“No, I don’t imagine he would be.” Sabrina brushed past Noah, stopping beside Darcy. She glanced at Noah and something hard glittered in her eyes. Then she turned to Darcy. “Thanks for the reminder.”
Noah straightened as she turned back to him. God, she was beautiful. Her eyes flashed, pink stained her cheeks and her whole face glowed.
“Seems I lost my head for a moment.” She turned, then pushed through the door, back into the party.
“Now wait a minute!” Noah bolted after her, his heart thudding. He reached for her as she rejoined her group of admirers, but she twisted away, ignoring him.
Turning to one of her entourage, she asked, “Pete, could you drive me home?”
Noah drew up to his full height. The man glanced his way. Noah stared evenly at him, sending a silent challenge. With a shake of his head, Pete shrank back into the sofa cushions.
“For goodness’ sake.” Sabrina glared at Noah.
He glared back. What was she mad about? A moment ago she’d nearly combusted in his arms. “I’ll take you home.”
She smiled a stiff smile and looked beyond his shoulder. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t want to keep you from your…bribe.”
A sick feeling hit the pit of his stomach. He turned to see Darcy at his side.
“Enough.” Noah stepped away from Darcy and reached again for Sabrina. His throat tightened at the flicker of hurt in her blue gaze.
A tall, slender blonde pushed past Mona, who had just arrived, her wide-eyed gaze taking them all in. “I’ll take you,” the slender blonde said. She gave Noah a curious look as she stepped to Sabrina’s side. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“Thanks, Bess.” Sabrina’s hands opened, then closed into fists. Her gaze swept back to Noah. “And thank you, for a most…enlightening evening.”
Noah swallowed. That sick feeling inside him grew. What had he done? “Sabrina—”
“Good night, Mona.” Sabrina gave her a quick hug. “Thanks for the party.”
Mona frowned. “Is everything okay? Are you sure you want to leave so soon?”
“Everything’s fine. It was a wonderful party. Thanks for all your hard work.” Sabrina glanced back again at Noah. “I’m sorry. I’m just really tired.”
Her icy tone sent chills down his spine. Regret rooted him to the floor as she turned with Bess, then left.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Sabrina sank into the pile of antique lace pillows strewn across her four-poster bed. She’d spent days scouring dozens of flea markets and antique dealers to find them. She captured one, bunching it between her palms. “That’s it, Bess, the last straw.”
The bed dipped as Bess sat beside her. “I can understand you’re upset, but just because your brother and his partner are jerks doesn’t mean you should toss aside your values.”
Sabrina smashed the pillow into the mattress. “What have my values gotten me?”
“Bree, you’ve got a great life. You own your own business. At twenty-five that’s quite an accomplishment. You have this wonderful apartment, and you’re free to come and go as you please. No strings tying you down.”
“Maybe I want some strings.”
“And getting laid by the first willing male will do that?”
“Hah, willing, there’s the problem. No one wants me because I’m a virgin, so how the hell am I supposed to lose my virginity?” She rolled over and tossed the pillow to the floor. “I don’t know. I just know I can’t go on like I have. Something has to change. I have to change.”
“You’re not the type to have a one-night stand, though. Think about it. When you take on a project, you always go all out. Remember when you wanted to repaint the dining room and ended up holed up in here painting every wall of every room?”
“And the ceilings. Boy, were my arms aching.”
“Then what about the time you wanted to make a shelf for some of your knickknacks and you ended up with…” She gestured to the floor-to-ceiling unit gracing the far wall.
“Who would have thought I had it in me?”
“Then look at the bookstore.”
Sabrina blew out a breath. She’d gone in for a part-time job, then ended up buying the place. “I’d always planned on owning a bookstore once I’d earned my business degree.”
“But you see my point. You won’t be satisfied with a one-night stand. You’ll want a relationship, and trust me, that isn’t the way to start one.”
With a sudden movement, Sabrina sat upright. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. The old Sabrina may have felt that way, but the new me won’t. He took a woman as a bribe, Bess. And did you see her? How am I supposed to compete with that? I’m reinventing myself. Drastic times call for drastic measures.”
She drew herself up. “It’s time I lost my virginity.”
“Sabrina—”
“My mind’s made up. In fact, I’ve already planned the rest of the weekend away. It’s the perfect opportunity.”
“So, you’re talking about some type of affair, then, because I still don’t see you having a one-night stand.”
“A fling, I think.”
“A fling?”
Excitement poured through Sabrina. “Yes, that’s it. A weekend fling. That should do it.”
Bess shook her head. “You’ll get attached.”
“Not if he’s from out of town.”
Bess’s brows rose in question.
“Cliff’s probably warned every single guy in Atlanta. I’ve got a reservation at a beach resort. I leave for Florida first thing in the morning. I’ll find myself a weekend fling.”
“You’re not serious.”
Sabrina swung her legs over the side of the bed, and waved to where her bags stood packed and waiting. “Oh, but I am.”
NOAH GRIPPED the steering wheel and glared at the red traffic light. The air had grown heavy. Moisture swirled around the streetlights, distorting their glow.
Guilt gnawed at him. The memory of the look on Sabrina’s face as she’d confronted him tightened his gut. When he’d made that deal with Cliff, he hadn’t thought of the consequences. He hadn’t thought of Sabrina. At the time, she’d been a faceless chore, a means to his selfish ends, not a flesh-and-blood woman.
The light changed. He whipped into a parking lot, then circled around toward her apartment. He had to see her, had to apologize—somehow explain how all that had changed once they’d met. Darcy meant nothing to him. Any fleeting attraction he may have felt for her evaporated once he saw her beside Sabrina.
He let his memory roll back over that incredible kiss. She’s a virgin. The old mantra haunted him. Cliff had probably been right to keep him away from Sabrina, but now having seen her, met her…kissed her, there was no possible way Noah could stay away from her.
Closing his eyes, he groaned. The whole time she’d known about Darcy. She’d been baiting him, no doubt, knowing the memory of her hot mouth would torment him. Guess he deserved that.
Thunder rumbled in the distance as he sped down the interstate. The first fat droplets splattered his windshield as he turned the corner to her apartment. Tucked back off the main road, the complex rose like a dark fortress braced by tall pines, oaks and maples.
He