And here, now, with just a few words, he’d made her feel whole again.
She blinked back the tears that had sprung into her eyes and reached up to twine her arms around his neck. ‘You know what I said earlier, about taking things slow?’
He slid his arms around her, the heat radiating off him warming her better than the slow-burning fire. ‘Yeah?’
‘I’ve changed my mind.’
And she set about showing him exactly how.
Keely floated into the office on Monday morning. She’d had the barest minimum of sleep for the entire weekend and didn’t care. She’d never felt so alive, so animated, as if she could take on the world and still have enough energy left over to tackle the solar system.
She had a pile of work to get through this week and, as she dumped her satchel and booted up her computer, all she could think about was Lachlan.
She would have to add one more criteria to her checklist for the perfect man: incredible lover.
If she’d thought his skill at kissing was impressive, it had nothing on his performance in the bedroom. And the lounge room. And the kitchen.
And if she’d thought massage was mainly used as a relaxation technique, she’d had to think again.
Scanning her e-mails quickly, she ignored the inter-office ones and opened Emma’s.
From: [email protected]
Subject: D&M
Hi Sweetie,
Got time for a D&M in the conference room?
Need a few details for Flirt website (and a few from your weekend away?)
C U in 10?
Em
Keely grinned. She knew her friends would be dying to hear the gossip from her weekend away with Lachlan and, despite the urge to keep them guessing, she fired off a quick reply.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Only 10?
Em,
Surprised you can wait 10 minutes.
Ideas for Flirt website coming along nicely.
Will bring my revamped work.
Have doughnuts and Macchiato at the ready.
C U soon.
K
Gathering up the Flirt file, she heard two beeps from her PC. The first e-mail was from Tahlia, reiterating what Emma had said and wanting ‘all the gory details’, the next from Lucy.
From: [email protected]
Subject: PM sucks!
K,
Took your advice, asked Aidan out for coffee.
Put the PM quiz to the test and he bombed, big time.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing doesn’t come close to describing him. How about ravenous wolf who devours his prey?
Dating is the pits.
How many men does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Three: one creep to screw in the bulb and two to listen to him brag about the screwing part. That sums up Aidan—Yeuk!
Luce (reformed dater)
Aidan a sleaze? Keely shook her head, hoping her lousy judgement in men didn’t extend to all facets of life. She could’ve sworn Aidan seemed like a nice guy, though appearances weren’t everything.
Feeling more than a tad responsible for urging Lucy to ask Aidan out, she typed a quick reply.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Forgetaboutit!
Luce,
Sorry Aidan the Ass turned out to be just that.
The solution? Get back out there. Your PM could be just around the corner.
Drinks, this Friday after work. Be there.
Let the search recommence …
K
Hoping that Lucy wasn’t too devastated about the Aidan fiasco, Keely headed out of her office, ready to face the music with her friends.
Several hours later, Keely sat in front of her PC and brought up the newest account that had just landed in her lap. Bountiful Babes promised to be a one-stop website for parents who needed the low-down on the joys of having children. Initially, she’d been reluctant to take it on—the fact that she loved kids and couldn’t have any rubbed in her face wasn’t good—but with the Rottie breathing down her neck she’d had no choice.
Besides, she’d sensed something else behind the Rottie’s urgency, almost as if they needed these new accounts to survive. Which was silly really, considering WWW Designs was one of the largest firms of its kind in the country.
However, she’d never juggled three prestigious accounts at once before, and this, plus the Brant assignment, added to her suspicions that something wasn’t quite right. The Rottie had been snapping at everyone’s heels for the last few weeks, raving on about deadlines and efficiency, and though she’d held her tongue because of the promotion she coveted, Keely had almost told her to shove it several times.
She’d managed to placate the Rottie with a pat on the head—figuratively speaking—and news that her assignment with Lachlan was proceeding extremely well. She’d just left out the part where her shadowing him had turned from business to pleasure.
As the preliminary work she’d done for the site flashed across the screen, she swallowed the lump of emotion that inevitably rose when she saw anything to do with babies. The motif she’d designed as a border for the web page—a chubby, chuckling baby in various poses—brought a smile to her face. From his ten perfect fingers and toes to his rosy cheeks and dimpled skin, he was adorable, and a stark reminder of what she could never have.
Sighing, she made an angry swipe at a tear escaping from the corner of her eye and turned away as someone knocked on her door.
She sat up straighter and fixed a smile on her face. Just her luck for the Rottie to come bounding in here and catch her sniffling. ‘Come in.’
‘How’s my favourite graphic designer?’ Lachlan strolled into the room and handed her a bag. ‘I come bearing gifts. Thought you could use something to boost your energy levels.’
She opened the bag and inhaled deeply, the seductive aroma of fresh cinnamon doughnuts making her salivate, before casting him a coy look from beneath her lashes. ‘I’m fine and there’s nothing wrong with my energy levels. In fact, I haven’t been this energised in ages.’
He laughed and chose one of the doughnuts from the bag she proffered. ‘Glad to hear it.’ He rolled his neck around as if trying to work out a kink. ‘I’m in dire need of another massage.’
Heat crept into her cheeks at his emphasis on the word ‘massage’. She’d done all that and more to him on the weekend away, displaying a brazen side she hadn’t known existed.
As Tahlia had laughingly pointed out after she’d given the girls a very brief version of events, she was working in the right place: WWW Designs could stand for Wickedly Wanton Woman or Wonderful Wowsing Witch. Both labels seemed appropriate at this stage!
She interlocked fingers and stretched forward, as if limbering up. ‘For you, any time.’
As