Where She Belongs Page 4

  "No, you're not. You've matured. You left here a girl, and now you're a woman. Having you actually here is totally different from our phone relationship we've had for the past five years. Totally different."

  "No, I guess not. We've both changed, in many ways. We are different people from five years ago."

  For one, it was acceptable for him to be attracted to her and to pursue a relationship. Should he want a relationship. Her boyfriend notwithstanding.

  "I'm really glad you decided to stick around and give me a chance to get to know you again. I really missed you. I didn't know it ‘til now."

  She walked past him and opened the doors to the parking lot and the world at large, totally ignoring his comment.

  As he watched her head for his car, a horrible thought hit him.

  What if Bryce was right?

  Chapter 3

  Shanna couldn't open her eyes to look for her cell phone, which would not stop ringing. It was the third time it woke her. She hadn't stayed up until midnight local time, two in the morning in the East, on purpose. After supper with Gabe then a quick visit at the hospital, she came home to check her email to find a message from Trenton. He needed her to look over his proposal changes before he sent them to his father to look over.

  Make corrections, add anything you think might be missing. In general work that Shanna magic.

  Great.

  She'd worked her magic all right, until she thought her eyes might bleed. But it had been what she had promised Trenton when she proposed staying for two weeks to make her dad happy. And she had to promise that she would still keep up with whatever Trenton needed her to get done.

  Shanna managed to open one eye to look at the clock. Seven-twenty. "Hello," she said, holding the phone against her head, realizing her voice sounded as if she'd spent the night at a party, screaming her head off.

  "Shanna?"

  "Yeah," she said. "Morning, Trenton."

  "Hi. How are you?"

  "Exhausted, I was up until two AM with that proposal stuff. I hope it made sense."

  "Yeah, it was good. Look, I'm sending over some files that Martin Thomas from, uh,…"

  "He was from that start-up, DomPlanet, that wanted you to talk to your dad for them."

  "Right DomPlanet. I knew you'd remember. Anyway, they sent the more information we requested. I was hoping you'd have a chance to go over it and let me know what you think, write me up a summary and all that stuff."

  She sighed, her eyes burning in the early morning sun. God, why did it have to be nearly summer? If it were winter, there wouldn't be any sun at this godforsaken early hour. Or at least Trenton-forsaken. "Sure. I'll put it on my phone so I can read it over. How soon do you need it?"

  "Since they only want to use my connections, no rush, Monday, Tuesday. You won't be at the office on the weekend, so you should have some extra time by then.”

  Shanna realized it was Trenton's normal to work at home through the weekend. His father was always working at home. That was not the norm in her world. Well, not here right here world. The factory closed on weekends. Family was important to her dad. He spent the weekends with his family and expected his workers have the same privileges.

  She used to try to get Trenton to take weekends off and enjoy himself, but he mainly got stressed out that he wasn't keeping up with the others― which might have been true― but she'd shrug that smug satisfaction off so she could enjoy some downtime regularly. A twice-a-year trip to Mexico, no matter how nice, didn't cut it.

  "Shanna, are you listening?"

  "To what?" she snapped.

  There was a long pause. "Pardon?"

  "Sorry. I didn't mean to use that tone. I'm tired from being up late so I could finish the proposal amendments."

  "Thank you for doing that. I should get back to work. I'll shoot the proposal stuff over to Father. You are one in a million. I’ll talk to you soon."

  "Have a good day." She closed her phone and laid back down. But no matter how she tried, tossing, turning, blankets on and blankets off, she couldn't get back to sleep.

  And she wasn't even thinking about how much she missed Trenton. "No, no, not I. I wouldn't go the easy route, that would be simple,” she said to the ceiling. She recalled Gabe's eyes boring into hers, how it felt when he kissed her cheek, to be hugged against his body. Seeing his eyes roam her body as if he were some guy on the street.

