Читать книгу Non-Refundable Groom - Patty Salier - Страница 8

One

At Grant Property Management in Santa Monica, Elena Martin took a deep breath of courage as she stood up from her desk behind her office partition.

I’m going to get that promotion, she silently repeated like a mantra. I’ve got to get that job!

As she blindly grabbed the folders of the accounts she handled as a property manager, she anxiously thought of ways to convince her boss, Stanley Grant, that she was the perfect person to fill the now-empty seat of vice president.

Glancing down, Elena noticed that a button of her white silk blouse was open, revealing a peek of lacy white bra. She quickly tried to button her blouse and realized that the button hole had stretched too large to hold the button closed.

Everything’s going wrong! she silently screamed.

Ever since she woke up that morning, her emotions had been in an uproar about getting the promotion. She’d left her wallet at home. She didn’t even have her credit card to put gas in the near-empty tank of her car when she drove to work.

Realizing she was a couple of minutes late for her appointment with Stanley, Elena held the files in front of her chest, trying to hide the blouse button in case of another reopening. Then she headed toward his office, walking past the three junior property managers.

“Elena, wait,” called out Grace, a woman in her early sixties who was the receptionist. “Stanley stepped out of his office for a few minutes.”

Elena was too revved up with nervous energy to return to her desk. “He won’t mind if I wait for him inside.”

“But there’s someone else—” Grace’s voice trailed off.

The moment Elena entered Stanley’s office, she came to a sudden halt.

“Stan, I—” a deep male voice began and then stopped.

He was standing by the window with a brown calf leather briefcase in hand. She instantly took in his curly black hair and six-foot, solid frame dressed in a gray suit, pressed white shirt and pale blue print tie.

“You’re definitely not Stanley,” the man said, his twinkling gaze appreciatively taking her all in.

His visual caress sent a tingle straight down to her toes. “I’m Elena Martin,” she stammered, caught off guard by her sensual reaction to him. “I’m a property manager here at the Santa Monica branch.”

His warm charcoal eyes held hers. “I’ve heard Stanley mention your name, but I can’t believe I’ve never met you before,” he said. “I’m Garrett Sims, a property manager at the Sherman Oaks branch.” He stepped closer and extended his hand to her. She noticed that he wasn’t wearing a wedding band.

His large hand covered hers, and she felt a jolt of electricity that completely overwhelmed her. She hadn’t allowed herself to feel close to a man since what happened with her ex-boyfriend, Ted.

She quickly released her hand from his, trying to focus on her promotion goal. “I have a meeting with Stanley.”

“So do I.”

“Right now?”

“Well, yeah.”

“That can’t be,” she said. “You must have your appointment time mixed up.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’m sure Stanley will explain your time confusion,” she said.

“My time confusion?” he repeated with a warm twinkle in his eyes.

“That’s right,” she said, trying to ignore her strong attraction to him. She unconsciously set down her files on the coffee table. “You’ll need to reschedule.”

When Garrett didn’t immediately respond, she noticed his gaze drift to her blouse. She looked down and saw that her button had reopened, and her bra was showing slightly.

She quickly grabbed the folders to her chest, feeling heat rise to her cheeks, not only from embarrassment, but from the spark of playfulness in his eyes that instantly turned her on.

Just then, Stanley walked in, rushed and preoccupied as usual. In his early sixties, he was stocky, graying and his face was always in a frown.

“I’ve got a lunch meeting right after this,” Stanley said, sitting behind his desk, motioning them onto the sofa.

Superaware of Garrett beside her, Elena tried to ignore her ignited reaction to him.

“Stanley, could I talk to you alone?” she asked.

“Elena, I purposely scheduled you and Garrett together,” her boss went on. “You want to be promoted to vice president, and so does Garrett. The problem is that I’ve only got one opening.”

Elena’s stomach tensed as she glanced at Garrett. She had to get that job. She desperately needed the salary raise to financially help out her younger sister, Jan, and Jan’s two school-aged sons. Ever since Jan’s husband had died of a sudden heart attack six months ago, her sister’s job as a caregiver of elderly women had barely covered the bills. Jan’s husband’s small insurance policy had only covered the funeral costs and some unpaid bills.

