Читать книгу Campaign For His Heart - Joy Avery - Страница 13

Chapter 3

For the life of her, Willow couldn’t figure out why she’d agreed to spend her Saturday night mingling with total strangers. Why hadn’t she gone with her first instinct and simply written a check to show her support for A Hope for Home Foundation like she typically did?

Hannah, Willow grumbled to herself. Her friend had given her this long, drawn-out speech about how getting out once in a while was good for the soul. Hannah was always giving her speeches, so why had she chosen tonight of all nights to listen?

The gnawing in her gut that urged her to come, she reminded herself. Next time, she’d just take an antacid and go to bed.

Maybe she could slip out as quietly as she’d slipped in, climb back into her vehicle and hightail it back across town. Sipping an ice-cold glass of grape punch in her T-shirt and panties sounded really good right about now.

Just as she made her mind up to leave, she spotted Gloria Barrett—organizer of this fine affair—headed her way. Shoot. She’d never get away now.

In her early sixties, Gloria could easily pass for a woman twenty years younger. With her caramel skin, curves most twenty-year-olds would die for and dazzling gray eyes, she had men flocking to her. But ask anyone and they’d tell you her heart belonged to one man and one man only, her husband of over three decades, Patrick Barrett.

“Willow. You made it.” Gloria snatched her into a tight hug, then held her at arm’s length. “You look amazing. Hon, you’re going to get some of these married men in trouble with this figure-hugging number here. And that deep teal color... Gorgeous.”

Willow ironed a hand down the front of the satiny full-length gown. “Thank you. Just something I threw together.” Which was a lie because she’d spent a month searching every evening-gown site on the internet until she’d finally found something that caught her eye. The sleeveless dress had cost her a pretty penny, but when she’d scrutinized herself in the mirror, she was convinced it had been totally worth the expense.

“Come with me. I have someone I want to introduce you to. Plus, I’m sure he’d appreciate us saving him from those lust-filled vultures circling him.”

Willow didn’t get the chance to protest before Gloria had her halfway across the floor of the large ballroom. With all of the positive energy in the stylishly decorated space, Willow considered being here not such a bad thing after all. And it was for a good cause. Two hours of her Saturday night wouldn’t kill her.

Besides, it wasn’t like she would have been painting the town red anyway. Inwardly, she sighed, agreeing with Hannah’s frequent piece of advice. I have got to get a life. One good thing about being here, it kept her mind off—

Willow gasped. Lauder? What is he doing here?

Something ridiculous crossed her mind. Had he known she’d be there? No. How would he?

Willow’s eyes raked over him. If Hannah thought he looked scrumptious when he’d visited their office, the woman’s mouth would be watering now. Dressed in all black, with the top button of his shirt unfastened, he was so alluring that it was sickening.

She gnawed at the corner of her lip. It made no sense for one man to be so damn gorgeous. Even his body language—sure, confident, relaxed—made him attractive. While there were plenty of handsome men in attendance, Lauder was in a category all his very own. Obviously, she wasn’t the only woman affected by his magnetism. He practically had a harem of women surrounding him.

“Just look at him. Getting every panty in the room soaking wet,” Gloria said in a hushed tone.

Gloria was a mix of a prim and proper socialite and an unfiltered comedian. Judging by the dreamy-eyed women clinging to Lauder’s every word, Gloria was right about the panty thing. Willow didn’t want to be a casualty of whatever drug he was dispensing. But before she could devise an escape plan, Lauder slid his dangerously dark and daunting gaze in her direction.

The intensity of their connection caused her lips to part slightly, a stream of heated air escaping. She refused to label it a searing line of suppressed desire. Swallowing hard, she fought the need to turn away. And let Lauder think he had an effect on me? No way.

The faint furrow of his brow suggested he was just as surprised to see her as she’d been to see him. The straight line of his tempting lips slowly curled into a tantalizing smile. His intense scrutiny felt like delicate kisses feathering her skin. Just the thought of his mouth on her caused the space between her legs to tingle.

Why? She hadn’t known his touch in close to twenty years.

“Excuse me, ladies. Might I steal this handsome creature for a moment?” Gloria threaded her arm through Lauder’s and led him away. “Lauder, sweetie, between you and this pretty lady right here, y’all are going to cause a riot in here.”

Willow could feel Lauder’s eyes on her, but this time she refused to look in his direction.

“Lauder Tolson—future Senator Tolson—I’d like you to meet—”

“Willow Dawson,” Lauder said.

Gloria glanced from Lauder to Willow. “You two know each other?”

“Um...yes. We, um, we knew each other once. When we were younger.” Willow felt as if she were a specimen in a petri dish being scrutinized for the slightest change in composition.

