Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series) (2 page)

His thoughts returned to the present as he glanced at his
watch and saw that it was time to go to work. It was his night to manage the
restaurant. He said a silent prayer for his deceased wife, and for the man and
little girl who had been in the other vehicle. And the man who had been with
his wife.

Angie Gray sat behind her large, mahogany desk, fidgeting
with the plans in front of her. She absent-mindedly tapped her well-manicured
fingertips on the desk as her gaze drifted to the window. She looked out at the
Mississippi River and marveled at the water glistening in the late autumn
sunlight before glancing at her watch for what had to be the third time. He was
not late. She was just anxious to get the meeting with her new architect over
with. It was the last thing on her agenda for the day. After the meeting, Angie
was free to go home and begin preparing for her vacation. An entire week of
freedom with no phones, no blueprints, no hotel, no casino… just a week with
her friends in the Big D. She was spearheading an expansion for the hotel-casino
she worked in and hiring the most sought after architectural firm in Iowa had
been quite a feather in her cap. Now if she could just get this meeting over
with, things could get started, both at the hotel and with her vacation plans.

Angie’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Her secretary, Lynne, stuck her perky, blonde head in the door. “The architect
is here. Should I show him in?”

“Please do, Lynne, thank you. You can go as soon as you’ve
finished the letters I dictated earlier. Have a good week and I’ll see you when
I get back from Dallas.”

“Thanks, Angie. You get some rest while you’re away. It’ll
be crazy when you get back.”

“I intend to.” Angie smiled as Lynne closed the door. She
was a good friend and a very efficient secretary. What a find she had been. Angie
had gone through many applicants before Lynne had waltzed through her door and
impressed her with both her enthusiasm and her knowledge.

A minute later, the door opened again and Lynne admitted the
architect, showing him to the chair facing Angie.

“Have a seat, please.” Angie said as she looked up from the
multitude of papers on her desk. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, tiny beads
of perspiration appeared on her forehead and just for a minute her breath
caught in her throat.
It can’t be
, she thought as she looked into the
face of the man seated across from her.

Obviously enjoying her momentary loss of composure, the man
gave her a crooked grin, cocked his handsome head to the side and spoke in a
familiar voice, “Hello, Angela. How are you?”

Quickly regaining her professional demeanor, she answered
with a smile, “I’m just fine, Michael. How long have you been working with
James & James?”

“Not too long. I actually started with them a few months ago
when I moved to the Quad Cities from Des Moines. They made me an offer I
couldn’t refuse.”

“Better than the firm in the city?” she asked, finding it
hard to believe he had left the city to come to a smaller town after all this
time. She had resigned herself to the fact that he was out of her life for
good.

“You might say that.” His velvety brown eyes locked with her
saucy green ones as he spoke.

It had been three years since they had last spoken, but to
Angie it seemed like only yesterday. She started to remember the day they last said
goodbye, but quickly geared her thoughts back to the present. It would do no
good to go down memory lane, especially not that memory.

“Well, let’s get to it. Show me what you’ve come up with,” she
went on in the most business-like voice she could muster under the
circumstances. It was not every day a blast from the past breezed into her
office and sat across from her. And what a blast he was. As he took the
blueprints from their casing, she allowed her gaze to wander slowly over his
features. He was still handsome, still well-built.
He probably still works
out
, she thought as she remembered the old days in the gym. He had just a
hint of graying at his temples, enough to make him look distinguished. Michael
had always been the best looking thing she had ever seen, with his brown hair
and chocolate eyes. He had stolen her heart in college and never given it back.
And now, fifteen years after she had divorced the only man she would ever love,
he had waltzed back into her life on a sunny, autumn afternoon.
What kind of
karma was that
?

“I thought we could connect the new tower to the old part of
the hotel with this concept…” he began as he spread his work on her desk,
obviously confident in his ideas.

An hour later, pleased with the progress they had made, Angie
called a halt to the meeting.

“I really need to get going, Michael. I have a plane to
catch in the morning and I need to get home. I look forward to working with
you. I trust you’ll be here the Monday after next, bright and early.”

“You can bet on it. I think we’ll work well together. This
is a good project. I hear it’s been your baby from the start.”

Angie winced at his choice of words and answered a little
too brightly, “Yes, my idea from the start.”

“Business trip next week?” he ventured to ask as he watched
a lone tendril of her long, brown hair fall onto her brow.

“No, actually I’m meeting the ‘Fab Four’ in Dallas for a
reunion. I’ll be gone all week. I wanted to go before I got too bogged down
with the project.” Her eyes shone like emeralds as she answered, absently
pushing the lone tendril of hair back into place. She remembered the days when
he would have reached over and done that for her.

“How are the old girls?” he asked.

She snapped back to the present and replied, “They are all
fine. We haven’t gotten together for quite some time. I think it’ll be good for
all of us, and I’m excited to be able to spend some time with them again.”

“I’ll see you when you get back, then. Have a great time,
and get some rest.  I’ll be out of town myself next week. But I’ll be working,
not playing.”

“No rest for the wicked…” Angie walked him to the door,
shook his hand and watched him leave the suite of offices.  She walked back
into her large, modern office, collapsing onto the leather sofa in the corner.
The office was functional, with straight lines and hard edges in each
decoration.

Half an hour later, she locked her desk and file cabinets,
hurriedly grabbed her bag and briefcase and headed out the door. Briskly
walking to the parking garage, she unlocked the door of her sleek, white sports
car and drove across town to her beautiful but modest condo, wondering all the
way how in the world she was going to work with Michael Gray for the next six
months. Every time she looked into those eyes, she would be reminded of the
past. The past she had tried so hard to forget. She would have to force her
professionalism to take command.
I certainly have not gotten where I am
today by being a lovesick fool
, she berated herself harshly.

