She glanced at the woman, then away, but her attention shot back to her, astounded.
“Huh... H-hello,” Lisa stammered.
“Hello, Lisa,” Maureen said. “Can I talk to you?”
Lisa stared at her and then at Ben, who was having a great chat with Sandy, his distinctive rumbling chuckle breaking out. That happiness would disappear the minute Lisa told him the news.
She fought a ripple of hysteria as she looked from Maureen’s solemn face to Ben’s laughing one. Maureen, who hadn’t had time for her at Aunt Violet’s funeral, wanted to talk to her now. But Lisa had to talk to Ben first. She couldn’t put it off.
“I’m...I’m so sorry. I can’t see you—at least not now. I’ve got...”
“I understand,” Maureen said, standing. “Maybe we can try again later.”
“Yes, later,” Lisa agreed, even though her excellent memory reminded her that “later” seemed to always be the time when Maureen was departing. She had to take that chance, though. When she did talk to her mother, she wanted to be able to give the conversation her full attention and she couldn’t do that until she’d dealt with Ben.
Lisa scooped her cell phone out of her pants pocket. “Do you have a phone? Can you give me your number? I’ll call you as soon as I’m free.”
Of course, there was no guarantee that Maureen would answer if she did call.
Maureen gave a nervous little smile, supplied her number and left, the door swinging silently shut behind her. She hadn’t asked for Lisa’s number.
As she tried to control her reaction to the double shock of seeing both Maureen and Ben, Lisa watched Ben charm Sandy’s socks off. She wouldn’t have been surprised to see her receptionist’s eyes suddenly turn into beating pink hearts like a love-struck cartoon character’s.
It wasn’t simply that he was handsome, with his rich, dark auburn hair, dark gray eyes, thick lashes and strong, square chin. It wasn’t only his size. He was a big man, at least six foot four, slimmed down somewhat from his days as a linebacker in the NFL, but still muscled and strong. The thing was that Ben was genuinely interested in everyone and could focus his attention on the person he was listening to as if they were the most interesting human on earth. When he listened, he leaned in from the waist, turned his head slightly and narrowed his dark gray eyes just a little, as if he wanted to block out the rest of the world and everything in it. When he smiled, deep dimples appeared, and when he laughed, he threw back his head and didn’t hold anything in.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, his voice had a rolling timbre that made everyone in any gathering stop their own conversations to turn and hear what he had to say. The Oklahoma drawl that she’d heard all around her every day of her life was somehow more enthralling when it came from him.
That Southern Gentleman Charm should be labeled as a lethal weapon.
Lisa’s heart fluttered anxiously. She’d been on the receiving end of that charm and look where that had gotten her.
Automatically she sucked in her stomach, although it was still perfectly flat, and reached over to the coat tree by her office door to snag the jacket that matched her slacks.
As she did that, the office door swung open and Calvin Swenson, the deliveryman, stopped in with a package. He recognized Ben and shook his hand, saying, “Man, it’s good to see you, Ben. You gonna be around for a while?”
“A few months, at least, Cal. I’ve got some work around here.”
“Let’s get together, go fishing. Trout are biting out on the lake and the season ends in a few weeks.”
“Let’s do that,” Ben answered. “Let’s see if Junior Fedder can join us. I’ll give you a call.”
“Yeah. Have you seen him? There was a time he couldn’t have fit in my boat, but he’s dropped some major pounds.”
“Good for him.” Ben seemed genuinely pleased. “I haven’t seen him in months, but I’ll give him a call and let you know.”
With a happy nod, Calvin left and Lisa shook her head. Everyone wanted to spend time with him. Ben charmed all living creatures. Men, women, children, dogs, cats—it didn’t matter. Everyone fell under his spell.
Finally, Ben leaned over Sandy’s desk and gave her a smile that threatened to melt her into a puddle as he said, “Hey, beautiful, it’s been great catching up with you, but I need to talk to Lisa.”
Sandy looked concerned. “Oh, I gave her your messages. Didn’t she call?”
Lisa watched as Sandy turned her head and gave her a look that suggested she had betrayed all womankind by not returning Ben’s calls.
“Nah, but it’s okay. I know she’s the busiest Realtor in six counties and you’re the best assistant, so I know she got the messages.”
Sandy, mother of three and married to a good man for twenty years, fluttered her eyelashes and fluffed her hair again. “Oh, Ben, you’re so sweet to say that.”
“I only speak the truth.”
Lisa decided it was time to step in. Steeling herself, she plastered a polite smile on her face and stepped forward as she casually fastened the three buttons down the front of her jacket. She was delighted that she had worn four-inch heels today. It put her closer to eye level with him. “Here I am, Ben. Come on into my office. What can I do for you?”
He gave Sandy another wink that made her giggle and strode into Lisa’s office. As soon as she shut the door behind him, he turned to her, swept the sides of his jacket aside to plant his hands at his waist and said, “Why have you been ducking my phone calls?”
“Oh, well...” Lisa paused, indicating that he should sit as she returned to her chair and put the width of her desk between them. “I’ve been very busy.” She tried to sound professional as she folded her suddenly damp hands on top of her desk and asked, “Were you interested in seeing another property?”
He raised an eyebrow at her as he removed the leather jacket he wore with crisp jeans and a dark blue shirt. As he sat, he said, “No, I’m interested in finding out why you won’t talk to me, why you’ve avoided every one of my calls since that night in Chicago.” He balanced his cowboy hat on his knee as he watched her face. The laid-back charm dropped away and he became laser-focused. “Can you tell me why?”
Heat flooded her features and her gaze jerked away. She really didn’t want to think about that night, but she knew she had to tell him the consequences of the time they’d spent together.
“I was worried about you,” he went on, obviously realizing she wasn’t going to answer. “I wanted to know if you’d made it home safely.”
Lisa gave a nervous laugh and held out her hands. “As you can see, I got home just fine.”
His lips twisted. “I do see that, but would it have killed you to let me know?”
“Um, well, I...I thought that...” She let her voice trail off, unable to articulate how she’d felt the next morning and for days afterward as she’d questioned her actions—the need, the abandonment of self-control—that had driven her into his arms.
He leaned forward and pitched his voice low. “Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not the love-’em-and-leave-’em type. I wouldn’t do that.”
Lisa’s eyes widened at the fierceness of his tone. She did know that. Every woman he’d dated in Reston was still his good buddy, so it was obvious he hadn’t treated any of them badly.
“I...I guess I—”
Her words stumbled to a stop. He waited, but she didn’t know what she’d been going to say except, “I don’t do things like—”
“Like