Gloria smiled. “I see. Well, Lauder is one of the most generous contributors to A Hope for Home. And he donated one of his warehouses for us to use as a staging location.”

“Wow. A modern-day Robin Hood,” Willow said. Instantly, she regretted sounding so patronizing.

Gloria started to speak, but someone summoned her. “Excuse me. Got to go earn these zeros,” she said. “I’ll leave you two to catch up with one another.”

A beat of awkward silence lingered between Willow and Lauder. At least, awkward for her because his eyes fixed on her as if trying to read her mind. Oh, he really didn’t want to read her thoughts right now.

Deciding she’d be the bigger person, she said, “The Robin Hood comment... I didn’t mean to sound so—”

“Condescending?”

“Yes.” Another string of silence played between them, Lauder’s gaze never leaving her. “A Hope for Home is a great organization. How long have you been involved?” she asked.

“Since its inception, so a little over two years. Gloria can be very convincing, but when she told me the foundation intended to furnish the first permanent home for foster youth who’d aged out of the system, she had me. I’m too familiar with the struggle of trying to survive after foster care.”

The sadness that flashed in Lauder’s eyes stirred Willow’s curiosity. Had he gone through something? If he had, he’d clearly gotten through it okay.

“I usually never attend these things,” Lauder said.

They had that in common. Not that she was keeping a tally. “So how did you end up here tonight?”

“Something drew me here.”

A similar thing had happened to her, but she would never in a hundred years share that with him. The smile melted from Willow’s face, her stomach fluttering from the way Lauder eyed her. Was he insinuating she had led him here? How ridiculous. Lines like that probably worked on his other women, but it wouldn’t work on her. “Uh-huh. Well, if you’ll excuse me.”

Lauder flashed a half smile and gave a single nod. “It was nice seeing you again.”

Willow walked away without mirroring his sentiment, because it wasn’t nice seeing him again. In fact, she’d prefer to never see him again. Unfortunately, he seemed to keep popping up.

Not wanting Lauder to believe he’d run her off, she forced herself to stay at the event a little while longer. Despite her attempts to maintain a safe distance from the man who made her body hum, everywhere she turned Lauder was there. Looking like a ripe apple straight out of temptation’s orchard.

Was she crazy or did he seem determined to be near her? The fact that she found the idea faintly endearing angered her. What was he doing to her? And why in hell was she allowing it?

Lauder joined her at one of the fabric-draped highboy tables. “If we keep bumping into each other like this, I’m going to call it fate.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, some people would call it stalking.” She flashed a low-wattage smile.

He laughed a sweet, sexy sound that made her stomach quiver. Why? Why couldn’t she simply ignore him? Ignore his delicious scent, those hypnotizing eyes, that gobble-you-all-the-way-up mouth, the way he filled out that suit. What kind of sorcery was this man? Shaking some sense into herself, she dispelled the idea he’d cast some sort of seduction curse on her.

“Do you want to get out of here? Grab a coffee or dessert or something?”

Willow glanced to the overabundance of desserts on the long table several feet away, then to the coffee bar next to it. Eyeing Lauder again, she said, “I should really get home. I have—” she searched the depths of her brain “—church in the morning. Early in the morning. Like seven o’clock.” Lying on the Lord. Yep, she’d just secured herself a nice, hot front-row seat in hell. “Good night, Lauder.”

When she turned to leave, Lauder captured her arm. She gasped at the onset of tiny lightning bolts striking through her system. The raw intensity of his touch overtook her. And had she not placed a hand on the table, she was sure she would have toppled over.

Lauder’s tone was gentle when he spoke. “Willow, wait.”

He was in luck. She couldn’t budge, despite desperately wanting to sprint away from him, from this—the insanely powerful connection that had her rooted to the floor. Maybe he was the energy she’d felt earlier. Not the entire room. Just one man.

Drawing in a deep breath, she spoke over her shoulder. “What do you want, Lauder?”

“You.”

That was the last answer in the world she’d expected and not one she wanted to hear.

* * *

It was a long while before Willow turned to face him, but when she did, Lauder could tell he’d stunned her. Hell, he’d stunned himself. Yes, he’d been thinking the word you, just hadn’t meant to say it aloud. Or had he?

Truth be told, he did want her. Wanted her in the best and worst ways imaginable. Wanted to yank her into his arms and kiss her like a madman. Wanted to strip her out of that curve-hugging dress that made the sexually deprived beast inside him ravenous with desire. Wanted to explore every inch of her with his tongue. Wanted to taste and savor her essence. And after all of that, he wanted to make slow, passionate love to her. All. Night. Long.

But right now, he had to push that want aside and focus on need. He needed her, because like he’d told Chuckie, no other woman would do. Seeing her tonight, experiencing this unexplainable tug toward her, made his desire to get close to her even more urgent.

