The Right Time (9 page)

Sophie Bradshaw and Keith Wong?

Her wide gray eyes assessed him with uncertainty, trying to gauge whether he would mention that no introductions were necessary. They knew each other very well, after spending hours together talking and laughing and making ample use of the large bed in his waterfront suite.

Sophie recovered first. “Nice to meet you,” she said, smiling weakly.

Registering that he’d been sitting and staring the entire time, Ransom shot to his feet. Normally, he extended a hand to guests, but he couldn’t touch her. Too risky at the moment. The tumultuous emotions reeling out of control inside him might be revealed.

“Nice to meet you, too.” His voice sounded tight and unnatural. He cleared his throat and stuck his hands in his pockets. “So this is your girlfriend,” he said, pulling his gaze away from her before Keith noticed his odd behavior.

“My better half.” Keith chuckled easily and slipped an arm around her waist, smiling like a self-satisfied cat who’d eaten the canary and drunk all the cream.

There was no air in the room. Ransom could hardly breathe. He pulled on the Windsor knot in his tie.

Keith looked at them both. “Are we ready to go?”

“Yes,” Sophie said.

“Ready,” Ransom croaked, though he felt anything but.

He should find an excuse to cancel lunch, but the word
no
couldn’t be found in his vocabulary at the moment.

And he wanted to find out more about Sophie. What had she been up to since he saw her last?

A hum of conversation hovered over the packed room as the hostess escorted them to a square table.

Once seated, Sophie kept her eyes trained on the white tablecloth. The waiter took their drink orders, and she contemplated the vegetable soup, but doubted she’d eat much. The situation at hand made the prospect of food unappetizing. She’d never expected to run into Ransom again—with Keith, no less—and it wouldn’t have happened if Keith hadn’t surprised her by bringing her to the firm.

He looped an arm along the back of her chair, completely unaware or uncaring of the silence and speaking enough for the three of them. In fact, he hadn’t stopped talking practically since they left the building. She needed a break from his constant chattering to clear her head.

Fortunately, his phone rang.

“Hello?” Keith listened, and after a few clipped responses, he said, “Excuse me. I need to take care of a situation.” He squeezed her thigh and left the table, the phone glued to his ear, talking in low tones.

Heavy silence settled between them before Ransom finally spoke. “Good to see you.”

Sophie lifted her gaze. Like the first time she saw him, he looked ready for the cover of
GQ
with his perfectly coiffed hair, black suit, and skinny red tie. But like the last time she saw him, the warmth was completely gone from his eyes, leaving behind cold anger that seared to her soul.

“Same.” She kept her voice cool, betraying nothing.

“Did you know?”

“Of course not.”

“Bullshit.”

“I didn’t arrange this meeting,” she said in a fierce whisper, appalled at the suggestion. “I had no idea you worked for the same firm, and definitely not that we’d see you today. I’m in shock. I only knew we were having lunch, and then he surprised me by bringing me to your office and introducing me to some of the attorneys.”

He ran a hand down his face and let out a puff of air. “This can’t be happening,” he muttered. He leaned forward. The sleeves of the jacket pulled against his biceps when he moved in the chair, and Sophie dragged her eyes away from the sight of those strong arms that had held her tight.

“So the guy you were talking about in the Bahamas, the one who hurt you and was trying to win you back, was Keith?”

“Yes.” She didn’t know what else to say, near tangible awkwardness at the table.

“He’s an asshole.”

She stared at him, but he appeared completely unrepentant. “He’s changed. He’s trying. He’s not the same man he used to be.”

He laughed dryly, tapping the table with a forefinger. “You hope.”

His comment irritated her, as if she’d fallen short somehow by staying with Keith. “We have three years of history. It’s called forgiveness and was not an easy decision to make.”

A decision made even more difficult by the complication of their time in the Bahamas and the way Ransom made her feel. Seated across the table from him, when she never thought she’d see him again, was at once exhilarating and nerve-racking. She wished she could read his mind, but his face betrayed nothing.

Except for the surprise when he first glanced up and their eyes locked at the office, she had no idea how he felt. Even now he exuded rigid calm. While she felt vibrantly alive, her skin and every nerve sensitive and very aware of him.

