Tender Kisses (7 page)

He made her feel things she didn't want to feel and do the things she used to enjoy—everything she had purposely put aside since Malcolm's accident. Siobhan closed her eyes to shut out the memories that refused to stay buried. Tonight they came back in full force—from her choosing to leave sixteen-year-old Brandon in charge while she went to meet her friends and arriving home to find flashing red lights and paramedics tending to a bloodied and unconscious Malcolm, to her parents' concerned and questioning gazes and Siobhan's own rising guilt. She was the oldest, and her parents had trusted her to take care of her siblings.

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. She had let her parents down that day, and she promised herself that it would never happen again. Of course, they hadn't blamed her, but had Siobhan been there watching her eleven-year-old baby brother, he might not have got that gash along his hairline that required twelve stitches, or the concussion.

After that incident, she'd turned to her books, graduating high school and college at the top of her class while working summers at the family company. She rarely hung out with her friends and worked hard to make her family, especially her parents, proud. She'd slipped up with Arthur, and having
fun
had cost her thousands of dollars, not to mention almost costing her the coveted PR director's position.

Now there was Justin. Siobhan didn't believe in repeating the same mistakes, but he made her feel different and she enjoyed being with him. Still, she wasn't sure she should allow him to get too close.

Chapter 7

S
iobhan woke up Sunday morning feeling out of sorts and exhausted from tossing and turning all night. She'd fallen asleep thinking about Justin and his sweet kisses, and they were the first things on her mind when she woke up. Maybe a good workout would help excise him from her brain—Morgan swore exercising helped reduce stress—except her brother's gym was closed on Sundays. She could always go for a jog, but the thought of running brought a deep frown to her face. She settled on a cup of chamomile tea and some soft jazz out on her small patio.

Two hours later, she gave up all hope of relaxing and called her brother, who agreed to meet her at the gym.

Khalil unlocked the door to let Siobhan in, then locked it behind her. He kissed her cheek.

“Thanks for coming in. I hope it didn't interfere with any of your weekend plans,” she said.

“No. You know I like to wake up in my own bed,
alone
.”

She shook her head and followed him to the elliptical trainers. All of her brothers loved women, but Khalil was the worst of the bunch. Women had been falling over the former model since his teenage days, but he had never been serious about one.

He leaned against the machine next to the one she climbed on and folded his arms. “Okay, sis. What's got you so tense that you're calling me to open the gym on a Sunday morning? Brandon said you'd be in next week.”

Not wanting him to know the real reason for her anxiety, she said, “I've been working a lot of hours and getting ready for the launch of the new mattress. This is my first big project since taking over as PR director, and it's got me a little stressed, that's all.” She set the program and started with easy strides.

Khalil flashed a dimpled smile. “Siobhan, you can write press releases and shut down publicity nightmares in your sleep, so I'll ask again—what's going on?”

Siobhan kept up her pace and rolled her eyes. “Why do you think something is going on?”

“For starters, you've never asked me to open the gym on a Sunday for an hour workout, and Brandon mentioned some new guy you were seeing.”

Some days she wished she didn't have brothers. “Khalil, I can't work out if you're going to keep talking to me,” she huffed.

He eyed her a moment longer, straightened, then sauntered toward the other side of the gym. “When you're done with your warm-up, come on over to the bench press,” he called over his shoulder.

Two minutes in, and Siobhan's legs were already burning. It would be a miracle if she completed the entire twenty minutes. “That's what happens when I don't go to the gym for two weeks,” she muttered.

When the timer went off, she slowed to a stop and sighed in relief. If this was an indication of how her workout would be, she might as well skip the rest and go home.

“Two minutes' rest,” Khalil called out.

She made a face at him and half walked, half staggered to where he stood waiting.

He laughed. “You know the drill. You can't let your muscles cool down.” Khalil was one of the best personal trainers in the business, and his workouts always produced results. He glanced down at his watch. “All right. Three sets of fifteen.”

Siobhan lay on the bench and adjusted her body.

“Since you haven't been here in a couple of weeks, we'll start at eighty pounds instead of your usual one hundred and work our way up. Ready?” He lifted the bar from the floor with one hand and placed it on the rack.

“Show-off.” She positioned her hands on the bar.

