Overlooked(78)

She seems to be mulling this over, considering my words and I hold my breath.

"Okay." She eventually replies, "Here." She grabs something out of her purse, jotting something down and passing it to me.

I glance at it only to find her number scrawled onto a piece of paper. For some inexplicable reason, I find my heart stopping.   





 

"Out of business cards." She smiles in apology, "Let me know when, okay? I'll have to arrange something with work."

Then she turns and saunters out of the room. It takes all the strength I have not to take her by the hand and pull her close. I find myself wondering if Cade has kissed her. I wonder if he's done anything more.

And when she glances back at me, I see fire in her eyes and I know that I've made the right choice.

A meeting along with Ellen Cassidy is exactly what I need.

Strictly business, of course.





CHAPTER TEN





ELLEN CASSIDY





I'm sitting in my apartment, feeling the hum of the past few days rush through me. It's been one hell of a ride and I still feel a bit unbalanced. I'm curled up on my couch, waiting for the phone to ring. It might be Adam calling me, or it might be Cade. It might even be work, and at the moment, I'm not in the mood for any of it.

Instead of being dressed up, I'm in sweatpants. Instead of working hard or being sexy and witty, I'm slouching on the couch, watching bad TV. I should be helping out my mother or working extra hours. Something, anything.

Instead, I'm feeling flat out exhausted from the emotional roller-coaster. I've been proposed to, I've been wooed and taken out to dinner. I've also had my heart trampled over and over again. I've felt sparks fly with a man I can never have and I've felt the crushing guilt of the secret I keep close to my heart.

If I tell Cade that I'm going to meet Adam in private, he'll tell me not to go. I know he will. He won't want me to do it  –  he'll worry about me giving everything up. Resentment curls around my heart.

We need to convince Adam and hiding from him is definitely not going to achieve that. I need to do what's best, and what is right. I need to make sure that I give Adam the details he needs and make sure that Cade never finds out about the meeting.

I bite my lip. I also need to make sure that I stay as far away from Adam as possible after the meeting. He's bad news. I can feel it in my bones. He might seem polite and friendly, but I sense danger. He's done this before  –  he's used to pulling people apart and I can't have that happen.

I'm so caught up in my own thoughts that I almost jump out of my skin as the phone begins to ring. I clutch it in my hand as I try to still my beating heart, before I answer. I decide not to check the number before answering.

"Hello? Ellen speaking."

"Ellen, it's Adam Jones." His voice, cool and soft and I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Adam continues, "I was wondering if you were free later today?" His question is polite, but worry sparks across my skin. It's my day off and the convenience doesn't sit right with me.

"Yes, I might have some time this afternoon." I answer, trying to keep the weary tone out of my voice.

He chuckles, "Great. Would meeting for coffee work for you?" He sighs, "I don't know about you, but I am sick of being in an office day in and day out."

"That works for me." I feel myself relaxing, the phone call suddenly feeling so much less threatening.

"Great. Say about …  three?" He suggests, a friendly tone in his voice.

I glance around at my apartment, the way I'm dressed in nothing but my dingy home clothes and I try not to laugh, "Sure, three is fine."

"What about the new coffee shop on Main Street?"

I consider the place before nodding. It's a lovely little joint, hip and fun and definitely not the sort of place I thought Adam would have liked. I'll go along with it, though. Maybe I will learn something.

"Sounds great. What should I bring?" I ask.

"Just yourself and anything about the wedding." He chuckles.

His words are friendly but I feel a tingle of apprehension move down my spine. Cade and I have discussed what we'll be doing, when we'll be having it, all the details that make for a really convincing story.

Still, it makes me nervous. I'm going into this alone, and I have no back up. I steel myself and smile, "Yeah. There's so much to think about!" I laugh, trying to keep up the light-hearted vibe, the happy bride-to-be who is planning her wedding.

"I can't even imagine."

"Your wife didn't have to go through this?" I find myself teasing him.

"I'm not married." He smiles  –  I can hear it in his voice.

