- -
- 100%
- +
Lauren didn’t want to face her reflection in the mirror, but she had to. Haunted brown eyes stared back at her. Despite the smearing of her mascara, she still saw traces of Meredith’s miraculous work. All for naught.
Lauren banged her fist on the marble countertop and grabbed a washcloth. Within minutes, she’d washed away the pretty woman men had glanced at more than once. In her place returned ordinary Lauren, who still appeared shell-shocked from discovering she’d been kissing Justin Wright.
Worse, she’d discovered that kissing him had been nothing short of phenomenal. Never before had a kiss sent those sensations to her toes. Never before had fingertips on her breasts sent such heat pooling through her. Wine. She nodded false hope to her reflection. It had been wine and adrenaline. That was all. Nothing else. She’d just gotten caught up in the seductive dance, caught up in the magical moment. For once, she’d been a woman in control, in charge of the seduction she’d initiated. That was what had made even the kisses seem larger than life, better than any other man she’d ever kissed.
It had nothing to do with the fact that the person she’d been kissing had been Justin Wright.
Nothing at all.
Lauren squared her chin and stared at herself in the mirror, but that brought fresh tears to her eyes as her former bravado failed her. She’d kissed Justin.
How did one go from kissing one brother to the other? Should she say to Jeff, “Oops, I made a mistake. Forgive me?” Beg Justin not to say a word? She didn’t want to see Justin at work now, much less talk about what she’d been trying to do.
She wasn’t the type to keep secrets, especially from her best friend, but for this once she’d have to try. She couldn’t tell Jeff. Such a perfect seduction—wasted on the wrong man. So much for good omens. She’d lost before she’d really begun.
The doorbell to her condo began shrilling. “Go away,” Lauren called, but she knew that whoever was at the door couldn’t hear her. She pulled on her cow-print slippers and plodded her way to the front door. As she put her eye to the peephole, her fear was confirmed. Justin stood on the other side.
“Go away,” she yelled again.
“No,” he replied. “Let me in. We need to talk.”
He was the last person she wanted to talk to. Hadn’t she just thought that she’d prefer never to even see him again?
“No, we don’t need to talk,” Lauren said. “I’ve got nothing to say to you. It was all a big mistake. A misunderstanding. Ha-ha. Okay, we’ve shared a laugh. Now go away!”
“No. Be reasonable and let me in. If you don’t, I’ve got Jeff’s key.”
She pressed her eye to the peephole again and jumped back as she realized he was attempting to stare in. She backed away. Her voice quivered slightly as she said, “The key’s useless. The chain’s on.”
His powerful voice boomed through the closed door. “I’ll break your damn door down if I have to, Lauren. It won’t take me but a good kick, and believe me, I can afford the damage.”
Her heart raced. He wouldn’t really kick her door down, right? Although, with her short tenure at Wright Solutions and her three years as Jeff’s neighbor, she knew that when Justin said something, he meant business. But kicking her door down? Of course not. Still, she said, “I’ll have you arrested for breaking and entering.”
“And I’ll tell Jeff exactly what happened between us, exactly what you were attempting to do.”
A silence fell, and Lauren slumped against the doorway. Damn him, but on that count, he had her. Jeff knowing, and hearing, about her indiscretion from his twin brother was the last thing she wanted or needed.
“It’s cold out here, Lauren. All I’m wearing is a sweatshirt and jeans. Do I need to count? I’ll give you until three. One…two…”
Lauren opened the door.
Justin stepped into the condo, a burst of cold winter air arriving with him. His green-eyed gaze flicked over her as he appraised her quickly. “I liked the other outfit better.”
Heat filled her cheeks and she knew her face reddened. She leaned against the front door for much-needed support. “It wasn’t for you.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “Duh. As if I didn’t figure that out. I thought I was dreaming. Hell of a dream, though.”
Justin cocked his head and surveyed her. Lauren’s toes tingled in her slippers and she scrunched them to end the annoying sensation. “Although I admit it’s too bad. Your outfit was a lot better than that granny gown. A hell of a lot better. I liked it a lot. Oh, yeah, a lot.”
Justin attempted a grin, but the moment he did, he acknowledged it was hopeless. He couldn’t melt her icy reserve or bring down the walls she’d built in just a few minutes. Already he could see that she’d stripped off the makeup. She couldn’t change her hair color, though, that soft honey shade that shimmered and called to a man. He liked it. Aw, hell.
