“Yes.” She couldn’t keep the icy tone out of her voice. “You and Tim usually forgot me in five minutes, tops! Once let loose, you’d scope for the hottest girls in the room, create the game plan and go in for the kill. You had it down to a science, and I was forced to call a taxi for a way home more times than I care to remember.”
C.J. smiled. “Same old Tasha. You always could tear a person apart in one sentence.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is.” His smile stayed beautiful. “One of our favorite games was to watch how fast you could cut a guy down at a bar. Would it be in one sentence, or in four?”
“What are you talking about? I never got hit on.”
“Actually, you did. You just sent them away like poor little puppy dogs.”
“Puppy dogs?” She smiled, unable to remember being approached by men.
“Look, Tasha, I’m sorry for whatever you thought I might have done in the past, but I can promise you it won’t be happening tonight.” C.J. looked at her with a possessiveness she’d never felt from a man.
An apology from Powell? I must be losing it.
“Let’s drop the subject.” She lifted one eyebrow before continuing to her car. “I still prefer to drive.”
TASHA PARKED THE CAR at the entrance of the famous landmark hotel, and a valet was prompt to open her door. “Welcome to the Rosemont.”
C.J. watched Tasha hand her keys to the man while she tried to get out of the car with as much decorum as possible.
The ride over had been pure hell for him. Looking at her in that delectable dress, her silky hair swept up on her head, was a new experience for him.
He’d always thought Natasha was cute, but the woman next to him was incredibly alluring. C.J.’s mind wandered back to carefree times before Tim’s death. When he stole looks at Tasha now, he wondered how his friend hadn’t been able to see the amazing woman who’d loved him.
She was a vision tonight, with those wispy curls floating around her neck. She brought out something in him he’d forgotten existed. Life. He’d been so caught up in Tim’s dying at such a young age, he’d stopped living, too. Yet for some reason seeing Natasha Bennington this morning had brought him back.
He’d felt a similar moment of truth just over a year ago when he’d faced his twin brother, Jake. For too many years to count, they’d been estranged over a misunderstanding about a girl who never really mattered. To finally reunite with his brother had healed something in his soul that he’d thought couldn’t be mended.
Over the years, C.J. had dated scores of women, going through one woman after another. But when he’d stood as best man at his brother’s wedding, just a little over a year ago, he had realized that he, too, wanted to find love and have a family of his own.
The discovery had shocked the daylights out of him. Until he’d been able to figure it out for himself, he’d never mentioned it to anyone. Then tragically, a week later, Tim had been diagnosed with cancer, and C.J.’s whole world had fallen apart.
Just as he had thought he could put the pieces of his life back together, he’d discovered he was wrong. Life was just an endless journey of despair. All he could do was hide his pain and throw himself into work….
“Sir? Do you need help?” the valet was asking.
Embarrassed, C.J. collected his thoughts and climbed out quickly. “No.” He could see that Tasha was still struggling to emerge, and he was the man for the job. He walked around the Lexus, sending the smitten valet running with one look.
“Can you get out?” he teased. “Or do you want me to call the station for backup?”
Tasha was ready to explode. “You know I need help,” she said impatiently.
He bent a little lower. “Did I hear a please with that?”
The look she shot him was pure frustration. Tasha hadn’t changed. Once you got her riled, she was fun to watch.
“Tasha? Stop!” he ordered, when she grasped one leg, intending to lift it out of the car.
She looked up at him, and he could see he’d pushed her too far. Her green eyes were livid and her full mouth tense. If he kept gazing at her, he was likely to jump in the driver’s seat, take her back home and kiss her senseless.
“Stop what?” she retorted.
He smoothed his thumb over his lower lip, trying to focus on the evening and not on the beautiful woman he wanted to keep for himself.
In a swift motion he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Her body felt so right against his, as if they were made for each other. Her perfume wafted around him, driving him crazier with every second.
He looked down to check her reaction. The flush on her cheeks gave her away. “You look incredible tonight,” he said.
Their eyes met once more and the vulnerability he read in hers only made her more desirable. “Thank you.” She averted her gaze. “You don’t look too shabby yourself.”
He kept walking. “Are you ready to speak about Tim and the charity tonight?” he asked. His emotions were mixed. He knew how much she’d loved Tim. Was she still in love with his memory? Would she ever let him go?
“Who told you? It was supposed to be a secret.”
“Gina McGinnis confides in me,” he replied. Their eyes locked yet again and a feeling of desire filled him, to the point that he lifted his head, needing to figure out if he was imagining what he felt.
“C.J.? Please put me down. I’m not a child and I feel utterly silly being carried this way.”
Ignoring her protests, he carried her at a brisk pace, heading for the elegant entryway of one of San Francisco’s most famous hotels. She put her arms around his neck while he maneuvered them through the doors.
“We’re here now, C.J. I can walk.”
He set her on her feet and struggled to compose himself. “I believe the lady is safely in the hotel.”
On that note C.J. let her go. He needed some time to think. Though he hated to pull away from her, a part of him needed to go into hiding where nothing and no one could hurt him.
He was keenly aware of the living, breathing beauty who’d brought him to life.
But how did Tasha view him? As a man … or a connection to the past? One tied to Tim.
There was no point in kidding himself. C.J. had started to have feelings for her, but she was in love with the memory of his wealthy best friend.
Except that it wasn’t love. Tim had been her childhood crush. An obsession.
Tonight C.J. felt a connection between Tasha and himself. They had chemistry. That was a great starting point. There was no reason she couldn’t move on now with another man—and why couldn’t that man be him?
TASHA NEEDED TO GET a handle on herself or tonight could turn into a disaster. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to cope with all the emotions attacking her.
For the moment she would blot out the world and focus on the problem at hand. Put all the issues in her mind into a courtroom box to be dealt with later.
The technique was one she used to calm herself down before a big case. Her problem was how to shrink a six-foot-three fireman to fit into that box.
Come on, Tasha. There was just too much to do tonight without the distraction of pine and spice wafting past her nostrils. Every time Captain Powell got close, her knees went weak.
When an Adonis in a tux became her hero for the day, it was hard to