Confusion replaced the shock on Willow’s beautiful face. A thousand scenarios had to be rushing through her head. At least she hadn’t taken off across the room. She seemed pretty good at running. Mainly from him.

“Can we talk?” he said, holding out his hand for her to take.

Willow eyed his hand like it was a snake that would strike if she made the slightest of moves. Apparently, she determined the serpent wasn’t poisonous because she slid her trembling palm against his. Why was she so nervous?

His palm sizzled from her touch. He clasped his fingers around her delicate flesh and led her from the crowded and noisy ballroom. Passing the bay of public elevators, they ventured to the private one that would take them to his residence located on the upper level of the De Lore Hotel.

Willow didn’t budge when the door opened. Reclaiming her hand, she stared at him as if she were totally confused by what was happening.

“Where are we going?” Her tone was quiet and guarded.

“To my place.”

“You live in a hotel?”

That seemed to concern her more than the fact that he was leading her there. He nodded. “The upper levels are residential.”

“Oh.”

When the elevator doors started to close, Lauder stepped between them. “We can talk here if you’d prefer.” He didn’t want to scare her off.

After a second or two, Willow shook her head and brushed past him. Lauder pressed the button, and the doors closed. The ride to the twentieth floor was a quiet one. He used the time to admire how damn gorgeous Willow looked. Her hair was in a tight bun positioned on the top of her head, exposing that neck he craved to lick, nip and kiss.

Her sweet scent filled the close space. The fragrance only made him want her more.

Inside his place Willow surveyed her surroundings before moving to the floor-to-ceiling window and staring out. “This is a fantastic view.”

Lauder shrugged off his suit coat and joined her. “Thanks.” He studied her profile, unapologetically admiring the woman she’d become. Being here with Willow felt right to him. Too right. She’d taken him completely off guard. No woman had ever roused him like this one. At seventeen and now.

A beat of silence passed.

“Why am I here, Lauder?” she asked, never sliding her eyes away from the glow of downtown Raleigh.

Lauder inched his hands into his pockets. “I need your help.”

Willow’s head slowly turned toward him, uncertainty dancing on her pretty face. “My help?”

“Let’s sit,” he said, resting his hand on the small of her back and leading her to the sofa.

For the next several minutes, Lauder explained everything to Willow. He couldn’t read the stony expression on her face. Was she considering his proposal or thinking he was crazy as hell?

Then out of the blue, she laughed. This wasn’t a ha-ha-you’re-funny kind of laugh. It was a struggle-to-catch-your-breath, aching-sides, belly roll.

“You’re not serious,” she said between fits.

Lauder leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. “As a heart attack.”

Willow’s amusement dried up, and she eyed him with a gaped mouth. “There are a thousand women who I’m sure would jump at the opportunity to play your love interest.” Her brow furrowed. “Why me?”

He shrugged. “We have history.” Maybe not the best, but history nonetheless. And chemistry. But he kept that part to himself. She didn’t need him to point out something he was sure she felt, too. Such a potent attraction was hard to ignore or deny.

“Huh.” Her gaze slid away. “I’m not...” Her words trailed off. “No. I can’t—”

“I know this is a lot to process. Don’t answer now. Take some time to think about it. This could benefit the both of us.”

She whipped her head toward him. “How in the world could this possibly benefit me?”

He debated whether or not to mention what Chuck had told him about her adoption attempts, but deciding it would help strengthen his case, he said, “I know you’re trying to adopt.”

Willow pushed her brows together. “Should I even bother asking how you know this?”

“It doesn’t matter, Willow. All that matters is I may be able to help.” Lauder could see her mulling his words over in her head. To sweeten the deal, he added, “There are perks to dating a politician,” and hoped she’d agree.

“You’re okay with deceiving your constituents?” She gave a single, humorless laugh. “Of course you are. You wouldn’t have approached me with this if you weren’t.”

Chuck’s passionate argument had persuaded Lauder to go along with this needing-a-girlfrend-to-improve-his-image charade, but the judgment present in Willow’s voice made him question whether or not he’d done the right thing. Standing, he moved back to the window. “Do a little harm to perform a lot of good,” he mumbled more to himself.

“What?”

Lauder turned to Willow. “Nothing.” Sliding his hands into his pockets, he said, “I have big plans for this state, Willow. Including the foster care system. Especially the foster care system. A system that failed you. A system that failed me. A system that’s still failing kids every single day. You have seen this firsthand.” Offering his hand, he said, “I’ll escort you back downstairs.”

She ignored his outstretched arm. “I can find my own way.”

It was evident she was attempting to escape him, so he didn’t protest. A second later, she was gone. And he doubted he would ever hear from her again.