Couldn’t she tell that this was an awkward situation for him, too? It wasn’t often that a man thought he was dreaming, woke up to discover that the beautiful woman was real and then learned that the sweet kisses she was bestowing were actually meant for someone else. Lauren had left him in quite a painful state, and as he’d pulled on a pair of Jeff’s jeans and a sweatshirt, Justin had decided that reality, like Mondays, also sucked.
She was his employee, and he’d practically given her a tonsillectomy with his tongue. He’d had his hands on her breasts. Her nipples had pebbled between his fingers. He’d even…
He shoved all those tormenting thoughts aside. All they were doing was getting him aroused again. At the very least he had to work with Lauren. And if she got her way, got what she wanted from the seduction, she might even become his future sister-in-law. That thought wasn’t pleasant, but for her sake and his, he was determined to make the best of the awkward situation.
“I came to apologize,” he said. She gazed at him skeptically. A movement caught his eye and he glanced down. Her foot was wiggling inside the slipper as if she was attempting to tap her foot. Were those actually cow faces on her feet? He yanked his gaze upward, and this time it landed on the small pink bow located at the center of the ruffle. Right where her breasts met.
Despite the concealing flannel fabric, Justin’s mind went into overdrive picturing what lay beneath. He raised his eyes, now getting a good view of her new hairdo. Wow. Even now his fingers itched to again touch the honey-colored strands.
“You were saying?” Lauren prompted.
He tried to focus, but what he really wanted to do was pick her up, carry her to bed and strip off the offending flannel that tormented him. “Justin?”
“Oh, yeah. God, Lauren, this sounds so lame. And I am sorry. I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t realize I wasn’t until, well…” He paused because she appeared stricken again. “I realized I wasn’t dreaming when you called me Jeff. I’m assuming you thought I was him.”
Lauren was suddenly in motion, her slippers shuffling as she strode past him. Worried she was going to flee, Justin put out his hand and grabbed her arm. Despite the gown’s long sleeve, electricity flared through him, sending a spark all the way to his feet.
“Static,” he said. The wide-eyed look on her face told him she’d felt it, too, and that she knew he’d lied about the cause. But she’d stopped her flight, and he dropped his arm to his side. He shoved his hand into his front jeans pocket.
“We need to talk about what happened,” Justin reiterated.
Lauren shook her head so furiously that locks of her hair fell into her face. His fingers desired to push the wayward strands away.
“No,” she said. “We don’t need to talk. We pretend it didn’t happen. We don’t tell Jeff. We ignore each other at work. That’s all we need to do and everything will be fine.”
He wished it were just that simple. “Lauren, I kissed you.”
Her chin jutted forward into that stubborn line he’d seen so many times at the office. “So what if you kissed me? I’m sure you kiss a lot of women. And it was just a kiss.” Her face reddened. “And okay, maybe a little more. But it meant nothing. I’d had a few glasses of wine. Plus, I didn’t know it was you.”
Ouch. True, perhaps, but actually hearing the words certainly dented his male ego and pride. He’d kissed her, and it had been fantastic. Better than fantastic. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been celibate for a year.
He focused on Lauren’s lips. Even devoid of all gloss and color, they were beautiful. As was she. Had he never really seen her before this moment? He sobered slightly. Jeff probably hadn’t, either, which was why she’d chosen to seduce him. Stupid lucky guy.
“Listen, Justin, if we both purge the memory from our brains, then we can simply rewrite history and pretend tonight didn’t happen. Okay? Besides, isn’t that what men do all the time?”
No, it wasn’t, and her perfect PR answer was not okay. He frowned. Was it really that easy for women to write something off? The memory of her kiss and the feel of her body would be etched in his brain for quite a while to come. But, Justin’s mama had raised her boys to be chivalrous. This situation certainly called for that. “All right. If that’s the way you want it and if you can live with that decision, well, so can I. We’ll purge our memories. Pretend tonight didn’t happen.”
“Good.” Lauren nodded and her hair fell about her shoulders. He stifled a groan. Sleep would not be at all peaceful tonight.
“Anyway, now that we’ve got this situation settled…” Her voice trailed off and she glanced at the door.