She moved to the edge of the sofa. “Stanley, I’m very qualified for the position.” Straggling to keep one folder against her blouse, she pulled out another folder. “On every expense report for the properties I manage, the budget is balanced. I’ve never exceeded the property owners’ cap on expenses.”

“Fine work, Elena,” Stanley said, glancing at her expense reports, nodding, pleased. “You’re doing an excellent job.” He turned to Garrett. “Can I see your budget figures?”

Garrett glanced at her, and she thought she saw him hesitate before opening his briefcase. “Sure, Stan,” he said, handing him a set of papers.

“Superb, Garrett,” Stanley said, flipping through the sheets. “On every building you manage, the expenses are the lowest I’ve ever seen. You’ve saved our clients substantial sums of money. In fact, just today I received a call from one of our building owners praising your work.”

Elena nervously bit the inside of her mouth. She could see Stanley leaning toward Garrett, and she didn’t know what to do.

Stanley’s telephone rang. “Excuse me.” He took the call, swiveling the chair so his back was to them.

Garrett leaned closer to her. “Elena, if you want to talk separately to Stanley,” he whispered, “I’ll tell him I want that, too.”

She could feel his warm breath against her hair. She could smell his musky aftershave. His sensitivity to her feelings surprised her, but she couldn’t allow herself to focus on him if she wanted that job.

“Garrett, is the pressure of competing with me too much for you?” she daringly asked, needing to feel more in control.

His eyes held hers, almost in an embrace. “As a matter of fact, Elena, I’m thoroughly enjoying it.”

So was she, but she didn’t dare tell him!

“Garrett,” she began, “I really need this job, and I’m going to get it!”

A grin spread across his handsome face. “Are you challenging me?”

“Well, yes,” she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. “Yes, I am!”

His gaze remained steady on her. “I completely accept your challenge.”

Her body grew heated at his words as she fantasized that he meant more than just the promotion.

Stanley hung up the phone. “You’ve both put me in a dilemma,” he said, turning back to them. He pulled out a folder from a file cabinet. “I’ve got your résumés in front of me, and they’re top-notch.” He flipped through the paper. “Elena, your credits are very impressive. Three prior years of experience with Drexler Property Management, two years at my company. Now you’re successfully managing ten properties for me.”

She confidently glanced at Garrett with a silent, I told you! But when he smiled and nodded with genuine appreciation, she felt totally thrown off by him again.

“And you, Garrett,” Stanley went on, sifting through the two-page résumé. “You’ve worked as a property manager for ten years, including three at my company. You’re currently managing sixteen properties. And you’ve won the company award for Top Manager of the Year at the Sherman Oaks branch three times in a row.”

Elena suddenly felt ill. Garrett had tons of advantages over her. Experience, more accounts, company awards. And he was a man.

She knew that Stanley had only once hired a woman as vice president, and it was a disaster. She had learned from Grace that the woman fell in love with one of Stanley’s property managers, abandoned the vice presidency to form a small company with her new husband and took most of Stanley’s clients with her.

She was sure that Stanley wasn’t eager to hire another female again. And Grace had told her that Stanley would never again promote or keep anyone who got romantically involved with a co-worker at his branch offices.

To get that promotion, she had to come up with a way to top Garrett’s credits, and fast.

With a jolt of energy, she stood up and blurted, “Stanley, I can prove I’m the perfect person for the job.”

Her boss’s eyebrows lifted with interest. “What do you propose?”

She could feel Garrett’s eyes on her. She pressed the folder to her chest, trying to keep her mind focused on the job and not him.

“Give me one month, Stanley,” she began. “Besides doing my regular job, I’ll rev up new accounts to increase your business.”

Stanley pulled his chair closer to his desk. “Are you saying that you’ll go out and get me new clients?”

“Absolutely!” she blurted.

She panicked. She’d never gotten a new management account at her job. Elena had always been assigned properties to manage by Stanley. He was the one who got new accounts.

“Fascinating idea, Elena,” Stanley said, pondering her concept.

“It sure is,” Garrett added, looking at her, impressed. “How about if you and I compete for new accounts?”

“What do you mean?” she pushed out.

“The one who gets the most new clients for the company wins the vice presidency.”

“Sounds fair to me,” Stanley commented.

“I’m in,” she responded, wanting Garrett to know she was ready to take him on full-force.