  That was the most ridiculous part. She'd thrown herself at him five years ago. Thrown herself. Offered everything to him, her whole self, body, mind, soul. Heart. And he'd stopped her and said that it wasn't a good time.

  She'd been humiliated by the whole experience. And her heart had been broken. She'd planned to tell him she loved him, real love, not puppy love, but love. They'd known each other forever. She knew all the bad things about him. He knew all her secrets. They were both lonely and lost.

  The anger returned as if it had happened yesterday. She wasn't going to be charmed by anything Gabriel Brande said to her. However sweet his words or how it played into the fantasies she'd had, until she met Trenton almost four years ago, her second year of college. He'd been a year older, handsome, rich and in need of someone to study with him. Not study the same things, but someone to keep him accountable.

  They started meeting in the library once a week to read together. First, he'd ask her some questions. Start a discussion with her. Then he asked her to proof a paper, then more and more. Finally, he took her out to dinner to thank her for all her assistance so far. When he took her home, in his Audi Spyder, he kissed her after he walked her to her dorm door

  After that, he called her "his girlfriend" and she'd been too thrilled by everything to find a reason to argue. She spent weekends at his apartment, where she'd sleep on his spare bed, alone. They made out all the time, but it never went further for the first six months they were together. Later, he told her he feared rushing her and thought she was likely a virgin. She wasn't a virgin, but she wasn't experienced either.

  She sighed and threw her blankets off. She might as well have a shower and get some coffee and maybe breakfast; visit her dad, then work. After talking to her dad, she'd thought of a few hundred things she wanted to look into: contracts, suppliers, permits. She couldn't recall most of it. The important parts she had noted on her phone.

  As she dressed, she heard a knock on the front door. Who was here this early? Little surprise her mother was up. She'd never been one to sleep in either. Shanna headed down stairs then wrinkled her nose. "Oh it's you."

  Gabe's eyes searched her face. "You look as if I kept you up drinking all night, or worse. Or is that jet lag?"

  "I had to do some work for Trenton I forgot about, so I was up until midnight. And with the time change, I'm sure you can figure it out. And good morning." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Good morning, Ma." She poured herself a coffee and dumped some into her mouth. She didn't usually go for black, but now she needed all the caffeine she could get, as fast as possible.

  "Good morning, my dear," Rita said, cracking eggs into the pan on stove. "Gabe is having scrambled eggs. What would you like?"

  "Maybe I should move home. Someone making breakfast for me... Maybe next time I'll order the service in bed."

  "Don't push it, young lady." Rita leveled a spatula at her daughter and looked as menacing as a teddy bear. "Move in with Gabe, he makes a mean breakfast spread."

  "Stayed overnight at Gabe's often? Mom, I'm shocked."

  "He has us over for brunch sometimes. Always delicious."

  "That's because it's store bought.” Gabe winked at Shanna. She held back her giggle.

  "It is not, Gabriel. I've cleaned up after. You cook everything. Very wonderfully."

  "I'll have two scrambled as well, Ma. Thank you. Shall I put the bread in the toaster?"

  "Sure."

  The three of them had a nice breakfast together, then to the hospital. After the hospital, Shanna and Gabe continued on to the office together.

  * * *


  Gabe was certain he hadn't left Shanna alone for more than forty-five minutes. He had to return to his own office a few doors down. He'd had an urgent matter with a supplier to deal with. He supposed after he should have let Shanna listen in, but it was bad enough that it required his full attention.

  When he returned, it looked like a tornado had hit the filing cabinet. They didn't name tornadoes, so he'd have to go with Hurricane Shanna for now. File folders were laid out in stacks on the sofa, little notes on the top of every pile.

  Hurricane wasn't accurate, as hurricane usually denoted destruction, and this was orderly and planned.

  "Busy?"

  "Looking over things."

  "I wasn't gone that long was I?"

  She looked at her watch. "Nearly an hour. Why?"

  "You're very efficient."

