Love.com (3 page)

Sweat beads covered her brow, her shaking knees making her aware of the
oncoming episode. A soft knock behind her made her stiffen, eyes filled with alarm.
Run!
She screamed the warning in her head, but her shaking hand managed to find the door knob. Her mouth nearly dropped when she opened the door, saved from falling to the floor only by the fact she had to look up to see the man standing on the threshold.

His dark blue eyes were filled with concern. Emily’s mouth went dry. Standing before her had to be the sexiest man she’
d ever seen in her life.

He was blond
; her glorious, golden visitor. His hair was cut short and perfectly trimmed, spiky and glazed with a bit of gel. He smelled pleasantly of shaving cream mingled with spicy designer cologne. She nearly sighed aloud.

His broad shoulders blocked out the gaping
women at his back, drawing attention to a build that was toned, in shape, and must have played contact sports back in the day.

His
navy-blue suit was expensive and well-tailored. The grey silk tie was the perfect accent. His smile was contagious, dimples dancing down at her within a darkly-tanned face.

“We haven’t met
yet, Mrs. Walker,” that deep melodious voice said, a long, manicured hand extended cordially to her. “I’m Ian Sawyer. I work for Ambidor. I’ll be working with all of you as a liaison until the ad campaign is up and running. Evan says you’re the best. Welcome back.”

Emily felt heat rise up in her face, mesmerized by his
beautiful, long-lashed eyes. Her episode was forgotten. They had to be the bluest eyes on the planet, or any planet for that matter. They were killer, bright, and looked down at her with such kindness in them, she was suddenly flustered. She cursed herself for acting like a retard. Her palm was sweating profusely too, a fact which made her decline to take his hand. He’d think she was a freak for sure and gross out.

“Thank you, Mr. Sawyer
.” Emily opened the door wider to allow him inside her office. “Evan does like to brag. I do appreciate the compliment though.”

Ian grinned
then, taking Emily completely off balance. She wanted to throw up on his over-priced Italian leather shoes. She smiled nervously, aware of every imperfection she had. For the first time, she wished she was beautiful. Looking up at Ian was making her dizzy, and painfully aware of how pitiful she must appear to him.

“Please, call me Emily
.” She rearranged the file folders on her desk, avoiding those soul-sucking orbs that crinkled so adorably at her now. “We’re very informal here. Evan insists it makes us more creative and productive.”

Ian chuckled
warmly, sending shivers down Emily’s back, delightful reminders of how few shivers she’d had of late. “You have to call me Ian. I insist. We’re going to be great friends, I can see that.”

Emily swallowed hard, his playful words and flirty manner making her back into her chair in near panic. “Why do you say that, Ian?”

“We both like the same coffee,” he replied, eyeing her Starbuck’s cup approvingly. “I take mine with a hint of mocha flavored cream. How ‘bout you?” He leveled her with his smoking blue eyes, his sensuous lips curved in amusement.

“Car…car…caramel,”
Emily stuttered and felt foolish, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth.

“Yummy,”
Ian breathed with his charming smile widening. “I should try it. I know it’s bad for me, but I just can’t give up my yummy creamers.”

Just the way Ian said the word
‘yummy’ made her feel desirable and undeniably edible.
Oh God! Quit saying yummy! Quit looking at me! I feel like shit and you’re making me feel worse!

“Is Evan here yet?” Emily was grateful mentioning her boss made him quit saying yummy, because the word brought upon such decadent images, she forced herself to not drool
and look ridiculous.

Ian shook his head. “Not yet, so we have time to bring you up to speed. After being out six months, showing up to a conference unprepared wouldn’t be fair to you.
I thought Stu would have been here by now, but we can start without him.”

Emily warmed to his sincerity. Evan failed to mention a conference.
Stu blew her off too. She would have looked like an idiot going in there unprepared. That was; until Saint Ian arrived and saved the day. “Thanks. That would be greatly appreciated.”

“I heard about your
recent loss,” Ian added softly, looking even hotter when he tried to appear sympathetic. “I’m very sorry, Emily.”

Emily fumbled with her purse, putting it in a drawer to her left
. She refused to meet his eyes, knowing if she caved to the sympathy she would find there, she would dissolve into sobs and humiliate herself. “Thank you, he didn’t linger. It was a blessing.”

“Cancer?”
Ian sat in the chair in front of her desk then, bringing them at eye level, disconcerting her with his air of ease and confidence. The man seemed so at home in his own skin; she was annoyed to feel envious of him. When had she ever felt that way? Never, she concluded, seeing Ian as male perfection itself.

“Pancreatic
cancer,” Emily explained and couldn’t avoid looking into his eyes then, drowning in their cobalt blue depths. “It’s always terminal.”

“How long were you married?” Ian’s question
surprised her. His desire to know anything about her life stunned her. Why should he care? A hot guy like him probably had an equally hot wife at home, with two-point-five hot kids, and even a hot dog! She had the urge to giggle at her thoughts, knowing his presence was making her feel decidedly giddy.

“Nine years
.” Emily smiled slightly. “I met him in college. He was the guy my dad warned me about.”

“
You have any kids?”

Emily could see Ian was only trying to be nice
by asking such pointed questions. She shook her head, warmed by his interest. “No, we wanted to wait.”

“My dad died when I was seven,” Ian offered
, looking solemn for a moment. “It’s tough growing up without a dad. Maybe it’s for the best you never had kids?”

“Yeah,” Emily agreed,
impressed with the way he switched gears; putting her at ease. “I don’t know what I would have done. It would have been awful trying to handle everything alone.”

“I heard you took care of him during his illness
.” Ian looked at her in admiration. “That takes a lot of guts. I know I couldn’t do it.”

