’ll be fun.”
She didn’t know about fun. But it might be interesting to go shopping with the man. Her dad never liked that sort of thing, leaving all the household and family purchases to her mother.
Jared motioned for the waitress and asked for their check. “I’m going to spring for a whole makeover, starting at that hair salon down the street.”
The salon? Lissa lifted her hand and fingered the heavy bun resting on top of her head. She hadn’t had a trim in ages. Of course, she’d never agree to a fullon haircut unless a personal beautician or a step-by-step styling lesson came with it.
“You’re a lovely woman, Lissa. And it’s only right that you let an expert enhance your basic beauty.”
Was he right? Did she have something a stylist could work with?
Jared’s excitement and sincerity were hard to ignore. What would her mother say when she returned home in a new outfit and a different hairstyle—one she could handle on her own.
Or better yet, what would Sullivan say?
Would it make a difference? Would he find her attractive? Someone he wouldn’t mind taking to bed?
“All right,” she said, her attraction to Sullivan influencing the crazy decision.
“Great. Let’s get started.”
The first stop was a dress shop, where Jared took an active part in choosing a new wardrobe, one with bright colors that set off her green eyes and showed off more of her body than she’d otherwise been comfortable revealing.
The last purchase was a green silky top that hugged her waist and a formfitting black skirt.
“Can she wear that out of the store?” Jared asked.
“Certainly,” the happy sales clerk said. “I’ll cut off the tags.”
“Thank you for doing this,” Lissa said. “It’s been kind of fun, actually.”