  She beamed at him.

  "So find anything interesting?"

  "Yes, this filing system is all wrong."

  "How so?"

  "Nothing is in any sort of logical order. Not alphabetical, suppliers are put next to buyers. No order, just hash-mash everywhere. I can't live like that. I'm fixing it. Categories then alphabetical."

  "Better talk to Rachel first."

  "Nope, my temporary office. Dad wanted me to work here for two weeks, I'm working. Do you have a problem? Or shall I come look in your filing cabinet?"

  "Stay away from my office for now."

  She stuck her tongue at him then went back to the filing cabinet. She closed the now empty drawer and bent to pull the next one open. He admired the view as her ass blossomed before his eyes. God, why was that so appealing to him? She stood again and turned to him. He lifted his eyes immediately. Shit!

  "Was there something you needed?" Besides to stare at my ass? She didn't say it aloud. Maybe she hadn’t noticed the direction of his eyes.

  "Uh, not really. I came to see if you needed anything. I can use the computer in here in case you need me. If you don't mind."

  "Whatever, as long as you ignore me talking to myself."

  "I can do that."

  He sat at the computer and logged off Bryce's and onto his account. He let himself get lost in his reading, her sounds and voice moving to the background with the other office noises.

  Sometime later, he realized he needed a cup of coffee and a stretch. He stood and turned the chair around. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped to watch her graceful movements, like a bee moving from flower to flower, instead, she went from filing cabinet to her piles on the sofa. Flipping through the file, making a decision and placing it on the appropriate pile. Sometimes she'd stop and stare for a moment, then move it, move it back, then move it again. Finally satisfied, she'd flit back to the cabinet.

  "Shan," he said.

  She stopped and turned to him. She had removed her sweater in the interim, leaving her shoulders bare. He took the four steps over to her and touched the bit of skin, letting the smoothness roll under his knuckles.

  She gasped and looked up at him, the rest of her body froze. He didn't know what possessed him to caress her, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. He realized that he shouldn't be touching, and pulled his hand back.

  His sudden movement broke her frozen state and she stepped backward. Only she stumbled and lost her balance completely, flailing backwards. Gabe lurched forward and grabbed her to keep her from hitting the floor.

  She over corrected herself and ended up crashing into him. He caught her in his arms and looked down at her. He supported her with one hand, while the other brushed her hair from her face. Then his hand trailed down the slender curve of her neck, back to her shoulder where it started. Now that he had felt her skin, he wanted to keep touching her. He trailed his fingers over her jawline,

  He watched her throat bob as she swallowed the lump in her throat. He bent his head and brushed his lips over her jaw. He lifted his head in time to see her close her eyes and her lips parted in a most enticing sigh. He couldn't resist. He whispered as much against her lips, then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

  His mind was a riot of thought and feeling, as she matched his intensity. Their tongues thrust and parried, seeking to dominate and possess. Now that she supported her weight on her own legs, he plowed his fingers into her hair. She wore long curls that bounced around the swell of her breast, which he supposed she had done deliberately. She didn't seem the type to shy away from using her feminine wiles to get what she wanted. He used it against her now and tugged her head back. Dragging his lips from hers, he applied them to her neck and tasted what she offered. He wished he could brand her with his teeth, but he knew it was a bad idea.

  She rubbed against him. "Gabe," she sighed. Her body went from limp in his arms to tense. "Oh shit, Gabe." She pushed at him and he let her go.

  Fuck, what the hell did you say after a second ill-timed kiss. He wanted to punch something. "I'm sorry. Hell."

  He watched her face go from a confused riot of emotion to calm and in control. She brushed her hair back into place quickly. "Well," she started.

  Gabe decided to cut her off with a shake of his head. He matched her demeanor and went back to business. He remembered his original intent when he straightened. "Do you want some coffee? I need a cup."

  "You could summon Rachel."

  "That would be lazy," he said. "Besides I need to stretch my legs."

