lobby area of the hotel where a suite had been reserved for Tamara. He wanted to catch a glimpse of the woman who had broken his heart.
He checked his watch.
She should be arriving at any moment.
He sensed her presence before she actually walked through the doors and up to the lobby.
Tamara was still slender with curves in all the right places, Micah noted as he watched her check into the hotel.
He raised his newspaper to shield his face when she turned to glance around the lobby.
The way she kept looking around, Micah wondered if she was looking for him.
Probably, but it didn’t matter.
Micah determined that Tamara would not see him until he was ready for a face-to-face with her. The way his heart was racing and his eyes caressing her body—it was still too soon. He needed more time to rein in his emotions.
From outward appearances, Tamara looked fragile but Micah knew that she possessed a quiet strength—a quality that had drawn him to her all those years ago.
He watched as Tamara strolled over to the elevators and waited. Her eyes traveled the luxury surroundings once more before stepping inside.
Micah waited until the doors closed before rising to his feet and taking his leave.
His cell phone rang.
It was his secretary, Bette, informing him that his guest had arrived safely and was at the hotel. She also reminded him of his meeting with the art director that was scheduled in an hour.
“Thank you, Bette. I’m on my way back to the office now.” Micah got up, strode through the glass revolving doors and handed the valet his ticket.
The love of his life was here in Los Angeles, and he was still avoiding her. He had a wall erected around his heart, but Tamara—was a trigger for him, which is why Micah purposed not to see her until he was in control of his emotions.
Micah stood outside, waiting for his car to arrive. The valet attendant pulled the car in front of him and got out. Micah tipped him and strode around to the driver side.
He experienced a strange sensation, which caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.
Micah turned around.
Tamara was standing inside the lobby, looking at him through the glass wall, her expression one of complete shock.
His emotions unsettled, Micah pretended he did not recognize her, stepped into his car and quickly drove away. It had been a mistake coming here, he decided.
Micah knew that he and Tamara would come face-to-face, and when they did it would be on his terms. Micah vowed to make her pay for the pain she caused him all those years ago.
He had done nothing but try to be a good friend to Tamara, but the way she turned on him graduation night proved that their relationship had been one-sided in reality. Micah tried to forget about her over the years, but his heart would not let him.
As much as I want to hate Tamara, I can’t. I am still in love with a woman who believes I’ll never be good enough for her.
In his college days, Micah had been more of a geek and was not the kind of boy most girls usually went for, but his job as a tutor placed him in a circle of people he wouldn’t otherwise hang with. Out of those relationships, friendships formed.
He thought Tamara was different from any other girl he had ever known. She was on the quiet side, kept to herself most of the time when she wasn’t with her sorority sisters. On the weekends, she liked visiting her grandmother—he would go with her from time to time.
Micah had been there to comfort Tamara when the woman died. He didn’t remember exactly the moment he fell in love with her, but when he landed the job with a software company in Chicago and was due to leave the week following graduation, Micah didn’t want to leave Tamara without letting her know how he felt.
That was indubitably the biggest mistake of his life because she crushed him with her rejection. Tamara had tried to contact him a few days later, but Micah was hurt and preparing to relocate to Chicago.
Chapter 3
Tamara rushed out of the hotel but failed to get there in time to catch Micah.
She thought for a moment that he had seen her, too. Apparently, he hadn’t or didn’t recognize her. Tamara had come back downstairs to visit the gift shop but seeing Micah distracted her from her purpose.
Disappointed, Tamara returned to her suite, settled down on the sofa and pulled out her cell phone.
She sat in the chair for a moment, her thin fingers tensed in her lap to calm her nerves. Tamara inhaled and exhaled slowly, opened her phone and dialed. “Hello, this is Tamara Hodges. Do you have a contact number for Micah Ross please? I’m here to do a story on Justice Kane, and I really need to speak with him.”
“I’m sorry but Mr. Ross is out of the office.”
Tamara doubted they would give out his mobile number so she didn’t bother asking for it. Instead, she inquired, “Would you take down my number and ask him to call me please?”
“What is the number?”
She gave the secretary her cell-phone number and the one to the hotel.
“I’ll give him the message as soon as he returns, Ms. Hodges.”
“Thank you.” Tamara stirred uneasily in the chair, her uncertainty increasing by the minute. She didn’t want to consider that Micah still held a grudge where she was concerned or that he didn’t want to talk to her.
Tamara strolled out onto one of the two balconies to enjoy the panoramic views of the Hollywood Hills and downtown Los Angeles. She stayed out there for the next fifteen minutes just basking in the late summer sun. It was a clear day with no smog in sight.
She navigated back into the sitting area, which was furnished with two armchairs and a sofa set around a glass-top coffee table, a writing desk, plasma TV and entertainment system.
The bedroom, decorated in a soothing neutral color with muted gold accents, offered a high-back armchair and side table, a second plasma television and large walk-in closet with dark wood furnishings and a comfortable looking king-size bed.
While she waited for Micah’s call, Tamara unpacked her suitcase and her laptop to keep busy.
When Tamara put away all of her clothes, she sat down at the desk and opened up the computer to work on an article she needed to finish before the week was out.
Tamara stole a peek at the clock.
Thirty minutes had passed.
She considered making another call to Micah but silently reasoned her way out of calling. The man was busy, and she didn’t want to become a pest. Tamara could not escape the feeling that maybe he was avoiding her.
“Please call me, Micah,” she whispered in the empty room. “I really want to talk to you.”
Tamara had hoped they could have dinner together later this evening, so she made another call to his office.
She received the same response as before.
Tamara replaced the receiver in the cradle. “Micah…” she whispered.
Two hours passed and still no word from Micah. Tamara ordered room service because she didn’t feel like eating alone in the hotel restaurant.
Micah was apparently too busy to speak with her; he was working or maybe he had a date with Sunni. Hope sprang up in Tamara as she considered that she and Micah would both be attending the release party, so at some point they would have to talk.
Samantha called her shortly after eight.
“I just spoke with Micah Ross, and we came up with another idea,” she