“You forgave him? You said he slept with a waitress at your favorite restaurant, and you used me to get back at him.”

Revenge sex. That was how she’d framed that night in her mind, but it had been more than revenge. She’d been caught up in Ransom, his teasing words, and the excitement of his touch.

“You said he hurt you.” His words sounded accusatory.

“He’s changed.”

“You think so?”

“What difference does it make to you? This is between me and Keith. Our relationship has nothing to do with you,” she snapped.

A muscle in his jaw moved. Annoyance, perhaps. He muttered something unintelligible and looked away from her, swiping his thumb across his bottom lip, an act that made her nipples ache. His lips and thumb had paid an exorbitant amount of attention to her breasts.

Sophie swallowed. “I never thought I’d see you again,” she said.

His fingers spread out and gripped the edge of the table. The same way they’d gripped her hips, as their bodies forged into one. Sophie glanced around for the waiter, wondering what was taking him so long with their drinks. She touched a hand to her dry throat.

“I guess fate had other plans,” Ransom said.

Sophie focused on the tablecloth again. Maybe she should excuse herself until Keith returned. The bitterness coming from Ransom made her feel off-kilter and second-guess her decision to stay involved with Keith—something she’d already been conflicted about.

“He is different,” she insisted, flicking her eyes to him again. She wanted to believe that. She’d seen the change in Keith. He was more attentive and considerate. Meeting here in Chicago had been his idea so they could spend time together.

“I guess we’ll see.” Clearly agitated, Ransom ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right. You and Keith are none of my business.”

The way he studied her increased the nervousness in the pit of her belly. “I’m glad you agree.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Did you tell anyone about what happened between us?” His voice had dropped low.

“No,” she whispered.

“No one?”

“Who would I tell?”

“I don’t know. A girlfriend or someone else close to you?” His thick brows lowered over his eyes, and a dash of discontent stained his voice.

Upon her return to the States, Sophie had wanted to tell someone, anyone, about her Bahamian fling, but in the end, she kept it to herself. The way he made her feel. The acts he’d perpetrated on her body.

“There was no one to tell. Did you tell anyone?” Her voice lowered, protective of their secret.

He sat back in the chair. “I mentioned it to a friend.”

“What did you say?”

“That we fucked.” He spoke crudely. Dismissively.

Sophie swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Because that’s all it was.” She waited with bated breath, hoping he’d deny the charge. The way they’d parted had left her reeling and confused, wondering if she’d misread the signals.

“Wasn’t it? You were trying to get back at your boyfriend. Mission accomplished.”

Sophie scanned the restaurant, searching for Keith. She wished he’d come back so she could avoid this painful conversation.

She ventured another look at Ransom. His face appeared hard and implacable.

“How long will you be working in Atlanta?” she asked, hoping the change in topic eased the tension.

He ran his fingers through his thick hair, and she curled her hands in her lap, recalling its texture. The softness. The lushness when she swept her fingers across his scalp.

“As long as it takes to close the case I’m taking over. Probably for a few months.”

Months in the same city.

Conversations continued around them as diners chatted and laughed, but silence stretched between them again. Clumsy and ungainly, making a difficult situation even more so.

“You’re not going to tell him, are you?” he asked.

“Do you want me to?” She held her breath again.

“What would be the point?”

Sophie nodded vigorously. “True. It was meaningless and would cause unnecessary problems.”

Keith wouldn’t like it if he found out she had slept with someone, especially someone at his firm.

“We’ll just keep it a secret,” she said, swallowing hard.

“Agreed.” His mouth firmed.

The waiter finally arrived with the drink orders, and Sophie greedily swallowed the water to quench her parched throat. They didn’t speak again until Keith returned to the table.

The two men talked mostly about the firm’s business, steering clear of confidential details. Ransom hardly looked at her, but her gaze settled on him frequently, drinking in the strength of his features, the power beneath the jacket, and when he dared smile, even a little, the dimples that lined his cheeks.

Sophie marveled at the cruelty of the universe, amazed that they should meet again in such a surprising way. Completely, and unexpectedly, by chance.