A sense of letdown filled him and Lauren’s dismissal didn’t sit well. “You want me to go.”
“If I’m not being too rude,” Lauren said. “I think I want to get some sleep. I have a busy day tomorrow, what with being off today. I’m sure there were things that I missed.”
She’d missed all the company crises, but Justin didn’t care about those anymore. This crisis was more important. He stared at her, seeing her flushed face, the subtle impatience in her features. She’d covered her embarrassment admirably, and thus his respect for her grew. No, now wasn’t the time to fill her in on all the crises that the company had handled today.
“Yeah, you probably do have a busy day,” Justin said. He felt more awkward than a kid on his first date. His brother was way too fortunate and Justin had the urge to beat Jeff up the moment he returned from Buffalo, just for old times’ sake. “I guess I’ll see you at the office.”
“Sure,” Lauren said with a relieved nod. “It’ll be fine, really. Nothing will change and everything will be just as it was before. You’ll see.”
Somehow Justin didn’t believe her as he went back over to his brother’s condo. No, he’d kissed her. All she’d done was make him see her differently: see her as a desirable woman, instead of just an employee with lots of expensive ideas. No, he doubted anything could be the same between them again.
Justin Wright tossed the briefcase down. It landed on his desk with an annoying thump. Tuesdays should be outlawed, especially Tuesdays following long, sleepless Monday nights filled with erotic and sexy dreams of Lauren Brown. “Sylvia!”
Sylvia entered his office and arched an eyebrow at him. “Yes?”
“Is Lauren in?”
“Of course she is. Her personal day was yesterday, remember?”
Justin attempted to put out of his mind the erotic image of just how personal that day had gotten. “So she’s here.”
“I said she was. You’re the one who’s fashionably late,” Sylvia pointed out.
Justin grimaced. “I didn’t sleep well last night, so when I finally did I caught a few extra Zs. I’m staying at Jeff’s until my floors are done.” He suddenly made a fist. “Why am I explaining myself? You’re my secretary, not my mother.”
Sylvia’s eyes twinkled and she shrugged. “Who knows? Anyhow, would you like me to fetch Lauren for you?”
Justin shook his head. “No, I’ll go find her. Later. Right now I need the Peters report and my mail.”
“I’ll get both.” Sylvia left the office. She stuck her head back in. “Do you want some coffee? You seem like you could use caffeine. I just made a fresh pot.”
“Sure,” Justin growled. For the next few minutes he buried himself in his work, then finally pushed the meeting minutes aside. He had to admit: his concentration was shot. His eyelids felt heavy, and for a moment he let them drift mercifully closed. Maybe here in the office he wouldn’t picture Lauren dancing half-naked, feel the touch of her lips on his.
“Sleeping on the job?”
His eyes flew open. He recognized that voice. “Lauren.”
“I ran into Sylvia in the kitchen. She said you were asking about me.”
Lauren held out a steaming mug of coffee, and their fingers touched briefly as he took the mug from her. Just like last night, Justin felt electricity spark between them. He resolved to turn up the humidifiers.
“So when you asked Sylvia if I was here, did you need something, or were you afraid I would take a sick day, that I somehow couldn’t face you?”
No, that wasn’t it at all, but now that she was in his office, he wasn’t ready to face her.
At least not yet.
He had to get himself together. She’d tormented his dreams, and now here she was in the flesh. Bad verbiage. Here she was, standing in front of him.
Oh, whatever. He tossed aside his attempts at proper semantics. For even though she wore a plain boring business skirt and nondescript beige blouse instead of that tight red sweater like Friday, Justin could no longer envision plain old Lauren Brown. Her hair color was different, her makeup had changed. But the real reason was that he had changed. His body had felt hers, and it was a fresh, delectable memory despite its ending. Try as he might, Justin didn’t see his PR employee; instead, he still saw the siren who’d danced, who’d called to him and seduced him with a spiraling kiss.
“So, did you have something you needed?” Lauren asked again.
Yeah, he needed, all right. He needed to get Lauren out of his system. Unfortunately, tossing her over his desk was sexual harassment, and the other option—sending her far away to Siberia—also wouldn’t work. She had a job to do, and she wanted his brother.
Heck, no one had ever really wanted nerdy Jeff over supercool Justin, at least in the long-term, forever way. But Lauren did.
