Page 5 of An Engagement for Erica

He pulled up his email and saw the hundred unanswered ones that came in while he was on his twenty-minute call.

As he scanned them, he noticed half were complaints from his managers. More shit he’d have to figure out.

He dropped his head back on the chair and closed his eyes.

“Hi. Is this a bad time?”

Tucker popped them open quickly and lifted his head to see Erica James standing in the doorway looking even lovelier than she’d been the last time he’d seen her.

Her light brown hair had streaks of blonde in it and was past her shoulders in some soft waves on a pretty pink silky shirt.

She had black pants on that fell to the floor and he was waiting for her to walk so he could see if she still wore those sexy power heels that he’d admired months ago.

“No,” he said. “It’s perfect.” He stood up and walked toward her. “Please come in and have a seat.” He motioned her to the couch and two chairs to the left. “One of the chairs works.”

He didn’t want to think of what his father might have done on that couch. He wanted it burned but needed furniture in here too. The stuff he ordered was in storage waiting for the damn office to be redone.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a seat and putting her bag on the floor. It was a light tan with a flower embossed in it. She flipped the top back and pulled her laptop out.

“You look good,” he said.

Her face turned a light pink. She was embarrassed over the last time he’d seen her. He knew that. Their exit interview with the summary of her work from his last employer.

He couldn’t get that day out of his head for a number of reasons.

“Thank you,” she said. “I feel good. Once again, I appreciate everything you did that day.”

He tilted his head. “Everyone has off times in their life,” he said. “It’s over with in my mind.”

“Thanks for that. There shouldn’t be any problems in the future.”

Tucker didn’t know what happened to her that day other than her face flushed when they were talking, as if her body was lit on fire, then she grabbed the back of her head and her eyes rolled back and she was face down on the table.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Truly, I am. My reaction times might not be as fast with everything I’ve got going on around here.”

She flushed again. “My family is very thankful you reacted as rapidly as you had, but I was still breathing.”

She was talking about him doing CPR on her. He hadn’t known and just jumped into action.

If he thought of his lips touching her soft ones more than once, he pushed it aside.

But he couldn’t pushheraside.

Her strong but quiet confidence.

The calm she exhibited at all times. He wished he had a fraction of that.

And her looks.

Yeah, no reason to go there.

He’d keep it professional.

He had to.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“It’s fine,” she said. “Tell me what is going on. I have to admit I was a little surprised to get your inquiry a few weeks ago.”

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