Ransom was adept at compartmentalizing so he could focus on work, but right now he couldn’t concentrate. It was early evening. Lena was gone and the office was quiet, and his thoughts constantly went back to Sophie. He needed to purge her from his mind.

He happened to know that Giles was working late on a case and Stephanie was out of town with a client. He figured Giles would be free—tonight, at least—and called his office.

“When are you leaving?” Ransom asked.

“Getting ready to head out.”

“How about a game of racquetball?” He needed to expend some pent-up energy.

“Meet you in five minutes.”

The racquetball court was located on the fifth floor. Before long, they’d changed into shorts, T-shirts, and tennis shoes, and engaged in a rigorous battle on the court with plenty of huffing and puffing. Each time, Ransom slammed the blue ball with all his might and Giles lunged mid-court and dived into corners to keep up.

Eventually, Giles cursed loudly, slamming his racket to the floor with a loud clatter and shoving the goggles up onto his head. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded, panting hard. “This isn’t the racquetball Olympics. I thought you wanted to get in some exercise, not beat me to death with a little blue ball.”

Ransom removed his goggles, too. “What’s the matter, old man, can’t keep up?”

Giles flung his arms in the air. “What are you trying to prove? Am I missing something?”

“No.” Ransom huffed, the strenuous workout having taken his breath. He dropped back against the wall. “Truth?”

“Of course.”

Ransom tossed his racket to the floor in frustration. “I had a bit of a surprise this afternoon.”

“A case?” Giles, being the good friend he was, showed immediate concern.

“A woman,” Ransom answered.

“Oh. Is it Lisa, or…?”

Ransom shook his head, laughing as he expelled a puff of air. He hadn’t thought about Lisa in weeks, but she’d be an easier prospect to handle. “Remember the woman I told you I met in the Bahamas?”

Giles nodded. “The flight attendant.”

“I saw her today. She’s Keith Wong’s girlfriend.”

Giles’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? You slept with Keith’s girlfriend?”

“Of course I didn’t know it at the time.” Ransom wiped sweat from his brow with his shirtsleeve.

Giles paced the floor, shaking his head in disbelief. “What are you going to do?”

“Nothing.”

“But you like this woman?”

“There’s something about her.” He couldn’t get her out of his mind, even after she rejected him.

“You barely know her, and if she’s with Keith…”

“I was perfectly fine until I saw her again. I’d pretty much put her out of my mind, and then she shows up in the office, looking…” He ran frustrated fingers through his damp hair, and his words trailed off in disgust.
Looking beautiful
.

“You’re sure it’s not just the excitement of what happened in the Bahamas? If you haven’t thought about her since then, what makes her so special all of a sudden? What is it about her that you like so much?”

“I didn’t say I haven’t thought about her since then.” He’d purposely and deliberately not thought about her, refusing to dwell on what could have been. Every time she crept into his thoughts, he slammed a barrier in place. “To answer your questions, I like everything about her. She’s beautiful and funny…and vibrant.” That was the only way to describe her.

“And taken,” Giles added.

“That didn’t stop you with Stephanie,” Ransom pointed out.

“Alexander wasn’t the partner’s son—one of the men you need to impress.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that,” Ransom said.

“So now you don’t care about the partnership? Because if that’s what you’re telling me, fine. Otherwise, you’ll need to tread carefully.”

“I don’t know how to tread carefully.” His first instinct was to stomp and growl and haul her away from Keith.

“She lives in Atlanta?”

Ransom nodded. “She does.”

“Well…you’ll be in Atlanta next week. Maybe you can tread not-so-carefully there,” Giles said.

Keith sat on the bed watching her as she worked lotion into her hands. Sophie was staying at a hotel room near the airport to make flying out in the morning easy.

She hadn’t expected him to invite himself to stay with her when she turned down his request to stay at his parents’ house. Mostly she wanted time alone to think, but she hadn’t been able to do much of that, spending almost every minute since she’d landed with Keith, being introduced to his coworkers and friends, and having dinner with his parents and, of course, lunch with Ransom, from which she still hadn’t recovered.