Page 16 of Richard

“I meant to call and tell you what an excellent job you are doing.”

She glanced at him in surprise, a smile curving her lips. “Thank you. I really appreciate the encouragement. I had the feeling you were somehow displeased with the way I was doing my job.”

“Why would you- Oh!” He shook his head wryly. “I was less than congenial the last time we saw each other. Lenny might have told you that I am incredibly moody.”

The smile again had him fighting the urge to cover her lips with his curved mouth.

“He might have mentioned that you were sometimes difficult to please.”

“He did huh?”

“Yes.” Her smile widened, and he saw the dimples peeking out. Her eyes were sparkling, her teeth very white against the lushness of her bottom lip.

Reining in his lust, he fought to appear nonchalant. “And what was your response to that?”

“I told him that most creative people were in fact difficult to work with because they demand perfection.”

“You have been spending quite a lot of time with him.”

Her gaze was sharp, and he wondered if his jealousy was showing.

What the hell? Jealousy? Where did that come from?

“He’s a fascinating man and his stories are rather interesting. I am doing a follow up to the story we did on him last week. He has agreed for us to incorporate the struggle with his illness and how it impacted his life’s work. He said his songs are different, the focus is more toward facing mortality and deciding what’s important.”

“Sounds heavy.”

She looked at him curiously. “He said you listened to some of the songs he created since his diagnosis.”

Richard nodded. He was more interested in the movement of her sultry lips than in what she was saying.

“We are in the process of turning them into an album. A song or two might be up for a soundtrack.”

Her eyes sparkled. “That’s wonderful.”

Richard nodded. The crowd eddied around them, and they were getting several curious glances. It was a charity benefit, and he had come minus a date, something he was relieved about. But it also reminded her that she was here with someone, and he was monopolizing her time.

“How do you know Gallows?” he asked abruptly.

“My company works for him. He wanted some PR work, and we came highly recommended. He, along with several celebrities, preferred to work with an agency instead of hiring someone to make them look good to their fans.”

He studied her for a second before firing his next question. “Are you involved with him?”

She lifted startled eyes at him and at first, he thought she was not going to answer.

“No, I am not.”

He felt the relief coursing through his body and took a sip of his drink.

“I have to go.”

Her soft voice jarred him out of his reverie. The disappointment he felt had to be contained somehow. He enjoyed talking to her and wanted to insist that she come back to his place and spend the night. The yearning for her frightened and confused him so much that he had to take a step back.

“Enjoy the rest of the evening.” With a curt nod, he turned on his heels and walked away. Putting the glass away, he headed toward the door and grabbed his jacket. It was going to be a damn long night.

*****

He was going to do it. Almost the entire night, while lying sleepless on his king-sized bed, he had tried to talk himself out of what he had planned. But this morning, in the cold light of day, he knew he could not escape it. He was going to make a move.

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