One Night Forever (The Cinderella Chronicles) (9 page)

She nodded and finished
off her first piece of pizza. “Prove it,” he said.

“
How?” she
asked, only half believing she was having this conversation with
Matt.

He pulled a pen out of
his jacket pocket and then reached to the napkins and handed her
one. Lauren accepted it but with confusion. “What’s this
for?”

“
Write down
the top three pizzas in town. I’ll do the same. I want to see if
you know your stuff.”

“
Didn’t you
just move from LA? How do you know the pizza in New York? And who’s
going to be the judge of which one of us is right?”

“
I grew up
here.”

Lauren shook her head.
“That’s not good enough. Things change.” She held out her hand for
the pen. “You’re going to lose.”

Matt laughed. “Not a
chance. But give it your best shot.”

She accepted the pen, but
not without a brush of his fingers. Her eyes went to his, and for a
moment, electricity crackled as they stared at one another. Lost in
each other. Lost in what was and what could have been. A glass
broke somewhere, and Lauren jolted back to the present.

Averting her gaze, she
wrote on the napkin. Satisfied with her answers, she slid the pen
across the table not prepared to risk more hand-to-hand contact.
Needing the distraction, she started on her second slice of pizza.
Matt seemed to ponder his answers.

“
Tough, huh?”
she challenged because she couldn’t help herself.

He winked. “Just making
sure I weigh my options.” Then, he started writing. Done with his
task, he slid his pen back in his pocket, and then offered her his
list. “Let’s exchange.”

Lauren hesitated. Why did
her list of pizza places suddenly feel very exposing? Very
personal? For one thing, she knew hers were all hole-in-the-wall,
cheap places.

Matt gestured toward her
list. “No holding back. Let me see.”

Having no option, she
offered him her list, and reached for his. She blinked and read it
again. Then, she sat down the napkin. “New York Pizza is not better
than Johnnies. That alone proves you don’t know your
pizza.”

Laughing Matt tossed down
her napkin. “Ah, but have you tried their new triple
cheese?”

“
What are you
talking about?” Lauren asked. She didn’t know about this or she
would have already tried it.

Matt leaned forward, his
hand covering hers where it rested on the table. “How about after
work I take you to try it?”

All of a sudden Lauren
couldn’t breathe. How had she gone from avoiding Matt to this? “We
both know that’s not a good idea.”

“
It’s pizza
and some conversation. We both know we need to talk and not when we
have a lunch hour deadline.”

Why she didn’t move her
hand, she wasn’t sure. He didn’t hold it in a way that kept her
from extracting it. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“
How about
us?”

“
There is no
‘us’.”

Matt sank back against
the bench and studied her a long moment. “I’ve never had anything
like this happen.”

“
Anything like
what?” Lauren said feeling a flutter in her chest as she waited for
the response.

“
I don’t date
employees. Work and personal don’t mix.”

“
Exactly.”

“
But what do
two people in our circumstances do? We met outside of work a year
ago. It’s a unique situation I never thought to find myself in.
What do you think we should do, Lauren?”

This should be an easy
question to answer, but she found herself wanting to ignore good
reason. “We…we have to pretend the past never happened.”

His brow inched upward.
“Can you?” Matt paused a moment but not long enough for an answer.
“Because I haven’t.”

Lauren looked down,
trying to hide the emotion she knew would show in her face. She
liked Matt so much. And it went beyond desire. They hardly knew
each other, and yet, he felt like so much more than a
stranger.

“
I tried to
find you,” he added when she didn’t immediately answer.

Her eyes instantly
lifted. “You did?”

“
Why does that
surprise you?”

Mind racing, Lauren
couldn’t find the words to respond. She didn’t know what to say.
Shocked and more than a little confused, she couldn’t think
straight. Desperate for space, for a way to get her head cleared,
Lauren reached for her purse. And reality slid into her mind with a
hard thud. “I can’t do this. Don’t you see? You have nothing to
lose and I have everything. You are the boss. You have a career and
a future. This industry is small when it comes to reputation. I
can’t allow people to think I slept my way to the top.”

Pushing to her feet,
Lauren intended to flee. Matt stood, facing her, and effectively
blocked her with his big frame. “Wait.” He paused. “Lauren.” He
said her name and let it linger in the air as if he was trying to
decide what to say. “Tell me you don’t feel anything for me and
I’ll walk away.”

Why couldn’t he
understand? Frustration made her respond quickly. “It’s not about
that. Don’t you see? It’s about my future. About a mother I support
and a career I have worked my butt off to achieve.”

His dark eyes studied her
for long moments. “Let me be clear. You’re interested but not at
the risk of damaging your career?”

She saw no reason to deny
the truth because the final answer was the same. There could be
nothing between them. “Exactly. You have nothing to lose. I, on the
other hand, have everything.“

Matt didn’t say anything
for a long moment. “I’ll walk you back to the office.”

“
No!” Lauren
felt the rise of panic. “People might think…”

“
That we
happened to bump into each other?” he asked, a hint of tightness to
his voice.

“
I’ll walk
back on my own.” With that said, Lauren stepped around him and
started for the door.

And as she stepped
outside, her chest was tight, and her stomach in knots. It felt as
if she’d just walked away from something much bigger than a chance
meeting. Something about Matt really felt right. She liked
him.

But it didn’t
matter.

There was no hope for
them.

* * * * *

Matt turned and watched
Lauren walk from the restaurant. She did things to him. Made him
feel alive. Made him smile and laugh. He couldn’t let her be hurt
because of their shared attraction. She was right. The industry
would punish her reputation if the wrong things evolved out of
this. But what was he supposed to do when his gut said Lauren may
just be “the one”? He’d always heard, when you met that person, you
just knew but he hadn’t believed it. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Lauren
felt special. Somehow, he had to come up with a way to protect her,
and still find out what lie between them.