“Terrific,” Stanley said. “Now my choice will be an obvious one.”

Just as Stanley’s phone rang again, Grace stuck her head in the office. “Elena, a tenant at the Fourth Street apartment building is having a problem and needs to speak to you.”

“Thanks, Grace, I’ll take it at my desk,” she said, wishing she didn’t have to leave at that moment. “I’ll be right back.”

As Stanley took his call, Garrett couldn’t take his eyes off Elena leaving the office.

Her willful competitive nature turned him on. He was impressed that she wasn’t intimidated by his longer experience at the company. He respected her headstrong desire to get the promotion over him at all costs.

The entire time she’d been in the office, Garrett could barely listen to Stanley talk about the promotion. He was totally mesmerized by her enticing blue eyes.

He yearned to run his fingers through her soft, shoulder-length, streaked blond hair. When he had caught a glimpse of the lace of her bra through her accidentally-opened button, he felt a moment of desire for her.

“Garrett, I like Elena’s competitive-account idea,” Stanley said, hanging up the phone.

“She’s incredible,” he said, and then quickly added, “I mean, she’s a clever thinker.”

“Garrett, I want to be very clear about one thing,” his employer went on. “What I said to you a few weeks ago still holds true.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Garrett said.

Stanley’s proposal was etched permanently into his brain. He’d told Garrett that he planned to retire m the near future, but since he was a widower with no children to pass down the business to, he needed a good man to run his company.

Garrett’s goal was to become that man. But first, he needed to earn the vice presidency and prove his abilities to govern the company.

“To be fair to Elena, I’m giving her idea an equitable chance,” Stanley continued. “But I’ll be honest. My eye is on you. I’m sure with your numerous contacts, you’ll acquire plenty of new accounts to make my final decision an easy one.”

“I won’t disappoint you, Stan,” he said firmly.

Yet, to his surprise, Garrett felt hesitant about powerhousing for new accounts. And he knew why. He wished that Elena Martin wasn’t his competition.

Stanley’s phone rang again. Garrett saw Elena walking toward him. His body heat rose at the sight of her. He noticed that she’d safety-pinned her blouse, and the fabric strained across her full breasts. He’d never felt such a powerful reaction to a woman before—not even his ex-wife.

“Did I miss anything?” Elena asked him, her eyes taking in Stanley on the phone with his back to them.

“Stan’s very impressed with your new account proposal,” he said, feeling uneasy about his boss confiding that he favored him over her.

“I’m going to be vice president, Garrett,” she boldly stated.

The fire in her eyes and the sensual way she was standing with her hand on her hip made him want to draw her into his arms and make wild love to her right then and there.

“Elena, have lunch with me,” he said instead in a low voice so Stanley wouldn’t hear.

“Lunch?” she asked, glancing worriedly at Stanley.

“I want to get a better sense of who my competition is.”

He didn’t know what was happening to him. He knew that Stanley was uncomfortable with employees romancing in the office. Yet when he was near her, he momentarily forgot his desire to become vice president. Being in her presence made him want to ignore every rule in the book.

“I can’t have lunch with you,” she told him.

Stanley hung up. “I’m off,” he said, heading toward the door. “Good luck to the both of you.”

The moment Stanley left, Elena nervously clasped her hands behind her back, superconscious of being alone with Garrett. Everything inside of her wanted to tell him yes for lunch. But how could she? She had just met him and already she was aching to spend more time with him.

Hadn’t she learned from her last boyfriend, Ted, how rushing into a relationship spelled disaster for her? Besides, she knew that Stanley would never promote her if she got involved with one of his property managers.

Grace peeked into the office. “Elena, before you leave for lunch, your sister’s on the phone.”

“My sister?” Just being near him made her brain turn into mush. “Oh, sure, thanks.”

“I could wait to go down in the elevator with you,” Garrett suggested.

“You go ahead,” she said. “I might be a while.” She went to her cubicle.

Yet as she picked up the phone, she wanted to hurry so she could get to the elevator, hoping Garrett would still be there. She couldn’t stop thinking about him!

Her sister sounded worried over the phone. “Mrs. Fowler’s ill,” Jan began, explaining that the elderly lady she cared for had to be taken to the doctor. “Tod and Bennie have a half day off from school,” her sister went on. “Can you pick them up? I’ll try to get home in a little while.”

