‘Long black,’ he said to the pierced barista behind the counter. He could already feel the buzz of caffeine as the youth prepared it and he knew it would be a lot better than the coffee he’d picked up at that grungy gas station he’d worked at during university.
‘Thanks. Keep the change.’
He took his coffee to the window and savoured that first sip.
‘But you know the best coffee is the first coffee of the day, right? When it’s nice and hot and the acidity just rolls across your tongue. It’s sublime, isn’t it?’
Yes, it was sublime and finally Dare knew what he had to do.
He wouldn’t call Benson and give him the news about Beckett over the phone. He’d ride down to Rothmeyer House first thing tomorrow and deliver the bad news in person. Then he’d—no, he wouldn’t ride all that way; it would take too long. Instead he’d take the chopper—except the chopper was in for repairs. Damn. So, okay, back to plan A. He’d take the H2 out first thing in the morning and speak to Benson. See if he wanted some advice, given that he was a week out from his operation. Then he’d talk to Carly.
She’d either be happy to see him, or not, and being a man who played the odds he’d put money on not, but either way he wouldn’t have these lingering thoughts of what if? circling his brain at the most inopportune times. Like yesterday when he’d had to decide if an alarm clock shaped like a pig that was programmed to fry bacon as well was something that was going to take off in the market or tank.
He blew out a slow breath. She’d wanted him as much as he wanted her even if she claimed otherwise.
And if her beeper hadn’t gone off he wouldn’t still be wondering what it would be like to make love to Carly Evans, he’d know.
Or would he?
Dammit, all these questions were doing his head in. He was a man who dealt in facts, though right now he was behaving like an old woman in a knitting circle.
Well, time would tell. She’d either be amenable to his visit or not and right now he didn’t much care which. If she didn’t want him he’d walk away and forget her. If she did...if she did he’d tell her it was senseless to fight it. Sex was sex. Why complicate it by abstaining, or over-thinking things?
Stepping outside the café, he walked to the corner and hailed a cab. He settled back against the leather seat, gave the driver his address and glanced out of the window. He felt like a general who had just made the decision to send his troops into battle, his heart thudding so loudly it drowned out the rain on the cab roof.
* * *
Carly pulled herself out of the swimming pool and leant back in the sunshine. The weather had been a little cooler this week but the sky was mostly clear and honeybees still hovered over the last of the summer flowers.
Benson’s vital signs were all looking good for his operation and she was hopeful that his prognosis would be positive. Especially since he’d developed a real spring in his step with Rachel staying on. It was nice to see them playing bridge together and strolling around the gardens.
Their successful reunion had made her realise how disillusioned she’d become with her own life. Somewhere along the line she’d grown into a non-trusting person—exactly like Daniel, and that was no way to live.
Which was why she’d called her parents. They’d been so happy when she’d called and even said she sounded more like her old self. It had made her feel teary. Without realising it she’d closed herself off from everyone so effectively she’d had no idea just how worried her parents and friends had been about her.
But things would be different from now on. She’d promised to visit when she finished up with the Baron and she’d decided to take some time to figure things out.
And as for Dare James... She was just happy she’d never have to see him again. Her attraction for him had been a complication she hadn’t foreseen and most likely hadn’t handled that well.
A frown scrunched her brow. If her beeper hadn’t gone off she wouldn’t have spent the week wondering what it would be like to make love to him—she was quite sure she’d know.
Because he had been right. She had wanted him. And it scared her how quickly she’d succumbed to the feelings he’d ignited inside her. How quickly she’d succumbed to his touch, his scent. Pheromones really were powerful aphrodisiacs when it came down to it.