He shrugged and gestured for her to start.

An hour later, she flopped down on a mat and groaned. “What was I thinking?” Every inch of her body ached.

Khalil lowered himself next to her and handed her an opened bottle of water.

She dragged herself to a sitting position and took the bottle. “Thanks.”

“So, did that help you forget the guy?”

Siobhan paused with the bottle halfway to her mouth.

“Don't bother to deny it. This isn't the first time the gym has been open during off-hours. Just ask Brandon or Malcolm.”

“Or you?”

He nodded. “What happened? Did he hurt you? Because if he did, we're not going to hold back this time.”

“No, he hasn't hurt me. We've only gone out a few times, but he asked me out again and—”

“And you're trying to come up with a million and one excuses why you can't go.” Khalil let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, I know what happened last time has you a little gun-shy about dating again, but you can't lock yourself in a closet or blame the next guy. You're a beautiful woman, Vonnie, and you deserve to be happy.” He chuckled and shook his head. “I can't believe I'm saying this to my sister. Brandon's gonna kill me if he finds out I said anything other than ‘no guy is good enough for my sister,' so how about we keep this little conversation between us?”

Siobhan smiled. Of her three brothers, Khalil had always been the most levelheaded when it came to her and Morgan dating, unless the guy did something to hurt either of them. Then he became a totally different and scary person.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “And I know there's more to it than that. It's okay to let your guard down a little.”

“I know.” She said the words, but had no idea how to do that anymore.

* * *

After three days, Siobhan still hadn't recovered from her workout. She could barely lift her arms, walk or bend. Even breathing hurt. She was supposed to go back to the gym tonight, but the notion of putting her body through more torture wasn't appealing...at all. Khalil knew what Siobhan would be thinking and had sent her a reminder text earlier, cautioning her that it would only get worse if she didn't keep up with her regimen.

“Siobhan, I have the sample ad printouts from Marketing you asked for,” her secretary said, entering the office.

She reached for the folder and winced with the movement.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, fine. Just did a strenuous workout, that's all.”

“Oh, okay. I have everything set up in the conference room for your staff meeting.”

“Thanks. I'll be there in a moment.” Siobhan waited until the woman walked out before gingerly rising to her feet and following. She groaned. The worst part was that all this misery hadn't kept Justin off her mind for one second. She still wanted him—wanted him to hold her, to touch her, kiss her... Of course, it hadn't helped that he'd sent her text messages wishing her a good day every day this week. Her first thought had been to pretend she hadn't seen them, but her upbringing wouldn't allow her to ignore him. Instead, she'd sent him a cordial reply wishing him the same. She had never felt so conflicted in her life, and she still hadn't answered his question about their next date.

Pushing thoughts of Justin to the back of her mind, Siobhan entered the conference room and called the meeting to order. “Good morning, everyone. Tomorrow's the launch of our newest product, and I want to make sure we're ready to hit the market in a big way. Take a moment to go over the listing in your first handout. If you can think of any other places where we can advertise, by all means, please let me know.” She inquired about each phase, from videos and photos updated on the website, to brochures being sent to hospitals and care facilities, to email, Twitter and Facebook blasts. As expected, Gordon took issue with all the “newfangled” aspects of communication.

“Television and radio have worked for the company until now, and I don't see any reason to change it.”

“We're still using radio and television, but we also have to keep up with the best ways to reach our customers. Many people use social media to communicate, and if we want to compete, we'll need to do the same.” She thought that would be the end of the argument, but boy, was she wrong. It turned into a full-scale debate with the other team members, and Siobhan ended up having to cancel lunch with her friends.

By the time the meeting ended, she was so angry she had to take a walk outside for a few minutes. Otherwise, Gordon Samuels might be in need of that mattress to relieve the pressure from all the bruises he'd have after she kicked his behind. When Siobhan got back to her office, her father was waiting and stood at her entrance.

“Daddy! I didn't know you were here.” She hugged him, and he kissed her cheek.

“I wanted to check on you. I heard about the meeting and Gordon.”

She released a deep sigh. “He complains about everything I do and tries to undermine me at every turn. It's like he's waiting for me to make one little mistake so he can prove I can't do this job. He's said more than once that the only reason I got the job is because I'm your daughter.”

