A soft chime filled the foyer before she could respond. The gleam in her eyes, however, hinted it would have been a zinger. Christ, he loved her mind. Her wit. As much as he—
The chime sounded in the foyer again. Pulse pounding harder than it should, he walked to the door and pressed the intercom button connecting him to the front gate. “Yes?”
“Your driver, Mr. Dyson.”
Sienna crossed her arms over her breasts, cocking an eyebrow. “Driver?”
He threw her a sheepish smile. “I didn’t want you taking a taxi or Uber without your knickers.” He hit the intercom button again. “Give me five.”
“Yes, sir.”
Her lips twisted. She drummed her fingers on her arm. “I want to be angry with you.”
He leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “But you can’t?”
“No.”
James beamed. “All part of my plan.”
She stiffened. Visible tension pulled at the edges of her eyes. “Plan?”
“I didn’t…” His gut dropped. “That’s not…”
Turning away from him a little, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you meant. I guess I’m still suspicious.”
“About me?”
“About you.”
A thick lump made itself at home in his throat. He swallowed, but the lump wouldn’t budge. Prickling heat swept over his scalp. He stared at her. She had every damn right to be suspicious. And yet…she never had to know what he’d planned for her. He wasn’t carrying it out now. The thought of doing so, of following through, made his gut churn. He had no clue what was next for them, but hurting her wasn’t part of it. Long, lazy days and nights making love, yes. Relaxed days walking the beach, definitely. Afternoons sailing the harbor, absolutely. But no longer revenge. That wasn’t an option anymore.
“There’s nothing to be suspicious about.” He pushed himself from the doorjamb and crossed to where she stood. “Fate brought us together. I’m not going to fight it anymore.”
Wary tension continued to swim in her eyes. Christ, what could he do to make it go away? Kiss her? He wanted to hear her laughter again. See her smile.
He stepped closer, craving the sensation of her heat, and lowered his head to hers. “Sienna…”
She ducked backward before his lips could brush hers. “Breakfast. Bring juice. Zach drank all ours.”
And with a look he couldn’t decipher, she opened the door, stepped over the threshold, and pulled the door closed behind her.
He stared hard at the door. Dragged in a long breath. Alone in his multi-million-dollar home, he’d never felt so empty or poor in his life.
…
The driver didn’t speak to her for the entire trip. Nor did he accept any money when she tried to offer it to him on arrival at her warehouse. Instead, he gave her his card and told her Mr. Dyson had offered his services whenever she needed them.
Once again, she wanted to be angry with James. Once again, she couldn’t.
She walked away from the luxury limo, Carrie’s stilettos dangling from her fingers, her heart a crazy tattoo in her chest. Warmth fluttered in her stomach.
When was the last time she’d been so…so…happy?
Slipping her key into the lock, she sighed. “Not for a long, long—”
The door swung open, Zach smirking at her from the other side of the threshold. “And what time do you call this then?”
With a giggle, she poked her tongue out at him. “A respectable time, considering I’m twenty-six and just went out with Australia’s most eligible bachelor.”
Zach’s smirk grew wider. “Hey, I saw the way he looked at you. I reckon eligible bachelor isn’t going to be the right term for James Dyson very soon.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She tossed her shoes at him. “Whatever.”
He caught them with a laugh. “By the way, you had a visitor while you were out.”
“Who? Carrie?”
Zach shook his head. “Thomas St. Clair.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he wanted to see more of your work. I showed him that charcoal drawing you did the other morning. The one with the two people making out. He offered to buy it.”