“Sure, don’t worry,” she told her. “I’ll get the kids and meet you at your house.”

She quickly hung up the phone, checking her bag to make sure that she hadn’t forgotten Jan’s house key like she’d forgotten her wallet at home. Relieved, she found the key and rushed out of the office into the hallway.

Her heart pounded when she spotted Garrett waiting for her. When he saw her, his eyes warmed, and a slow heat filtered through her body. The lunch crowd was pushing into the elevator.

He held open the door for her, even though the elevator was packed. Feeling trembly, she fit into the small space he made for her. She was facing him, and her body lightly pressed against his.

As the elevator vibrated going down, his hand gently brushed her waist to steady her. She felt the electricity of his touch through the fabric of her clothing.

She could feel her breathing quicken when his broad, hard chest lightly pressed against her breasts with the movement of the elevator.

The moment the parking garage level appeared, Elena quickly exited the elevator, slightly out of breath from her physical reaction to Garrett.

“See you,” she said, hurrying to her car.

“There’s still time to change your mind about lunch,” he said.

She noticed him heading toward a blue Mustang parked next to her car. Her hand trembled as she put the key into the ignition, thinking about how much she wanted to have lunch with him.

She turned the key and the engine rolled over but wouldn’t start. She tried again, but her car was dead. She stared at the empty gas gauge.

“Oh, no!” she said, panicking.

In the next moment Garrett was at her driver’s window. “Car trouble?” he asked.

“I’m out of gas,” she told him. “I promised my sister I’d pick up my two nephews from school.”

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll give you a lift.”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

He helped her out and then opened the passenger door of his car for her. “I’ll consider it our lunch date,” he said with teasing eyes.

As she slid into the front seat, she saw him take off his jacket and hurl it into the back. Her gaze lingered on the way his white shirt contoured his massive chest and muscular arms.

“Where to?” he asked, climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Take a right on Florence Street,” she replied, knowing she had to stop fantasizing about him.

“I’ll get my mechanic to bring a couple of gallons of gas to the parking structure and fill your tank,” he offered.

“You don’t have to,” she said, surprised.

“I want to.”

She didn’t know what to say. She was so used to handling her own problems and helping out her sister and nephews that she forgot what it was like to be taken care of.

“Do you live near your sister?” Garrett asked as he drove.

“My apartment’s about ten to fifteen minutes away at One Hundred Rochester Drive.” She abruptly stopped, realizing he hadn’t asked for her address.

He glanced at her and smiled, as though he knew she’d given her address so he could ask her out.

“Are you at your sister’s place a lot?” he pursued. “Or are you at home in the evenings and on weekends?”

“Most Saturdays and Sundays, I’m over at my sister’s. I’ve been helping out ever since her husband passed away,” she replied. “During the week, I usually work late hours.”

“Every night?” His sexy eyes held hers. “Don’t you set aside time for pleasure?”

“My life’s too busy,” she quickly replied, glancing away.

How could she tell him that she hadn’t dated since her ex-boyfriend because she didn’t know if she could ever trust a man’s word again?

She spotted Van Dyke Elementary School up ahead. “There’s my nephews’ school.”

Garrett parked his Mustang at the curb and watched Elena hurry out of the car toward the throng of laughing and chattering children.

He knew he’d upset her. Why had he asked such personal questions? He hadn’t meant to. Yet, he couldn’t help wanting to know everything about her.

“Bennie! Tod!” he heard her call out to two little boys, one taller than the other.

“Aunt Elena, where’s Mom?” asked the little boy with the dirt-smudged face, who was running toward her with a backpack and a boxed juice in his hand.

As Garrett watched her give her nephew a warm hug, a feeling of sadness washed over him. A wife and children of his own were a dream he’d had a time ago. But not now, not after the trauma of his divorce. He knew that marriage didn’t work for him.

“Aunt Elena, will Mom be home when we get there?” asked the older, taller boy, who seemed more mature and serious.

He heard her explain the situation as she took their hands and led them to his car.

“Garrett, I’d like you to meet Bennie,” she began as they reached the car. “He’s six years old and—”

“Smart!” Bennie spoke up for himself.

Garrett laughed. “How are you, Bennie?”

“And this is Tod,” she went on. “He’s nine and a fine baseball player.”