  "A coffee would be great. One cream―"

  "Two sugars," he finished for her.

  She blinked at him. He wanted to throw it back at her. Yeah, he knew what she took in her coffee.

  "I'll be a few minutes."

  He didn't dare look at her before he left. God, what the hell had he been thinking? He hadn't been. Rachel looked at him as he stalked out, but she didn't say anything. She knew what the look on his face meant. He managed to contain himself from slamming the door to his own office.

  He locked the door and sat at his desk. Once he was alone, he let his thoughts and emotions run loose. He wasn't sure if he should feel guilty for kissing her. She was twelve years younger than him, and she was one of his best friends. He had gotten over any other feelings for her long ago. Hadn't he?

  Five years had passed since he last held her in his arms; since he tasted her and felt her shiver under his hands. Everything about having her that close felt right and good. He felt overwhelmed with the desire to run back to her office and kiss her until she admitted she felt the same.

  He rubbed his hands over his face, wondering what she was going to say. She'd certainly participated in the kiss. She'd moaned his name, not that idiot's.

  No matter what he should feel, he knew what he did feel. His body ached for her, as he had years ago when he had stopped himself from touching her. She'd been an eighteen-year-old girl then. She was a grown woman now. Everything about her inflamed him.

  His thought from the previous night echoed. What if Bryce was correct? What if she belonged here with him? Growing Whittikar Cabinets into what Bryce always dreamed it would be? His lasting legacy to the world.

  He wondered if eleven thirty was too early to start lacing his coffee with whiskey?

  At any rate, it would probably be better if he spent more time in his own office. Except that this afternoon, he'd planned to start looking at e-mails together and start talking about what she would do if she were in charge.

  Change of plans there. He couldn't spend anymore time too near her. Probing her intelligence would not help either. Instead, she could type her answers and e-mail them to him. That would solve the problem and he would still get her working on more complex things, rather than reorganizing the filing system.

  Man, was this what Trenton von Snooty had her doing? Filing? That was a waste of her time. There was so much she could do, if someone led her in the right direction.

  * * *

  The incident, which she would not think of by actual action, had taken less than a minute to occur. But the effects would not be stoppe
d.

  Shanna tried to calm the riot of emotions that churned inside her. It had been hours since Gabe had kissed her in her father's office. Damn if his kiss hadn't stirred up more in her than a hundred of Trenton's kisses.

  She left the office at lunchtime. Her reorganization of the filing cabinet remained unfinished. She'd probably go back in after supper, when Gabe definitely wouldn't be there.

  When she told him she was leaving, he asked if she wanted to answer some e-mails. She asked him to forward them, she would do them later, but she really needed to go see her dad.

  And she did, if only to distract herself. So she sat beside his hospital bed, watching a baseball game. She had no idea who was playing.

  "Gabe says you are unhappy with my filing system."

  "I'm fixing it. Don't argue about it. You wanted me to work, I'm working. The new system will be much more efficient." At least filing was something she was confident doing.

  "The old one was fine."

  “Why doesn’t Rachel do your filing?”

  “I got used to doing certain things. Rachel does the things I’m not great at. Typing my notes, proofing my writing and keeping my schedule.”

  The same things she did for Trenton. She tapped her fingers on her knee. "When did you talk to Gabe. anyhow? You are supposed to be resting, not checking on him."

  "I called before you got here, during his lunch break. Laying here, doing nothing is not relaxing or restful. It's driving me mad."

  "I'll bring you some books. What do you read?"

  "Expense reports."

  "Romance novels it is." She grinned at him.

  "How's working with Gabe?"

  "Fine." Except when he touched her intimately, gently, like a lover might if he meant to seduce her. "He's good at his job. He is good at explaining things to me without talking down to me. He can run the company." He’s also good at kissing. Phenomenal.

  "I know. But I need to know he's got someone with him that I can trust. I'd prefer it to be you."