He thought about it some more as he greeted the doorman, walked through the lobby and used his key to activate the elevator. The idea of getting involved with Jamie made his groin tingle in anticipation. He brushed his hand over his mouth, remembering the feel of her lips, and his pulse rate jumped several points.
The elevator arrived and whisked him up to his twenty-fifth-floor apartment. A short walk down a carpeted hallway brought him to his door. Unlocking it and going inside, he left the lights off. As big a fuss as he’d made about the Bulls game, he wasn’t interested in turning it on. Instead, he moved over to the far side of the apartment, where a wall of windows looked out onto the inky expanse of Lake Michigan.
To his left, the Chicago skyline glittered, and the sight never failed to stir him. Wealth had always been a part of his life, and most of the time he didn’t consider it the biggest part. But it could buy him this view, and for that he was grateful.
As always when he stood here, his gaze followed the shoreline north. Somewhere embedded in that brilliant necklace were the lights of his parents’ lakefront home in Evansville. They’d told him once that during happy hour they always lifted a glass in his direction, and that had made him smile. He’d been lucky, being born to those two.
But as had most of his friends’ parents, they were starting to moan about not having grandkids. It was normal, but Dev thought there was more to it than wanting to cuddle babies and root for Little Leaguers again. His mom and dad needed to know that there would be heirs to the Sherman empire for at least the next two generations. He didn’t blame them but he didn’t like being rushed, either.
Dating someone like Jamie would stall the marriage mobile for a little while, anyway. But if he had a prayer of succeeding, he’d have to stop being such a chicken shit and put a move on the woman that she wouldn’t be able to resist. He’d have to forget about her brains and appeal to a more primitive part of her make-up. It was all about focus.
If he’d never kissed her, he’d doubt his ability to manage a seduction. But until they’d dropped the cup, she’d been into it. Without the cup incident, he might have been able to bypass that IQ of hers while he honed in on her libido.
All he needed to do was create a second chance. And the very cup that had spoiled the moment the first time around would be his entrée back into her apartment. He’d promised to replace it, and he always kept his promises.
DESPITE SPRITZING some lavender on her pillow, Jamie didn’t sleep well. She was up early and checking her e-mail to see if Dev had sent anything back. Come to find out he’d sent his own questionnaire and two of his friends had sent theirs, as well.
Dev must have been a busy boy after leaving her, which only confirmed what she’d suspected—he hadn’t been tired, only desperate to get away from her. At least she had a start on information she could use to modify The Red Doors program.
She’d hand the info over to Jason, a developer they’d kept on staff to maintain the program. With some late nights, which Jason seemed to love putting in, the revised program could be up and running in a couple of days. She’d talk to Faith today about getting some new ads in place.
Because she was weak, she took the time to glance over the rest of Dev’s answers to her questions. She discovered that she and Dev were about as opposite as two people could get. She liked subtlety and he apparently went for the obvious.
She wasn’t into lingerie, but if she were, she’d choose filmy white outfits that were semisheer. Dev admitted to liking leather, specifically a G-string and a push-up bra. And spike-heeled boots. Maybe even a whip, for all she knew.
As for fragrances, no delicate florals for him. Although he’d said he liked the cinnamon she’d had in the diffuser, he was turned on by heavy, exotic perfumes, the kind that would likely choke her to death. Oh, well. She’d asked, and if she was disappointed in his answers, they only emphasized how wrong she was for him.
After downloading all the information onto a disk, she got ready for work. She thought about Dev as she stood in front of her closet. Because she was fresh out of leather G-strings and push-up bras, she pulled out her favorite green suit. It was probably too conservative to get his attention, but it made her feel pretty, and she could use that right now.
She wondered how he would play things this morning. If he ducked out of their regular coffee gathering, she’d know that he was uncomfortable being with her after what had taken place in her apartment. Under the circumstances, she’d rather walk in a couple of minutes later than usual to give him a chance to commit himself one way or the other. If he bailed, she’d have an assistant deliver the tape of the Bulls game to his office.
