buzzing on her desk brought her thoughts back to the present. “Yes, Janice?”
“Your mother is on line one.”
Kara drew in a deep breath. Her mother was the last person she wanted to talk to. To Lydia Goshay’s way of thinking it was past time Kara forgave her sister.
“Tell my mother I’m in a meeting and I’ll call her back later.”
At the moment, Kara didn’t want to talk to anyone. All she wanted to do was to relax her mind for a minute. That call from Bougard Enterprises had definitely rattled her brain. Leaning back in her chair she closed her eyes and, it seemed of its own accord, her mind began reliving memories of that night five years ago when she and Virgil had met.
* * *
“May I have this dance?”
Kara’s heart began pounding the minute she turned to stare up into what had to be the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes she’d ever seen. Bedroom eyes. They were an indulgent chocolate hue that made one think of something totally sweet and clandestinely sinful.
Although they had never been formally introduced, she knew who he was. Virgil Bougard. He had a reputation around town that would make Casanova look like a choir boy. His name was often whispered on women’s lips followed by a salacious smile. She’d first heard about him in the locker room at her gym. Women claimed he was hot, both in and out of bed. They also claimed he was a man who got any woman he wanted. And she had a feeling that tonight for some reason she had caught his eye.
She’d seen him when he’d arrived and had watched how several women had put themselves in his path. It seemed he drew them to him like a magnet. But he hadn’t danced with anyone. His attention had seemed targeted on her.
For most of the night their gazes had been meeting and holding from across the room. Each time she could feel her blood rush through her veins. She had noticed how impeccably he was dressed and how tall he stood, an imposing figure against any other man in the room. Talk about sex appeal.
She wished she could say it was all due to his ultrahandsome looks, consisting of an angular face that boasted a firm jaw, full lips and high cheekbones. And when he’d smiled her stomach did a couple of flips, and then she saw the dimples in those cheeks.
And now that same man was standing right in front of her, asking her to dance. Although she wished otherwise, she could feel heat swirling through her. She felt an intense sexual connection between them and couldn’t understand how that could be. Although she knew better and was totally aware of his scandalous reputation around town, she was shamefully attracted to him.
“Dance?” she repeated.
The way his mouth curved in a teasing smile made more curling heat settle in the pit of her stomach. “Yes, dance. I would do just about anything to hold you in my arms.”
Kara couldn’t believe this stranger would be so audacious as to say that.
“Who are you?” she asked. She knew his identity but felt he should introduce himself nonetheless.
He gave her another smile. “Virgil. Virgil Bougard. And you’re...?”
“Kara Goshay.”
“Nice meeting you, Kara.” He paused a moment and then asked, “So...are we going to dance?”
She didn’t miss the desire smoldering in the depths of those bedroom eyes. The sight of it made her heart rate accelerate in her chest. “Yes, Virgil. I will dance with you.”
* * *
Kara slowly opened her eyes and drew in a deep breath. They had danced. More than once.
Believing Marti’s lie was something she would regret for the rest of her life. Because in doing so, she had lost the one man she would ever love.
Virgil entered his home and tossed his jacket across a chair. At least his father’s visit hadn’t stopped him from sticking with his plan to leave work early. He needed to rest, relax and recover from too much partying this weekend at Tyson’s wedding. Now he had another reason for needing down time. Namely to get his mind prepared for tomorrow’s meeting with Kara.
She had done something no one had thought was possible, which was to literally bring him to his knees and show him there was a difference between love and lust. His womanizing ways had begun to morph into those of a man who wanted only one woman. Her. She had singlehandedly transformed his reckless heart into a thoughtful one.
That was then. This was now.
He was no longer a fool in love. And Kara was someone he could do without. He staunchly refused to give his heart to another woman, and he enjoyed his time as a single man who wore no female’s heart on his sleeve. He was a card-carrying member of the Guarded Hearts Club.
Over the years the club had seen its membership dwindle. Uriel had dropped out when he married Ellie. A year later Xavier had married Farrah, followed by York marrying Darcy and then Winston tying the knot with Ainsley. The last one had been a shocker because no one had been a stronger advocate of bachelorhood than Winston. Hell, Winston even held the office of club president for a number of years. That left only him and Zion as lone members. As the president, he felt it was time they recruited new members.
Although the club started out exclusively for him and his godbrothers, that didn’t mean it had to stay that way. There had to be other single men who felt the same way they did. Men who enjoyed the single life and intended to never marry. Mercury and Gannon Steele headed the list. It wouldn’t be hard to convince them that bachelors needed to stick together and they needed to join the exclusive club. He’d heard the frustration in their voices this weekend at Tyson’s wedding. Mercury and Gannon figured it would only be a matter of time before their mother eyed one of them as the next possible groom.
And then there was Xavier’s friend Kurt. He would be another good candidate. And wasn’t it just last week that Quade Westmoreland, who was an in-law of those Steeles, mention something about newfound bachelor cousins living somewhere in Alaska? A semblance of a smile touched Virgil’s face. There was hope after all.
A frown replaced the smile when his thoughts shifted to Whitney Hilton. She had definitely been a mistake and one he was still paying for. It wasn’t as if Whitney had been an underage teenager. Hell, the woman had been twenty-five. An adult. A consenting adult. Hilton was disillusioned if he thought his daughter had been a virgin that night. Nevertheless, for one night of lust, he would pay by having to put up with Kara. That was something he didn’t look forward to doing.
As he headed for the kitchen to grab a cold beer out of the refrigerator, he couldn’t help allowing his mind to recall a time when Kara’s presence was the only thing he’d wanted.
And it had started with their first dance...
* * *
“So, Kara, tell me about yourself.”
Virgil couldn’t help looking into her eyes when he’d made the request. She was simply beautiful. Striking. Stunning. And the dress she was wearing showed off her body right down to every curve. He wanted to get to know her but there were other things he wanted to do to her, as well. Taste her. Touch her. But for now, dancing with her had to suffice.
He had noticed her the moment he’d entered the ballroom and had known then she was someone he had to connect with. Each time their gazes had linked, he’d felt stirring emotions he had never felt before. There was no way he could have not sought her out. They had introduced themselves and now he wanted to know everything there was to know about her. Then maybe he could figure out why she was having such an effect on him. No woman had ever rattled his senses like she was doing.
“There’s not a whole lot to tell,” she said.
“I was born in San Francisco twenty-five years ago. My parents are still there, both alive