Dream of Me: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (7 page)

Male laughter filled her ear. “
Hello
to you, too,” Corbin replied lazily. “Has absence made your heart grow fonder?”

Upset with herself for acting a fool and to someone who wasn’t likely to forget it, Aubrey took a steadying breath and instead of answering Corbin’s question, jumped in with one of her own. “How are things going?”

“That’s for me to ask.”

Knowing how much she’d enjoyed his absence made her sound more defensive than she intended. “Everything’s fine. Why would you think otherwise?”

“Because I know your talent for getting into trouble. I’m glad to hear you’ve managed to survive on your own.”

“I’ve been doing that for years now,” she pointed out dryly. “When are you coming back?” Aubrey crossed her fingers, hoping for a few more days respite. There was no doubt his return was going to be problematic in more ways than one.

“I’m not sure yet.” When she didn’t say anything, he went on, “Should I call first and make sure it’s okay?”

“I just wanted to know.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be more specific,” he added in a tone that implied the opposite.

She shouldn’t have said anything.
Now he knew she wasn’t anxious for him to come back. Hopefully, it wouldn’t occur to him to wonder why.

After a perfunctory goodbye which made her feel mean and merely amused Corbin, she hung up. She barely replaced the phone on the table when it rang again. Her, ‘hello,’ was nothing like the previous one.

“You don’t sound very pleased to hear from me, mermaid.”

“Oh, Richard! I thought you were Corbin calling me again.”

“Was that who you were talking to? I tried to call a few minutes ago. What did he want? To give you more work?”

“No, he was making sure I’m okay, which was actually kind of nice of him now that I think about it.”

“Let’s not waste time talking about him. I really wanted to see you tonight, but the meeting has hit an unexpected snag. I don’t know when things will wrap up.”

“It’s probably better this way – I’ve still got a pile of stuff to go through.”

Richard looked across the room and smiled at the sultry beauty with whom he’d spent the past few hours. “Well, get your work done because you’re going to have company tomorrow afternoon.”

The thought of seeing Richard again was a great motivator. Aubrey returned to her desk where she worked until after midnight. She didn’t want there to be any reason she couldn’t spend time with him.

* * * *

Thunder and heavy rain woke her the next morning. Peering through filmy curtains, Aubrey looked into a sky leaden with menacing gray clouds. The view didn’t improve later when she stood in the kitchen stirring her coffee, her gaze on the wind-torn waves beating relentlessly against the shore. A petulant meow pulled her away from the stormy scene outside. Answering the pleading look in the blue eyes, she picked up the black ball of fur and laughed as the kitten reached its cushiony paws to touch her face.

“Well, Horace, let’s see what we can get done this morning.” As she filled his bowl and watched him attack his food as if he hadn’t seen any in days, she hoped the bad weather wouldn’t affect Richard’s plan to come by.

Once in front of her computer, force of habit drove all other thoughts from her mind and with only an occasional interruption from her feline companion, Aubrey did manage to complete most of what Corbin had given her to do. When she returned to the office after lunch, she found Horace totally engrossed in trying to get inside an empty cardboard box.

Over the howling wind and rain, she heard someone knocking on the front door. Her tentative smile grew wider when she opened the door to find Richard standing gingerly under an umbrella that was no match for the elements.

“Hello, again.” He stepped inside, closed the umbrella, and dropped it into the stand beside the door.

Trying not to laugh at his appearance, she said, “Did you walk over?”

“No, this is what happened when I got out of the car. It’s gale force winds out there.”

“Let me get you something to dry off with.”

He followed her down the hall and into the bathroom. When their glances met in the mirror, they both started to laugh.

“I look a bit wild, don’t I?” Richard said after a moment.

Aubrey handed him a towel. “It was sweet of you to come in such awful weather.”

“Yes, it was.” When she reached to take the towel from his outstretched hand, he pulled her into his arms. “What have you been doing all morning? Thinking about me?” he asked teasingly.

“Only momentarily; I have to work for a living.”

Dropping a kiss on her head, he let her go. “Don’t remind me. Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”

Aubrey led the way across the hall into the living room. When she would have chosen a chair opposite him, Richard pulled her onto his lap.

“I’ve missed you.” He proceeded to play with her fingers, watching the pink color seep into her cheeks.

“I haven’t had time to miss you,” she returned teasingly.

“Liar,” he said softly. He ran his fingers slowly through her hair. “I can feel you trembling. You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”

She shook her head and with a faint smile he bent toward her. The gentle, teasing kisses that followed took Aubrey into a world that consisted only of them. Like a flood of water that suddenly breaks free from a dam, the touch of his lips released a torrent of emotion. Aubrey wasn’t aware of anything except the delightful sensations pulsing through her body.

Richard drew back slowly, his eyes revealing a mixture of surprise and triumph. He mistook her eagerness for passion, not sensing the loneliness that motivated it. Lowering his head again, he increased the intensity of his kisses, finding more pleasure in her sudden capitulation than he’d thought possible.

When his fingers inched their way under her shirt and touched her skin, Aubrey broke away from him.
What was she doing?
Her hands slid away from his shoulders and a shadow of doubt clouded the enchantment in her eyes. “We need to stop.”

“Why? You’re enjoying it, aren’t you?”

She smiled weakly. “Yes, but we need to slow down. We hardly know each other.”

“How much more do we need to know?”

Aubrey moved off his lap. “Lots of things. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”

Richard laughed harshly. “You’re not the only one.” There was no trace of tenderness or affection in his handsome features. “I knew I was wasting my time,” he went on in a low, angry voice. “Did you really think I came over to swap life stories? How naïve are you? I wouldn’t advise you to try this with anyone else. You might get more than you bargained for.”

