The Drifter (14 page)

A
NGELA
W
EATHERBY STARED
at her computer screen, trying to decide what was wrong with the beginning of the fifth chapter of her book. She’d been doing so well. The Charmer, the Drifter. But now, she’d run up against a wall—and the memory of a man who’d once been the object of all of her most vivid fantasies.

Max Morgan. The most gorgeous man she’d ever met. They’d gone to high school together in Evanston and then attended the same college. And until her junior year at Northwestern, he’d been the only man she’d ever loved—even though it had been from afar.

They’d spoken just once. Angela had been assigned a story for the college newspaper about a “beefcake” calendar that one of the frats was selling to benefit a local charity. Max Morgan had been the subject of the interview. Even after all this time, she couldn’t remember a single thing they’d said to each other.
After reviewing her tape, she’d been mortified at how foolish she’d sounded. It was no wonder a guy like Max would have never noticed a girl like her.

Angela sighed softly. Fast-forward five years, to a night that had been burned indelibly into Angela’s mind. She’d made a blind date and was scheduled to meet the cousin of a coworker at a popular sports bar. Instead, she’d looked across the bar and found Max Morgan staring at her.

He’d been in town, his team playing a three-game series with the White Sox. He’d been surrounded by women, but he’d looked across the bar and their gazes had met…and held. He’d smiled, a silent invitation for her to come and talk to him. But Angela had been so nervous, she’d turned away. And when she looked back, he’d moved on to another girl.

“The Sexy Devil,” she murmured.

She’d always wondered what made a guy like him tick. He could have any woman he wanted. He’d dated models and actresses and heiresses. He’d been on the front covers of men’s magazines and the tabloids. Max Morgan was the quintessential bad boy, the kind of guy every woman wanted to tame. If she could get an interview with him for her book, then maybe she’d be able to gain some interesting insights into all smooth operators.

Angela smiled to herself. Wow, she’d really managed to rationalize that. In truth, she was curious. Curious to see if he remembered her. Curious to see
if she still felt an attraction to him. Curious to see what kind of man Max had become.

But she’d made a few mistakes trying to get inter views for some of the earlier chapters in her book. She’d never been able to connect with Alex Stamos. Constant phone calls hadn’t worked. So she’d decided to try a more aggressive approach with Charlie Templeton, tracking him down in Boulder. But that hadn’t worked either.

This time, Angela was going to try a bit of subterfuge. If Max had been attracted to her once, then maybe he’d be attracted again. She’d just have to find a way to meet him. She picked up an invitation she’d received recently for a charity event sponsored by a Chicago Children’s Hospital.

“Hosted by major leaguers Max Morgan and Kirk Caldwell,” she said to herself. She knew exactly where he’d be in two weeks. And she planned to be there, too.

“You will not believe this,” Ceci said, poking her head in Angela’s office door. “I just got a note from a woman who wrote a profile for our site and she and the guy she profiled are moving in together. And guess who the guy is?”

“Considering we have tens of thousands of profiles on our site, that’s going to be a bit difficult.”

“You’ve met him,” she hinted.

“Max Morgan?”

“No!” Ceci cried. “Wait. You know Max Morgan?”

“No,” Angela lied. “Well, I know of him. I don’t know him like…you know…”

“Charlie Templeton,” Ceci said. “The guy you tried to interview out in Colorado. I guess he’s ready to settle down and this woman wants us to take the profile down.”

“What did you say?”

“I said we could take her comments down but the others would stay up.”

“What did she say?”

“She said fine and hung up.”

Angela leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. “This is weird. I try to interview both these guys and they’ve both suddenly found the perfect women. What are the odds of that?”

“I guess it just proves my point,” Ceci said. “Even though you don’t want to believe it, men can change.”

Angela looked at her friend and business partner. “Maybe,” she murmured.

After Ceci left the room, Angela returned to her computer, staring for a long moment at her manuscript. Then, she opened her favorite search engine and typed in Max Morgan’s name. A photo
of him escorting a famous model to dinner came up first.

“You’re next, Max Morgan. If I’ve suddenly got the power to turn smooth operators into devoted partners, then I’m coming for you next.”

ISBN: 978-1-4268-5189-6

THE DRIFTER

Copyright © 2010 by Peggy A. Hoffmann.

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