"No? A catch like you is still single?" I know that I am flirting. It feels different with Adam than it does with Cade. But it comes so easily with him. It's so difficult to resist it. Anxiety swirls in my stomach at the thought of being alone with him. I'm going to blow it completely. I bite my lip and try to be more careful.

As if on cue, Adam answers, "I don't want to offend your fiancé." He's teasing me in return.

I smile, "Oh don't worry, I'm one hundred percent taken. I'm sure there are plenty of girls for you, Adam."

When we finally put down the phone, I am left feeling shaky and a little breathless. I know that I need to be careful, but I find myself getting caught up in this web further and further. The more I struggle, the more tangled I become.

I need to be careful. My heart is pounding in my chest, but I'm not sure if it is from excitement or fright. I get up and go change.

I pick my outfit carefully  –  trying not to be too revealing. Professional, polished and pretty  –  that's what I am going for. I change, slip into my heels and spend a few minutes on my hair and makeup. I also make sure to wear the ring. It only takes me a few minutes to gather up my paperwork and get it all ready for the meeting.

I glance guiltily at my phone. I'm doing the right thing. Cade would approve if he understood, but I don't think he trusts me enough. Not yet.

The thought sends a pang through me as I step out of the door. I'll show him. I'm making the right choice and I'm not about to mess up just because I've met another flirt.

Those kind of men are a dime a dozen, and I have had more than my fill.





CHAPTER ELEVEN





ADAM JONES





I am sitting at the café waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ellen is staring me down and I swear it takes all my strength not to reach across the table and pull her into my arms.

She is frustrating  –  I never expected that. All sweet exterior and smiles that could make you melt. A pretty dress and delicate taste, and she makes you think that it's going to be easy.

But it's not. She has every single one of her facts straight. A cross examination couldn't unsettle her. She stares at me with a smile as sweet as candy and eyes that challenge me to keep going, to seek out a chink in her armor. I'm confident that I won't find anything. I'm confident that she will be the last one standing if we continue this battle of wills.

It's an unusual feeling and I can't deny that it thrills me. I haven't had a worthy opponent in a very long time and this one just happens to be sexier than anyone I have met recently. She leans across the table and I consider giving up the fight  –  for now. There must be an easier way in than through her.

"Are you fishing for an invitation, Adam?" Her voice is low and soft and I feel heat creep up my skin. She's teasing me.

I smile back, "That would be unprofessional, Miss Cassidy."

"Ellen, please." She smiles and her fingers brush mine as she reaches for the sugar, "I'm just curious why you're asking all these questions."

She blinks at me and I swear she could melt butter. If she's faking this, she's damn good at it. What did she say she did for a living? A hairdresser? You wouldn't know it just looking at her.

I shake my head, "The dates were just for business purposes. The rest? Well, I though ladies liked to talk about their wedding plans."

She laughs and it's a beautiful sound, her hair shimmering in the low, four o'clock sunlight. We've already been here about an hour and I have learned a lot, but at the same time, I've learned nothing about the case.

She leans back and takes a sip of her coffee. Her movements are easy and as our eyes meet, the familiar flicker of electricity seems to pass between us. She's beautiful and she looks at me in a way that she doesn't look at Cade. I'm sure of it.

They're faking it, but there's not a single crack in her performance that can prove it. She looks at me with those smoldering eyes and I wonder if I could make her melt. I'm usually good with the ladies, when I bother. Could I seduce the fiancée of my enemy?

Do I dare finish the job that way? If I do that, I'll lose her afterwards. But it might be one hell of a ride. I decide I will take it one day at a time. "Thank you for your time, Ellen."

She blushes when I use her name and I take her hand. It's intimate and for a moment, it feels like it is only the two of us in the room at the little street café.

"I'd like to meet with you again." I murmur.

"You would?" She's sounding a little breathless now, as if she is caught in the storm.

I press my advantage, "Yes …  yes, I would." I gently stroke her hand and I feel her shiver beneath my touch.

So there is something here, after all. It's not all smoke and mirrors. I can feel my body responding and I lean in and kiss her hand, pressing the soft, perfumed skin to my lips. The blush creeps further up her neck, flushing her cheeks in the most beautiful way.