From a long way off, she heard his departing footsteps and the slam of the front door. Aubrey sat where she was for a long time, not able to move or think, her mind curiously numb. Then like a coil being released, she bolted up the stairs to her room. Corbin’s comments regarding Richard floated through her head.
Was he never wrong about anything?

She sank down onto the bed, humiliation and shame washing over her.
She thought Richard liked her. How could she have been such a fool?

* * * *

Someone was gently brushing the tangled hair away from her face. Eyes swollen from crying slowly opened. Corbin was bent over her, and the tender look on his face robbed her of speech.
She hadn’t thought he could look like that.

“Aubrey! Are you all right?” When she just continued to stare at him, he gave her a little shake. “Say something! What happened?”

She could never tell him what passed between her and Richard. Never in a million years. “You’re back early,” she managed in a pathetically weak voice.

He ignored this. “Stop playing games and tell me why I arrived home to find my front door standing open and my usually self-contained employee in bed, looking like she cried herself to sleep.”

“The door was open?” she asked huskily.
She heard Richard slam it shut.

“Yes.” He stood abruptly, looking like a man at the end of his rope. “Are you going to answer my other question?” he asked softly.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

Disappointment flared in his eyes for a moment before his face relaxed into its more usual lines of indifference. “Or nothing you want to tell, is that it?”

Aubrey sat up and tried to restore some order to her appearance. Behind a curtain of hair she answered him. “However you want to put it. I don’t want to discuss it.”

“Then we won’t discuss it. I can probably figure out what happened anyway.” He walked toward the door. “Since that’s not my umbrella in the stand by the door, and you only know one other person here, the clues are pretty simple to follow. I apologize for disturbing you.”

After a shower, which in some part calmed her nerves and made her feel better, Aubrey crawled into bed. Instead of sleeping, she laid awake for hours wondering how in the world she was going to face Corbin in the morning. As much as the experience with Richard shocked her, that wasn’t what bothered her the most. It was the fact that Corbin had found her in such a state. She would have given anything to keep that incident from him.

* * * *

Surveying the sunny sky visible through her window with scant appreciation, Aubrey knew nothing would erase the embarrassment of yesterday. Not only had she made a fool of herself, but she’d also further complicated her precarious relationship with Corbin. Somehow she must put it behind her and hope he would do likewise.

Long before she reached the kitchen, the appetizing smell of bacon told her Corbin was already downstairs. He gave her the briefest of greetings before returning his attention to the pan on the stove.

“I hope you like scrambled eggs,” he said into the uncomfortable silence.

“Yes, I do, thank you.”

Taking a plate from him, she watched as he poured two cups of coffee, and then took the seat opposite her. Not able to stand the tension between them, she ventured what she considered to be a safe topic. “How was your trip?”

“Very productive. I met with the owner of a string of bed and breakfast inns in the northeast. He recently purchased three others that require major renovation. I’ve never worked so far from home before, but I like the challenge of doing something in that part of the country. In the meantime, I told him I’d put together a bid package. Obviously, I’m not the only company he’s considering.”

“How did he hear about you?”

“Through a mutual friend. If he accepts my proposal, we’ll get to do some traveling.” At her blank look, he continued. “We would move operations up there – at least temporarily. I couldn’t manage that kind of project from here.”

“Where are the inns located?”

“In Maine – right in the heart of ski country.”

For a moment, the problems of yesterday faded into the background. Aubrey’s eyes grew dreamy thinking of days spent walking along a rugged coastline and evenings sitting in front of a fireplace while outside everything was covered by a blanket of snow. “Would I get to go with you?”

Her eagerness drew a reluctant smile from him. “If you’re still here by then,” he retorted dryly.

She put down her fork. “Why wouldn’t I be here? Are you planning to fire me because I left the front door open?”

“No, I’m just thinking if I go ahead and let you go, I’ll be saving myself future problems. You’re a very disruptive person to have around.”

“Other than getting sunburn and hurting my foot, two things that could have happened to anyone, how have I been any trouble?”

“You have a convenient memory. Have you forgotten you also deleted an important file I asked you to keep and brought a cat, an animal I’ve never liked, into my house without my permission?”

Aubrey bit her lip. “I meant to tell you about Horace, but it slipped my mind.”

“It slipped your mind?” he echoed in disbelief. “How can you forget something like that?”

“It doesn’t matter because I never should have brought him here to begin with.”

“That’s the truest thing you’ve said yet.”

She played with her napkin and then put it down, pushing her plate away. “Do you want me to get rid of him?”

Corbin shook his head. “Don’t bother. If Horace becomes a problem, you can both go.”

“I’ll keep him out of your way,” Aubrey assured him. She carried her plate to the sink and would have left the room when his next words stopped her.

“By the way, Richard came by this morning to pick up his umbrella. I invited him in, but he didn’t seem anxious to stick around.”

“Why should he?” she inquired with a nonchalance that fooled no one.

“Only you know the answer to that. If his company leaves you in the condition I found you in yesterday, you might want to reconsider spending time with him. Things aren’t going to improve and could get much worse.”

Aubrey’s face went completely white. “You know nothing about it.”

“I know enough of his reputation and your inexperience to be fairly certain neither of you had a good time.”

“My inexperience? You don’t know anything about me,” she retorted angrily.

Corbin laughed. “I know enough. You’re considerate, caring and honest. You also retain too many romantic ideas for someone like him. He’s not looking for love or anything close to it.”

“What makes you think I’m looking for love?”

“If you’d been looking for anything else, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I have an errand to run, and then I’d like to see what you were able to accomplish in my absence.”

“In spite of what you think, I did work while you were gone.”

“Have I said otherwise?”

* * * *