He gestured her to one of the visitor chairs across from her desk and took the other one. “Siobhan, don't you worry about what Gordon or anyone else thinks. Thad and I gave you the position because you're the most qualified. I'm proud of you, baby. This was your first big project, and you've exceeded my expectations.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Hearing her father say he had faith in her abilities drained her anger and brought tears to her eyes. All she ever wanted was to make him proud.

“That said, I know you've been working way more hours than necessary.” He stood. “Don't forget what I told you.”

She dropped her head guiltily. “I won't.”

He smiled and patted her shoulder, then exited.

Siobhan rounded her desk and sat in her own chair. She retrieved her cell to call Kendra to reschedule lunch and saw she had a voice mail from Justin. Her finger hovered over the button for several seconds before she listened to the message. Just the sound of his sexy voice had her agreeing to whatever he asked.

“Hey, Siobhan. I know you've been working hard to get ready for the big project reveal this week. I know you knocked it out of the park, so how about lunch tomorrow to celebrate?”

She banged the phone softly against her temple. This was
exactly
why she should have waited until later to play the message. He always said things that made her feel all weird inside. She let out a frustrated groan and hit the redial button.

“Hey, Justin. I got your message,” she began when his voice mail picked up, “and I... Lunch tomorrow sounds good—around twelve thirty? I know a nice place we can go.” She rattled off the name and address of the restaurant and disconnected. Siobhan leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. An image of Justin's hands and lips moving over her body filled her head. Her nipples tightened, and heat spread between her legs. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up abruptly. “Lunch, Siobhan. That. Is.
All
,” she muttered.

She dialed Kendra's number. “Hey, girl.”

“You sound worn-out,” Kendra said.

“If you had to sit in a meeting with that idiot Gordon for almost three hours, you'd be worn-out, too.”

She laughed. “Well, at least you have Justin to make you feel better.”

Siobhan groaned.

“What? Did you kick him to the curb already?”

“No, but—”

“But you want to.”

“I didn't say that.”

“True, but I know you.”

“I'm not planning to
kick him to the curb
.”

“Fine—if you're not, prove it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bring him to my anniversary party on Friday.”

“Kendra,” Siobhan started, but Kendra cut her off.

“You said he's a nice guy, and you're not trying to dump him, so bring him. Gotta go. I'll expect you both. 'Bye.”

Siobhan heard the beep signaling the end of the call and sighed. Though she wanted to keep Justin at a distance, she couldn't deny yearning to spend more time with him.

* * *

Justin had made good progress this morning getting the temperature sensors to work properly. He woke up energized and wondered if his approaching lunch date with Siobhan had anything to do with it. She had surprised him by agreeing so readily. He glanced up at the clock on his laptop—three hours to go, so she still had time to cancel. Chuckling, he went back to typing.

A while later his cell rang. He fully expected to see Siobhan's name on the display, but blew out a sigh of relief upon seeing Bobby's name.

“What's up, Bobby?” Justin said when he answered.

Bobby laughed. “That's what I want to know about you. I'm calling to see how the system is going.”

“It's going. Still having some trouble with the temperature sensor portion.”

“Do you think you'll be ready by the time you meet with Gray?”

“I sure as hell hope so. Every time I think I've got the problem solved, something else messes up. How's your grandfather?”

“Ornery as ever. The doctor keeps telling him to take it easy, but the old man can't seem to stay away from the winery. I spend more time shuttling him back and forth to the house than taking care of the business.”

“It has to be hard not being able to have a hands-on presence in the business you started from the ground up.”

“Yeah, I know. I'd probably be the same way.”

“Why don't you offer him a compromise, maybe let him spend two or three hours at the winery a couple of days a week? I'm sure you can have a comfortable lounger placed in the office and get a mobile work surface.”

“I don't know why I didn't think of that. You wouldn't happen to be available to fly down today and design a work space, would you?”

Justin laughed. “Sorry, bro. I'm meeting someone for lunch and I can't cancel, but I'll be happy to email you some recommendations.”

“Another prospective company?”

“No. A lunch date.”

“I didn't know you were seeing someone.”

“It's nothing serious. I'm not looking to settle down, and neither is she.”