Worse, he couldn’t take on the challenge. He couldn’t pursue her, topple her defenses, capture those lips again in a mind-numbing kiss. She didn’t want him, and while he could get her to desire him physically and get her to beg for his touch, he’d grown tired of those juvenile games aeons ago. As it was, she didn’t respect him. And respect was what he craved. His mother had raised a chivalrous man, despite what some might think.
He tried to cover. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you, to make sure we’re still squared away about last night.”
Lauren’s eyes darted around Justin’s office as if she was afraid someone else might be listening. “What was last night?”
One spectacular moment that had been blasted away. Justin inhaled a deep breath. “Let me use another tactic. Since we all work together, I wanted to make peace and offer to help you.”
Did her eyebrow have to look that sexy when it arched? Sylvia’s never did, which was why after five years she was still his secretary. That and she was his mother’s age. “Help me?” Lauren asked.
Justin struggled for some semblance of control. He hadn’t meant to wing this. “Well, yeah. The way I figure it is this: You want Jeff. You like Jeff. I know my brother. He’s like mud. Dense and clueless. He probably has no idea you like him or want him. Thus, last night’s very sexy seduction attempt.”
Hoping to eliminate her deer-in-the-headlights expression, Justin pressed on. He’d always been cool with the ladies, a master of the words. Now he was making a bad situation worse. “What I mean to say is that I feel horrible that I messed everything up. I want to make it up to you. The only way I can figure out how to put things right is to help you win over the man of your dreams.”
Her look was disbelieving and dubious. “Man of my dreams?”
“Jeff. My brother. He is, isn’t he? The man of your dreams?”
A regretful twinge filled Justin as for a moment her face appeared dreamy. Then her skeptical facade returned. “And if he is?”
“The way I figure it is this. You need some help in getting him to notice you. Not that last night, ah, probably wouldn’t work again.” It sure worked for me, Justin didn’t add. “Anyway, I can give you that help. I know my brother better than anyone. Perhaps it’s that twin thing. You’d be good for him. Probably too good, even.”
As Lauren’s skepticism changed into a small tentative smile, Justin felt a glimmer of hope. “Thank you. You are surprising.”
Now it was his turn to be confused. “I am?”
“Yes. You’re not half as bad as I thought. You’ve handled this situation rather well, and I appreciate that you think I’m too good for him.”
“Uh, gee,” Justin said, kicking himself for how lame that sounded. Here he was, as gawky as a teenager instead of the suave businessman he’d become.
Lauren smiled suddenly, and Justin’s gut clenched. He gulped some coffee, the hot liquid burning his tongue because he drank it too fast. His only reward was that she hadn’t noticed his painful wince.
“You know, perhaps you’re not all of what your playboy reputation or your brutish office mannerisms make you out to be. It’s sweet of you to offer. Really, no offense meant, but I’ll handle this situation my way.”
Playboy rep? Brutish office mannerisms? Okay, he could live with that. He was a bit forceful. However, he was not a playboy, and hearing the word, especially from Lauren’s lips, stung. His going without sex for a year had been a conscious choice—that of a man who didn’t need to keep his bed warm just so he could rut. “Okay, then. I just thought I could give you some tips, help you somehow. To compensate for last night.”
“I understand, and it’s a generous gesture. But I’ll deal with Jeff in my own time. What I’d like from you is just your sworn secrecy.”
“My lips are sealed,” Justin said. He enjoyed some morbid satisfaction that Lauren’s brown eyes darkened. After all, as he took another sip of the burning, biting black coffee, chivalry sucked.
“You look great, Lauren. I like your hair. You’ll have to tell me later where you went.”
“Thanks, Sylvia,” Lauren said as she passed Justin’s secretary’s desk. “I promise to tell you. But remind me.”
“I’ll hold you to that. I’m sure you’re a bit behind after yesterday.”
“That I am,” Lauren said, rounding the corner and putting space between her body and Justin’s office. Moments after he’d cracked that “lips are sealed” comment, she’d voiced her excuses and fled.
She didn’t ever want to remember or think about Justin’s lips in any context. She’d been trying to erase the memory of those spectacular kisses ever since they’d happened.