“I’m a catcher!” Tod said proudly.

“Great position.” Garrett shook his hand. “I’m a pitcher on a baseball team with my friends during my spare time.”

“You are?” The older boy’s eyes lit up. “Curve balls or windups?”

“Both,” he replied. “Hop into the back, guys.”

As he opened the door for Elena, she whispered, “You’re great with kids.”

“So are you,” he told her, feeling an inner connection to her that he’d never felt with a woman before.

“Are you my aunt’s new boyfriend?” Bennie asked, wide-eyed.

He noticed Elena’s cheeks turn scarlet as he gunned the engine.

“Garrett works at the same company I do,” she told him.

“Do you car pool to work together?” Bennie further inquired.

“I don’t even know where Garrett lives,” she said, her blue eyes on him.

“My apartment is in Santa Monica,” he told her.

“We live so close,” she said.

Thoughts of asking her out rushed into his brain, but he squashed them down, knowing she deserved more than he could give her.

“Where do you play baseball, Garrett?” Tod asked, picking up Garrett’s mitt from the back seat of the car.

“During the week, I practice at night at the Santa Monica baseball field,” he replied. “Where do you play, Tod?”

“At the Westside Little League field,” he said proudly and then added in a voice for only him to hear. “Maybe you can come with Aunt Elena and see me play sometime.”

He glanced at Elena, wanting to say he would so he could be with her again. But he knew that he could never get that deeply involved in her life.

“My sister’s house is two blocks down,” she told him, interrupting his thoughts.

“Sure thing,” he said, suddenly conscious of their ride being almost over and not wanting to leave her.

He parked the car, and just as he pulled the front seat forward for the kids to get out, Bennie popped the straw out of his boxed juice. Dark purple liquid shot straight onto Garrett’s snowy-white shirt and clean tie.

“Oh, no, Bennie!” Elena called out. “Garrett, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, really,” he said. “I’ll drop by my apartment to change before I go to my appointment.”

“Appointment?” she repeated, horrified. “Maybe you’d better come inside. I’ll wash out the stains by hand and throw your shirt in the dryer. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

As she unlocked the front door, Garrett knew he should thank her and leave. He realized that entering her sister’s house would personalize his relationship with her even more. Yet he felt drawn to her in a way that he couldn’t resist.

Elena led Garrett into Jan’s kitchen while her nephews ran into the living room to play. She couldn’t believe she’d invited him inside. She kept telling herself that she felt responsible for his soiled shirt. Yet she knew her invitation meant a lot more to her than that.

“The washer and dryer are in here,” she told him, turning on the light of the tiny, narrow laundry room.

As she went in, she felt Garrett’s body close to hers. “Give me your shirt,” she said, “and I’ll clean off the spots.”

He undid his stained tie and put it on the supply shelf. As he pulled off his shirt, she was superaware of his muscular, bronzed chest and shoulders. She felt the impulse to glide her palms across his bare skin and press her lips...

She quickly turned on the faucet in the sink, hoping he couldn’t see how turned on she was just being near him. She tried to concentrate on rubbing the stain remover into the spots, but all she could think about was his powerful frame only inches from her.

As she put his shirt in the dryer and turned on the knob, she felt his finger gently push a strand of hair from her eyes.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Elena,” he said

She looked up at him, feeling the tenderness of his words. His gaze drifted to her lips. As his mouth neared hers, she saw the laundry room door closing. The lock clicked shut, and the lights went out. Against the whizzing of the dryer, she could hear Bennie giggling outside the door.

“Bennie!” she called out, remembering she’d scolded him the last time he’d locked the door when she was inside.

“Aunt Elena, let’s play hide and seek with Garrett!” he called out.

“We can’t play now.” Her breathing quickened when she felt Garrett tenderly touch her cheek with the side of his thumb. “Bennie, please open the door.”

“I can’t! I’ve gotta go to the bathroom!” Then she heard him run out of the kitchen.

Alone with Garrett in the darkness, her heart thumped against her ribs. She felt his hand slip around her waist and draw her against his bare chest. His lips touched her earlobe, his warm breath on her neck. As his mouth closed over hers, she parted her lips, wanting to feel closer to him.

Just then Tod’s voice bellowed outside the door. “Bennie, why did you lock in Aunt Elena and her friend? That was dumb!”