She pulled into the parking garage of the condo and slid her
long, athletic legs out the side of her small car, grabbed her things from the
backseat, and walked slowly into the building.

Angie spoke to the doorman as she waited for the elevator
and thought how nice a lavender-scented bubble bath would feel.
But first
things first, I have to pack
, she sighed as she opened the door and stepped
inside the sage and chocolate living room.
Home sweet home
, she thought
as she looked around.
I haven’t done badly for myself on my own
. The
marble fireplace in the living room was flanked by bookcases on either side.
The cozy, cocoa-colored, suede sofa and sage accent chairs looked inviting
enough. The marble coffee table, strewn with magazines, and matching end tables
adorned with sage-colored lamps completed the picture.

She walked into the dining room and dropping her keys on the
glass-topped table, kicked off her pumps and practically ran straight to the
large master bedroom.
I have so much to get
done before morning
,
she thought as she sat on the edge of the bed.
No time to sit, get up and
get
moving,
she told herself sternly.
You can reward yourself
with the lavender bath later
.

She began neatly stacking toiletries, underwear, and clothes
into her leather suitcase, humming an old familiar tune as she worked. The
girls would love this new development in her life when they heard about it.
Katy would be analyzing the whole scenario and giving advice.

She was just about to throw the last bit of clothing into
her bag, anticipating that long, hot soak in her big, garden tub, when her cell
phone rang.
Who could that be
?

She put the phone to her ear and answered softly, “Hello.”

The man on the other end of the line replied in a husky
voice, “Hi, gorgeous. How about taking an old friend to dinner tonight?”

It was Michael… so let the games begin.

“What was I thinking, agreeing to go to dinner with him?”
Angie said aloud a short time later as she stepped out of the hot, steaming
shower. So much for the long soak in the tub she had promised herself earlier.

She had agreed to meet Michael at the little Italian
restaurant down the street from her condo. She told herself it would only be
long enough to grab a quick bite and discuss the project. But now that she had
time to think about it, she was not so sure it was a good idea, spending time
with Michael outside of the office. How was she going to sit through an entire
dinner with the man and not let on that he still got to her? That being in the
same room with him was enough to set her pulses racing and her senses reeling.
She could always duck out early, using the excuse that she had an early flight
in the morning. She finished applying jasmine-scented lotion to her long legs
and walked to the huge walk-in closet to pick out something to wear.

“Jeez, you would think I was a teenager going on her first
date,” Angie muttered aloud. She finally decided on a pair of comfortable,
fashionable jeans and a soft pink sweater. Michael had always liked her in
pink. She brushed her long, brown hair until it shone, applied light makeup, grabbed
her watch and a silver heart pendant and was out the door. At least she’d had
enough wits about her to arrange to meet him at the restaurant, rather than
have him pick her up at home. This way, she could leave on her own if things
got weird.

She jumped into the little white sports car and drove to the
restaurant. Finding a parking place close to the door, she locked the car and approached
the restaurant apprehensively. She was led by the hostess to a table in the
corner, where Michael was already seated. What a handsome man he still was. Her
heart was thumping so loudly that he had to hear it.

“Well, hello, you are right on time, lady.” He laughed as he
stood and pulled out her chair. “I’m glad you chose this place. I like the
atmosphere,” he said as he looked around at the square tables with the red,
checkered tablecloths. Each table had a small, flickering candle in the center.
The lights were low, and soft music was playing.

He probably thinks I chose this place because it is
romantic
, she thought to herself. Actually, she had chosen it because it
was close to home and because they had the best spaghetti and meatballs this
side of the Mississippi.

He had already ordered the wine and it was wonderful, of
course.
Steady, girl, don’t go drinking the wine and forgetting your
resolution to only talk business
, she reminded herself as she took the
first sip.

“So what do you think of my plans for the expansion so far,
Michael?” she asked in a serious tone.

“From what I’ve had a chance to look at so far, I think you
have some wonderful ideas,” he answered with a smile, “but I would have
expected no less from you. You have always been at the top of your game when it
comes to work.” 

She took another sip of the delicious red wine, as the
waiter came to take their order. She suggested the spaghetti and meatballs, of
course.

After they had both ordered, Michael took her hand in his.
As he rubbed the back of her hand with his strong, tanned fingers, he said, “Now
that we have had our little business discussion, let’s table that until you get
back in town next week and catch up on each other’s lives.”

“Not much to tell about my life. I spend most of my days
working, which leaves little time to socialize. This job has been great, but it
takes up a tremendous amount of my time, especially now, with all the new
plans.” Angie tried to appear nonchalant. “We have a lot of competition in the
area, so it keeps me on my toes.”

“So, there is no new man in your life?”

She hesitated for a minute. How she would love to tell him that
there would never be a new man in her life. That even though they had parted
ways all those years ago, no one had ever quite measured up to her first love.
Instead, she simply said “No new man in my life. I have no time for men right
now.”

“Ah, spoken like the Angie that I know and love,” he said
with a grin.

“And how about you, Mr. Gray, a wife and two kids waiting
for you back home?”

“Angie, I’m hurt. You actually think I would get married
again and not inform you?”

“Well, it
has
been almost three years since we last
spoke. A lot can happen in three years, you know,” she quipped.

“No wife and kids waiting for me back home. No girlfriend
either. Like you, my new job with this firm has kept me very busy. You’re not
the only one leaving town this week, remember. I’m flying out Monday morning to
see a client about a restaurant expansion. But don’t worry, my love, I will be
back next week when you’re back from your little ‘Fab Four’ vacation to start
work on your project with you. Now fill me in on the girls.”