And then it hit him. A
slow smile slid onto his mouth as an idea formed.

Chapter Eleven

Lauren knocked on Cat’s
door. In her hands, she held the light blue outfit she’d borrowed a
year ago, fresh from the dry cleaners. She’d taken it that morning.
Why she’d hung on to it for so long, she really didn’t know. The
sooner she ridded herself of evidence of that night with Matt the
better.

Cat opened the door and
looked surprised. She was wearing a black velvet sweat suit and
holding a piece of pizza. “Could you smell it clear across
town?”

“
No,” Lauren
said, “but yes I’d love a couple slices.” It didn’t matter she’d
had it for lunch. She’d hardly tasted it. Matt had been too
distracting.

Suddenly, a man appeared
behind Cat. A very attractive one. Tall with blond hair that was
below the collar. This wasn’t a man who fit into Cat’s father’s
world. That meant he was exactly what Cat wanted. She always did
exactly the opposite of what her father expected.

“
Hey,” the
blond guy said. “You must be Lauren.”

Lauren’s brows dipped.
“Why must I be Lauren?” she asked, wondering who had been in Cat’s
life long enough to make a statement like that. And, why didn’t she
already know about him.

“
Come inside,”
Cat said and took another bite of pizza. She backed away from the
entrance. “This is Chris,” she said, indicating the sexy guy by
pointing her pizza at him. “He’s an artist. We met last night at
the West Side Gallery showing. “

This was strange. Chris
had been around less than twenty-four hours and already he knew her
name. What the heck had Cat been telling a complete stranger about
her?

“
I won’t stay
long,” Lauren said, figuring three was a crowd. Lauren indicated
the outfit in her hand. “I just wanted to return this.”

Entering the apartment,
Lauren felt a renewed awareness for the glossy hardwoods and
expensive décor. It reminded her of Matt and how different his
world was from her own. He belonged with someone like Cat.
Comfortable at her best friend’s place despite the pricey
surroundings, Lauren walked to the bedroom and toward the
closet.

Cat followed. “A year
ago,” she said from behind. “You borrowed it a year
ago.“

Lauren deposited the
outfit on the rack and turned to see Cat hand her pizza to Chris.
“Why the rush to get it to me now?” Cat said, planting her hands in
her hips.

“
No rush,”
Lauren said, eyeing Chris. No way was she talking with some Chris
around. He might be hot but he was still a total stranger of the
male sex. Not exactly girl-talk material. So, that left Lauren no
option. She lied. “The dry cleaners called. They were ready to
throw it out if I didn’t pick it up.”

“
Whatever,”
Cat said and walked to the bed and sat down. She patted the area
beside her. “Come talk.”

Lauren stood there. Had
her best friend gone insane? She wasn’t talking in front of blond
guy. Cat’s eyes narrowed and then went to Chris. “Get lost, will
you?”

Chris stood in the
doorway watching, shoulder leaning against the frame. A slow smile
turned up the corner of his lips. “Ah,” he said. “You want to talk
about me.” He winked and turned away.

Cat rolled her eyes and
looked at Lauren. “Talk about him?” she said with irritation. “What
an ego. Let’s just hope he lives up to it in bed.”

Lauren let her hands hit
her legs and walked toward Cat. “How can you be so flippant about
sex?”

“
Why do you
have to be so damn serious all the time?”

Lauren didn’t know what
came over her. Suddenly, her mouth opened and nastiness just came
out. “I have bills to pay and a mother to take care of. All of us
can’t live the good life and never have to sweat over a dollar. One
day you’re going to get a wake-up call. You can’t live for the
moment and not have regrets later.”

Cat opened her mouth and
shut it again. Then, after a moment, “I’m going to pretend you
didn’t say that.“

“
Why?” Lauren
asked. “Because it’s the truth you don’t want to hear?”

A low sound of
frustration came from Cat’s lips. “Just fuck him and get it over
with. I don’t like what this is doing to you.”

“
I don’t want
to ‘fuck’ him.”

“
Oh yeah,” Cat
said. “Then, who am I talking about? If you didn’t want him you
wouldn’t instantly have known I was talking about him. I could have
meant Chris.”

“
I knew you
meant Matt.”

“
That’s my
point,” Cat said. “Fuck him and get it over with.”

Starting towards the
door, Lauren felt both angry and hurt. Cat shouldn’t be telling her
to “fuck” her boss. Didn’t Cat know what that would do to her
career? A good friend would know and understand.

Lauren made it all the
way to the elevator before regret started to ball in her gut. By
the time she reached the street, she was half in tears. Thirty
minutes later, she stood in her apartment and punched the answering
machine button.

Cat’s voice sounded. “I
love you like a sister, Lauren. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. This
guy has been under your skin for a year. Give some thought to
working him out of your system so you can move on. Oh, and call me
tomorrow and apologize. You owe me one.”

Click.

“
Damn it,
Cat,” Lauren whispered into the emptiness around her. “Why don’t
you understand? I can’t just sleep with Matt. I…I
can’t.”

* * * * *

Lauren arrived to work
the next morning to find an envelope on her chair. Inside she found
a single sheet of shiny pink paper and a hotel key card. Her heart
lurched. She glanced at her door, knowing it was shut, but needing
the reassurance of a second glance.

She sank into her chair,
heart beating a million miles an hour, and read.

At night I lay awake
thinking of your soft skin, wishing you were naked beneath me. I
can feel you in my dreams. Can you feel me? During the day you
drive me to distraction filling my thoughts with secret desires.
Surrender your fantasies to me.