“You’re dumb!” Bennie shot back.

In the next instant the lock released. The door swung open, and the laundry room lights flashed on. She quickly broke free of Garrett’s arms. Her skin was burning hot. She could barely catch her breath.

As her nephews chased after each other out of the kitchen, she pulled out Garrett’s shirt from the dryer, avoiding his eyes.

“I can iron it, if you want,” she said in a shaky voice.

He touched her hand. “Elena, I shouldn’t have—”

“The stains are out,” she told him, aching to be in his arms again. “My sister should be home any minute. She can drive me back to work.”

“I can wait and take you myself,” he said.

“I’ll be okay,” she said. “Thanks for everything.” She wanted to tell him that she didn’t want him to leave. She wanted to be locked in the laundry room with him all over again.

“Sure, anytime,” he said, slipping on his shirt as he headed out of the laundry room. “See you, Tod and Bennie!” Then she heard the front door close.

Elena leaned against the dryer, feeling weak in the knees. Why had she allowed herself to fall into Garrett’s arms? She could easily give her heart and soul to Garrett, only to end up finding out that he had zero interest in making a commitment.

Elena had already traveled on that painful highway with her ex-boyfriend, Ted. Her heart had been so caught up in Ted that she didn’t see the warning signs.

She’d believed Ted when he said he couldn’t see her on weekends because, as the partner of a bi-coastal law firm, he had to travel back and forth from Los Angeles to New York on business.

She had believed him when he said his Beverly Hills apartment wasn’t warmly furnished like a home because he had no time to put into domestic matters.

She’d believed him when he whispered that he loved her and wanted to be with her forever.

Then, after dating him for eight months, he’d invited her to go on a weekend business conference in New York. She secretly believed he was planning to ask her to marry him.

However, in the hotel room, while Ted was in the shower, she answered the ringing telephone. She was devastated when she heard a woman’s voice saying that she was Ted’s wife and asking to speak to her husband.

Feeling used and deceived by the man she loved, she left the New York hotel room before Ted got out of the shower, and never saw him again.

Elena had convinced herself that she had no interest in getting seriously involved with a man again—until she met Garrett Sims.

He had made an impact on her the moment she met him in Stanley’s office. Alone in the laundry room, she’d gotten so turned on by him that she’d momentarily forgotten he was competing with her for the job she wanted.

As she was about to walk out of the laundry room, she spotted Garrett’s stained tie lying on the shelf. She held the silk in her hand, as though she was touching a part of him, knowing she had to forget her intimate moments with him and see him as her business competitor.

She heard Jan burst through the front door. “El, where’s your car?” her sister called out.

In the kitchen she found her sister going through the mail. Bennie and Tod ran in, gave their mother hugs and hurried back into the living room to play.

“I ran out of gas,” Elena replied.

“How’d you get here?”

“I caught a ride with Garrett Sims,” she quickly replied. “He works at Stanley’s branch in Sherman Oaks.”

“By any chance, is Garrett the owner of that tie?” Jan asked with great interest, still sorting through her mail.

She impulsively put the tie behind her back. “Bennie accidentally squirted juice on Garrett’s shirt,” she explained. “I washed out the stains and—” Her face heated up as the intimate memories rose in her mind.

“And what?” Jan pursued with a mischievous smile.

“We got locked in the laundry room together for a few seconds.”

Her sister’s eyes widened. “What happened next?”

“Okay, we kissed!”

“When are you going out with him?” Jan went on. “Is he sexy? How tall is he?”

“Jan, I can’t have a relationship with Garrett,” she said, frustrated. “He’s off-limits for me.”

“Why?”

“I’m competing with him for the vice presidency!”

“Oh, no.”

“He’s got tons more experience than I do,” she rushed on, needing to share her upset. “And now, because of my insane idea, Stanley’s going to choose one of us based on how many new accounts we can get for the company.”

“El, what’re you going to do?” Jan asked worriedly as she opened a large manila envelope.

“I need to stay as far away from Garrett Sims as I can,” she replied, knowing how difficult that would be. “Stanley will completely eliminate me if he thinks I’m having an office romance with Garrett.”

“You like him a lot, don’t you?”

“He’s different, Jan,” she admitted. “I’ve never met a man like him before.”

