“Yes, she is my client.” Marcy broke through her pity party. “And as her agent I am the first person to know her character flaws. Trust me when I say Ginny Green is a predator. Once she sinks her claws into a man, he has no hope.”
She tried not to wince at the picture Marcy was painting. Confident the other woman didn’t know Falon as well as she did, Sarah couldn’t help thinking Marcy couldn’t be more wrong. When she said as much, Marcy snorted in disbelief.
“That girl has more man snaring skills than should be allowed. How are you so sure she won’t get her hooks into your man?”
“He’s too cold to let a woman get anywhere near any bit of him that matters,” Sarah answered in a small voice, remembering the words Falon threw at her the night before. She had thought they had connected on a level even he couldn’t deny. She thought there was something special growing between them, but his declaration of her just being a bonus of the job sent those dreams scattering in the wind. He left her standing alone to pick up the shattered pieced of her heart, just like he did nine years earlier. When would she ever learn?
“He made his choice. What do you expect me to be doing, sobbing to Olivia Newton-John singing Hopelessly Devoted To You while eating bonbons wishing he’d come back?”
“You know, that’s the problem with you. You never fight for what you want.”
Her eyes shot to her friend’s. “Are you saying I’m weak?”
“No, honey. It takes someone stronger than most people to let their dreams go without a fight.” Marcy sighed. “What I’m saying is you’re not selfish enough to hang on to what you want. You love him, right? Then be selfish. Go after him. Pester him until he gives in and hears you out. Don’t let him walk away from you. Fight dammit. Or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
There was a palpable pain in Marcy’s voice that had her wondering if the other woman was speaking from experience. She studied her friend for a minute. Her usual go-to attitude was dimmed by some past pain that made her both ache for her and curious to hear the story.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Marcy. I really do, but there’s nothing to be done. I can’t force a man to love me who sees me as just another perk of the job.”
“Is that what you want? For him to love you?”
“Doesn’t every woman want the man they love to return the sentiment?”
She sat up straighter in her chair as panic overtook her. She hadn’t meant to confess her feelings for the man. Her fearful eyes met Marcy’s understanding gaze, begging her to forget what she just said.
“I see.” Marcy stood and looked down into Sarah’s desperate eyes. “I’m truly sorry for my role in this Sarah. You’ll never know how sorry I am for what was said and if I could take it all back I would. Just remember, we hurt the ones we love the most. When a man’s pride is wounded and his love rejected, he’ll try to pay that pain back.”
She sat, staring into the empty space her friend had just left. She didn’t blame Marcy, not really. Last night when everything was still fresh she had railed at the woman for opening her big mouth and saying too much. When she calmed down and began to see things clearly, she realized she should be thanking Marcy. She was building something with Falon based on a lie and that wasn’t the way to start a relationship, not if she wanted it to last. She was grateful for Marcy for being the catalyst that brought everything to an end before she got in any further and Falon walked away from her at the end of his time in the city with nothing more than a ‘nice to know you’ and a brush of lips on her cheek. She had felt cheap the night before, but the thought of him ending things that way made her cringe.
The truth was, Marcy opened her eyes to her own delusions. She had confused Falon’s lust for her with something lasting, something they could have built a life on. She had been kidding herself to think she could be strong enough to reach a man held under such tight control. The connection she felt was probably another tactic he used to get women into bed.
He admitted to using her, yet had the audacity to accuse her of playing games. Wasn’t he as much to blame for the way things turned out as she was? At least she had actually become emotionally invested. She had fallen for the man and he was just in it for the hot sex. She let her anger at the man build. Anything was better than the sinking feeling of letting go of the only love she’ll ever know.
***
Falon tried to relax as he sat across from Ginny. When the stunning woman approached him after their meeting, thinly veiled lust in her eyes, he tried to get his body to respond in the appropriate manner. Where normally he would take the lead, he found himself hesitating accepting the invitation to lunch. It wasn’t until he felt Sarah’s eyes on him that he agreed.
Determined to get his head in the right place, far more south than it currently was, Falon studied the woman across from him. Her blond hair was pulled over one shoulder draping down her chest to tease her very substantial cleavage. She was perfectly made up, her sultry eyes popped and her sensual lips painted a perfect shade of red. Everything about her look and her attitude screamed sex. He felt nothing. Couldn’t even inspire a twitch in his favorite appendage when he noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra under that skintight dress.
What kind of man was he? Ginny was beautiful. And willing. And … perky. And all he could think about was how she wasn’t Sarah.
Shit.
Shifting in his seat, he admitted to himself he was in the restaurant not because he was interested in what Ginny was obviously offering, but because he wanted to hurt Sarah. That thought grated almost painfully on his reemerged conscience. The damned thing hadn’t shut up since he threw his phone across his hotel room in the early hours of the morning. Sarah’s number flashing on the screen before it went dead.
“How long are you in Chicago?” Ginny’s overly sweet voice broke into his thoughts.
“I should be done here by the end of the week.”
“So soon?” Ginny practically purred. “I should have dropped by the agency a lot sooner.”
He felt her bare foot work up the inside of his leg. Clearing his throat, he shifted his body forcing her to drop her foot. Dear Lord, what was wrong with him? The woman was giving him the green light and all he could think about was how Sarah would feel if she found out about her advances.
No. What Sarah thought didn’t matter anymore. Never should have mattered at all.
Falon forced a wicked smile to his lips, hoping Ginny wouldn’t notice how strained the expression was. When an answering smirk slid into place and a calculating gleam entered her eyes he tried to relax, willing himself to get lost in the game of mutual seduction.
“You have any plans for your last few days in town?” He willed himself to stay still when he felt her foot dance back up his leg.
“Not anymore.”
“One woman’s loss is my gain.” That predatory light returned to her eyes.
The waiter’s reappearance saved Falon from having to respond to her obvious stake on his remaining time in Chicago. Why not spend it with the woman? She was stunning and obviously open for the kind of short-term relationship he was comfortable with. She wanted him, he was sure he would want her as soon as he recovered from the shock of last night. What red-blooded man wouldn’t want a woman like the one before him? So, why not?
“So it would seem.” Falon sealed his fate. He would let Ginny wipe his mind and body clean of the memory of Sarah. Maybe then he would be rid of the burning ache in his chest. Rubbing at the center of the pain, he willed his control into place. He couldn’t keep letting Sarah influence him.