As for accepting his help, the farther away from him she stayed, the better. Justin Wright raised dangerous sensations in her. She couldn’t trust dangerous sensations. They’d gotten her in trouble once before, with Mike. She’d thought he’d changed his playboy ways, until three months after moving in with him she’d discovered another woman’s panties in her bed. Thankfully, she hadn’t joined bank accounts the way Mike had been pressing her to do.
Justin had some of the same playboy manner. She’d seen him run through women, although she had to admit she hadn’t seen him run through any lately. But then, he wasn’t at Jeff’s as often as he had been in the past.
Too bad he’d chosen last night to be there. And he had kissed her. Dream or no dream, that wasn’t an excuse. That was why she liked Jeff. Jeff, who was nice, safe and secure, not a playboy like his brother. That was what she envisioned for her future. Wasn’t it?
For a moment, her head clouded and she wasn’t sure. She shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Outside her window a man was parking his nice family sedan and entering the neighboring building. That was what Jeff was. A family sedan. Dependable. Reliable. They just needed to add some speed to their relationship. She didn’t desire another Mike and all his idle promises.
She pressed a finger to her lips. Justin Wright, despite his tantalizing touch, was wrong for her. All wrong.
And she had too much work to do to worry about him anymore. Giving herself a nod of encouragement, she pushed his memory away.
Chapter 4
“So, did you miss me?” Jeff’s infectious grin widened, and despite her earlier misgivings about what would happen upon seeing him again, Lauren smiled right back.
She pointed to the huge basket of laundry he carried in his arms. “I don’t think I missed you that much.”
Jeff’s grin turned sheepish. “Nah, probably not, but to make up for it, I’ll buy the Chinese food that’s on its way.”
“Ooh, sold,” Lauren said. She opened her front door wider, the cold air coming to swirl around her bare feet. In a moment she’d put her cow slippers on. “I guess you can come in.”
“Thanks.” Jeff bumped Lauren’s Christmas wreath as he entered the condo and made his way to her laundry closet. She straightened the wreath out and closed the door. “You know, one of these days I will buy a washer and dryer,” he called back over his shoulder.
“You keep promising,” Lauren said as she followed him into her kitchen.
Jeff set the laundry basket on the kitchen table. “No, not promising, just saying. There’s a difference.”
“Yeah, which is why you’re always here with your laundry basket.”
He pulled open the double doors that concealed the washer and dryer. “Oh, come on. It’s your wonderful company.”
“I just live closer than your mother,” Lauren said. “And she’d harp on you about finding a wife.”
“True,” Jeff acknowledged. “You’re cuter than my mom, too.” He opened the washing-machine lid, turned around and squinted for a moment. “Did you do something with your hair?”
“I had it cut and colored.”
“Looks good,” Jeff said as he dumped the basket out onto the table. “So was that the surprise?”
As if he’d really noticed, Lauren thought. He’d hardly glanced at her hair. But then, why should he? She was only a pal. She sighed, but as he sorted his whites from his darks, Jeff didn’t notice her resignation. “That was the surprise,” she said.
“Cool. So, did you catch the game Monday night?” Jeff asked.
“No,” Lauren said quickly.
Jeff paused from loading the dark clothes into the washer. His eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe it. You missed Monday Night Football? What happened? That’s unreal.”
Lauren thought quickly. “Yeah, I know. But my mom wanted some help putting up her Christmas tree. And since you were out of town…”
“Too bad. You missed a great game. Even listening to the game being streamed live over the Internet was better than nothing.” The image of domestic bachelor bliss, Jeff poured liquid soap into the washer. “At least Justin fed my cat. Seen much of him lately?”
“Your cat?”
“Ha-ha. You’ve become a joker since I left for Buffalo. I meant my brother.”
“Just at work,” Lauren replied.
“He didn’t have any parties, no hot babes all over the place?”
Not unless she’d now be considered a hot babe. And of course he’d stopped before “having” her. “No. It was pretty quiet. I didn’t even notice he was there.”
Superstition had her crossing her fingers behind her back just to be on the safe side.
Jeff shook his head in disbelief as he turned the washer on. “The boy must be slipping. He hasn’t dated anyone serious in quite a while. A year, I think. Rather unlike him. Perhaps I should sign him up for one of those dating services, like that ‘just lunch’ one. Or force him to place a personal ad or something the way we did Jared. I’ll have to mull it over.”