“You would be surprised what you
’re capable of when you love someone,” Emily found herself saying, eliciting another killer smile from Ian that made her knees weaken.

“No such luck there,”
Ian lamented in response, his lips turning downward slightly at the corners. “Doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me, I guess.”

“You’re not married?” Emily refused to acknowledge the leap of excitement within her to know this gorgeous man was
still available. To her horror, she was bouncing off the walls. She wanted to drag him away to her woman cave then and there. “No girlfriend either? You’re kidding me, right?”

Ian laughed, a rich sound which made Emily’s knees shake
even harder. Her palms perspired even more. “Why is that so hard to believe? Trust me; I’m an asshole. My last girlfriend assured me of that. She even stole my Xbox when she moved out.”

“Do you miss it?”

“The Xbox? Nah, I went out and bought a PlayStation after she split,” Ian said with another grin, making Emily’s pulses dance.

“I was referring to being in a relationship
.” Emily smiled from his contagious wit. Ian was disarming and exactly what she needed to ease back into her job at that moment.

“Being a rep for Ambidor keeps me on the road,”
Ian admitted and sighed, smiling sadly. “It doesn’t allow much time for relationships, or for romance; I’m afraid.”

Emily swallowed
hard, thinking he was rather impossible to not think of romantically. He looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ, or Playgirl, at the very least. “It’s her loss.”

“She would argue that, but I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

“Ever think of doing anything else? Find another job that would keep you home?”

Ian raised a
golden-brown eyebrow, looking amused at her words. “I love my job, Emily. I lost my football scholarship my sophomore year to a back injury. Ambidor doesn’t hire people without degrees anymore. I’m lucky, no quite blessed, to have gotten this job twelve years ago. Not many can say that they love their jobs. I definitely just need to find a better woman.”

Emily’s mouth went dry, wanting to scream
Pick me! Pick me
! Instead she nodded in commiseration. “Yeah, I never saw myself a widow. This has all been quite a shock. I’m not used to being alone.”

“I have a feeling that won’t be the case for long, Emily.”

Just the way he said her name was doing crazy things to her insides. Emily recognized the desire she felt at that moment, uncomfortable a stranger would elicit such longings within her. After going nearly two years without sex, she hardly missed it until this handsome man said her name. She mumbled a reply, refusing to meet his disturbing gaze.

“Am I making you
feel uncomfortable, Emily?” Ian smiled at her in a way that told her he enjoyed making women feel uncomfortable, hot and bothered, sexy, and very… uncomfortable.

“No, of course not,”
Emily lied, her heart picking up a few beats as the seconds ticked by. “I’m just a little disorientated my first day back.”
Liar! You just wet your panties! Great!

“Ok, let’s get to it then.” Ian switched gears
once more; all business. Within thirty minutes, he gave her all the information she needed to be on firm footing within the conference room. He was talking, warming to his subject now, as he stated his company’s future objectives.

Emily no longer heard him, watching his
sensual mouth move, imagining it in forbidden places she forgot required lips. She responded to the sound of his deep voice, the images in her brain far from professional. Dismay filled her, feeling more like a pervert for having such intimate thoughts of a stranger.

Eddie
was a good lover when he wanted to be. Unfortunately, he only wanted to be when he went out drinking with his buddies. Those far-from sexy encounters were quick and reminded her again how much her marriage took a hit over the years, while she was oblivious of it. She felt bereft to feel these alien sensations this stranger elicited within her, having never felt them for her husband.

No, Eddie never turned her on with
a look. He never made her cream her panties just by saying her name. He never made her want to drag him away to her lair and have her way with him. A sigh escaped her, making Ian quit talking immediately.

“Am I boring you?” He looked contrite
and impossibly gorgeous, his eyes taking in her vacant expression with a raised eyebrow. “I should work on my technique. I can see that.”

“No,” Emily reassured him, thinking th
is man could just sit there and entertain her. “I’m just listening. Do go on.”

Ian grinned
and shook his head. “You are so busted! You were tuning me out, Emily!”

“I really wasn’t,”
Emily lied without success, smiling the first genuine smile in months. It was impossible to not like this man; fall for his warm sincerity, his effortless charm. She was sure she was crushing on him. “Ok, I was. You lost me at the history of Ambidor.”

Evan stuck his head into her office
then, eyeing her in exaggerated horror. He shook his head, puffing out his cheeks. He looked like he was spray-tanning too; his skin appearing orange under the fluorescent lighting. He looked a little more grey at his temples since she saw him last; but still looked as fit and as hyper as ever. He might be sixty-two this year, but he moved faster than any man half his age. His lack of tact was obvious in his comments.

“Too many bon
bons while you were off, babe? Wow, whole lot of ya there to love now, Em. Come on, were on in ten.”

Emily felt the
heat rising in her face. Ian said nothing and cleared his throat, uncomfortable with her obvious embarrassment. She got up and followed both men to the conference room. She was aware of every eye in the office glued to Ian as they passed. She felt a predatory feeling growing within her, an undeniable possessiveness for Ian Sawyer she had no right to feel.

It unnerved her. She
immediately felt these ridiculous, unsolicited feelings for someone she knew all of forty-five minutes. But at that moment, the only thing that made her happy about being back at work right now was being able to see Ian Sawyer every day. She stared at his broad back as he and Evan chatted ahead of her, admiring his long-legged graceful stride. The day was looking up.

Emily was grateful for Ian’s pep talk when the meeting began, earning a
reassuring smile from Evan as she shared her feelings about the new advertising campaign for Ambidor. When she finished speaking, everyone looked impressed at her knowledge of the new client’s needs. Stu looked at her with a fuming glance, pushing up his glasses several times when her comments and suggestions made others scribble into their notebooks, eyeing her with renewed faith.