“And if the job wasn’t in your way?”

All of her doubts about being in a serious relationship re-surfaced. “I wouldn’t date him,” she forced out.

“El, I know how worried you are about falling in love with a man who doesn’t want to get married,” Jan said. “But all of your worries are over.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was a first-caller winner in a radio contest,” she said, glancing at the document in her hand. “I just received my prize! Free enrollment in a dating service called the Marriage Connection!”

“The service is going to send you on dates?”

“Not me, silly,” her sister said. “You!”

“What?”

“El, you’re always doing stuff for me and the kids,” she hurried on. “Now I get to pay you back. I gave your name to the dating service.”

“You didn’t!”

“This is the ideal way for you to connect with the right man for you,” she explained. “Eighty percent of couples that have been matched by the Marriage Connection have ended up getting married!”

“Jan, I don’t want to meet a man through a dating service,” she protested, thinking about Garrett, wishing he could be that man for her.

“Just think—you don’t have to worry anymore about being hurt by a guy who doesn’t want to make a commitment,” Jan went on. “The Marriage Connection only matches couples who sincerely want to get married.” She showed her the document. “All you need to do is sign this two-page form agreeing to specific conditions.”

Elena reluctantly read the first page of the form indicating that no real names, home or office addresses, or phone numbers are given until both parties have met.

Then her eyes landed on one particular sentence on the first page. “The only requirement is a commitment to want to get married.”

Her heart ached to be with a man who truly desired a future with her—a man like Garrett. She quickly brushed her fantasy aside.

“What if the guy they pick out is totally wrong for me?” she asked.

“Look at the second page of the agreement,” Jan encouraged.

She caught the sentence on the second sheet. “You are only required to go on three prearranged, already-paid-for dates, one every two weeks.”

“El, just three dates,” her sister pushed.

“I don’t know.”

“You can’t say no,” Jan told her. “I’ve already given your personality profile to the service, and you’ve been matched with a great guy, who you will be going on all three dates with.”

“The dating service has already picked out a man for me?” She couldn’t imagine meeting a guy more perfect for her than Garrett.

“The letter says that he has a successful career in real estate,” Jan excitedly went on. “He’s three years older than you, enjoys romantic dinners and walking on the beach under the moonlight. And he must sign the agreement stating that his goal is to get married. Perfect, right?”

Sure, if it was Garrett! she wanted to say but didn’t. She couldn’t spoil her sister’s surprise gift to her.

“I’ll think about it, okay, Jan?”

“There’s no time,” she said. “Your first prearranged date is set for this Saturday night.”

“Saturday?” she repeated incredulously.

Before Jan could reply, Bennie ran into the kitchen looking upset. “Mom, the words in my reading book are fuzzy looking.”

“We need to get your eyes checked, Ben,” her sister said, lovingly kissing him on his forehead. Then he went back to his activities.

Elena could hear the frustration in her sister’s voice. She had no vision insurance to cover the cost and had been putting off making an appointment until she had the money.

“Jan, we’re getting Bennie to an optometrist next week,” Elena said.

“But I can’t.”

“We’ll manage with the money,” she reassured her, knowing more than ever how much she needed that raise.

“El, please let me pay you back with this dating service prize,” her sister pleaded. “Sign the Marriage Connection agreement so I can feel like I’m giving you something in return.”

Knowing how much it meant to her sister, Elena reluctantly put her ink signature at the bottom of the second page of the form.

After her sister dropped her off at the office parking structure to get her car, she realized that she still had Garrett’s tie. She pressed the silk against her face, drawing in the musky scent of him.

Stop it! she scolded herself. You can’t think about him in a romantic way!

As she got into her car, she started up the engine and saw the gas gauge arrow rise to mid-level. Garrett had taken care of her fuel problem, just as he promised. He was so incredible—considerate, kind, caring. Every quality he possessed was what she dreamed of in a man, except she needed to know one thing.

Did Garrett want a committed relationship like she did? She could never get deeply involved with a man again until she was sure he wanted a future with her.

As she zoomed out of the parking structure to a property management appointment in West Los Angeles, she kept reminding herself that getting the vice presidency was her priority, not Garrett Sims.

Then why did she drape Garrett’s tie gently across her lap as if it was the most precious object in the world to her?