When she stepped off the bus, she checked her watch and decided to window-shop on Michigan Avenue for a little while. Although it was still very cold, the wind had let up, so she should be able to dawdle without freezing to death.
Unfortunately, the constant reminder of Valentine’s Day in every display window depressed her. Not only was she worried about how The Red Doors would do this holiday season, she was also reminded that she had no love life. Nobody was likely to send her gym socks in a heart-shaped box, let alone candy and flowers.
That was her own fault, she admitted as she gave up on window-shopping and headed down Michigan Avenue at a faster pace. She could have arranged her schedule around an occasional date.
But she hadn’t.
Instead she’d compared every other guy with Dev and found them not worth the effort. Maybe it was time to be ruthlessly honest with herself. She’d been doing more than dreaming of Dev as the central player in her sexual fantasies. She’d been imagining him as the central player in her life, for the rest of her life—white lace, champagne toasts, happily ever after.
Talk about idiotic. But Faith had brought those unconscious dreams to the surface yesterday. Jamie and Dev as a couple. Not likely. She would love to share Dev’s answers to the questionnaire with Faith, just to prove that a matchup was hopeless, but she’d promised Dev confidentiality, and she always kept her promises.
CHAPTER FIVE
DEV ARRIVED at the café early because he didn’t want to miss Jamie. He wondered if she’d wimp out, come in the back and go straight up to her office. That would be a dead giveaway that she was avoiding him, because he knew how much she loved that front entrance. In a way, her ducking out might be a good sign, because he’d know that kiss had knocked her off balance, too.
As luck would have it, Faith showed up before Jamie. Whipping off her coat and gloves, she sat across from Dev, a gleam of anticipation in her eyes. “Did you and Jamie take care of the questionnaire last night?”
He kept his expression neutral. Faith wouldn’t hear about the kiss from him. “We did.” He glanced up as Mr. Willis approached with a steaming mug of coffee for each of them. Dev had never asked, but he would bet the guy had worked in at least one five-star restaurant in his career. His talent for anticipating a customer’s wishes was uncanny. “Thanks, Mr. Willis.”
“You’re most welcome.”
“You’re wonderful, Mr. Willis.” Faith gave the coffee bar manager a smile before zeroing in on Dev again. “That’s good that you completed the questionnaire,” she said. “We need that info.”
“For the program.”
“Of course for the program. Dev, I am not giving your answers to Mom. Considering the kinds of questions Jamie and I dreamed up, Mom would have a heart attack if she saw your answers.”
“I don’t want anybody to know what my answers were—except Jamie, of course.”
“And that’s the way it’ll be. I promise.”
Dev sipped his coffee and gazed at his sister. She’d also been raised to keep her promises, so he had to believe she meant what she said. But that didn’t explain her cat-that-ate-the-canary expression. “You’re up to something. I know that look.”
“I’m excited about the additions to the program, that’s all. Oh, here’s Jamie.”
Dev’s pulse rate picked up. So she wasn’t so rattled by their kiss that she’d skipped having the usual morning coffee. Okay, she was a cool customer, which made him even more determined to put his plan into action.
“Hi.” Jamie flipped back her hood and unwound her scarf, which she’d done every workday morning since it had turned cold in November. Except this morning Dev saw it differently, as the first stage in undressing. As she took off her gloves and slipped out of her camel-colored coat, he pictured her reaching for the row of buttons on the jacket of her two-piece suit.
She’d undo them in a matter-of-fact way. A striptease wasn’t Jamie’s style. Underneath she’d be wearing cotton underwear, and that was fine with him. A woman who wore cotton underwear had suddenly become an irresistible challenge. He saw her as earthy and basic, someone who was into comfort. And he would make her so comfortable…after he turned her inside out.
“Dev says you finished the questionnaire,” Faith said.
Dev forced his attention away from Jamie and hoped he hadn’t been caught ogling.
“Yep, we finished it.” Jamie saw Mr. Willis coming with her coffee and gave him a big grin. “Mr. Willis, you’re a peach.”