Chapter One
Five Months Later
Walking into the meeting room, Gina became aware of conversations beginning to stop as people took notice of her entrance. The old Gina would have lowered her gaze to inspect herself for her latest fashion disaster. Today there was no need for her to glance down to understand why the boardroom grew noticeably quiet at her entrance.
Remarkable what a killer new wardrobe, a little artfully applied makeup and a sexy new haircut to tame her auburn curls could do for a woman, thought Gina, her gloss-covered lips curving into a smile rivaling that of Mona Lisa’s.
There was no question that she now dressed to draw attention to herself. The exquisite black jacket and matching pencil skirt fitted her like a glove, and the glimmer of her red silk camisole drew attention to a hint of cleavage. Gina luxuriated in the feel of the fine silk stockings covering her legs as she entered the boardroom with a practiced glide. As far as business suits went, hers met all professional requirements of decency. But what gave her the added sexual allure was the transformation that had taken place on the inside, one painstaking step at a time.
She felt sexy thanks to her life makeover, going beyond the superficial outer layers. The last few months had been like a rebirth for Gina. A metamorphosis of the proverbial ugly duckling into the graceful swan.
Her practiced stride faltered for just a moment as her gaze caught the eyes of the one man who threatened her hard-won poise. A familiar feeling of anxiety radiated from her gut, making her heart beat a little faster.
Connor held her gaze, raising an eyebrow in—what? Interest? Recognition? Mockery?
He couldn’t have recognized her from their brief, yet disastrous, meeting last season, she reassured herself.
Gina hadn’t seen Connor since last spring’s Stanley Cup semifinals. As the captain of his hockey team, he had led his teammates with determination and unbound skill. Unfortunately, they hadn’t made it to the final match-up for the coveted Cup, but the team had represented their city, fans and the sport of hockey well.
Many Vancouver women had been rumored to have jokingly said that the fact that Connor didn’t make it to the finals only gave him more time to come out and play. Clearly they hadn’t been referring to hockey!
At well over six feet, with well-honed muscles and chiseled features arranged with precise symmetry, he was a heartthrob for most women with a pulse. And he knew it.
The closer her Jimmy Choos got to the head of the large conference table where her laptop lay at the ready, the more she became aware of Connor’s openly inquisitive look cataloguing every infinitesimal detail of her appearance.
Lowering her eyelids sedately, Gina gave herself a moment to regain her equilibrium by taking a small, steady breath. She reminded herself that there was no way that he would know who she was, they hadn’t exactly been formally introduced to each other.
Not glancing in Connor’s direction again, she continued to her chair at the table, while greeting her colleagues along the way.
Two large hands landed on opposite sides of her chair’s headrest, ready to pull it out for her. She was getting used to this type of chivalry, thanks to her new look.
Ever since her extreme makeover culminated in the new Gina, she’d learned how to take it in stride when random men stopped to open doors, pull out chairs or hold the elevator for her, all the while throwing openly admiring glances her way. The privileges that beautiful, sexy women had been enjoying for eons were finally hers to savor.
What she hadn’t expected was the heavy weight of a well-placed hand on the small of her back. Or her body’s instant reaction to the innocent touch. The fine hairs on her nape stood at attention, her heartbeat kicking up a notch.
“I’ll take care of it, Matt.” The quiet command was directed at the man the other hand belonged to. “Please, allow me,” came the pronouncement from over her shoulder.
Dread filled her. Connor. She would know that voice anywhere. Memories from the last time they ran into each other in a similar boardroom made her want to curl into a ball, but she controlled the impulse and ordered herself to keep on course. Gina had known that she would be seeing Connor at today’s meeting. But she had planned on avoiding any direct communication with him. She had been apprehensive when she had accepted her new promotion, knowing that she would be running into Connor, and in some cases, might even be working with him.
Instead of turning to acknowledge him directly, Gina murmured a casually polite, yet dismissive, “Thank you” over her shoulder.
Gina’s breath caught in her tight chest as his strong hand slipped to the curve of her hip, guiding her back a few inches so that he could finish pulling her chair farther back from the table. She was hard-pressed not to notice the solid muscles of his chest pressing against her back. She swore she felt him inhale deeply before he moved away.