Brian loved it when he came to the closing address. The weekend might be ending but those who'd spent the time with him this weekend would be taking the information that he'd shared away with them forever. It was what he wanted for these people. To help them take control of their lives. To be the captain of and steer their lives in the direction they wanted to go. Not be a victim of fate tossed about uncontrollably by circumstances, never finding happiness or fulfillment. To get on with the lives they were meant to live.
He spoke quietly, firmly, with confidence as he tried to inspire them. Another half an hour, then, finally, it was over.
Every time he finished a weekend seminar, he said it would be the last time. But only after a few weeks of recuperation he was already planning the next one. They exhausted him and they exhilarated him. When he gave the seminars everything he had, he always came away with more than what he'd brought.
This weekend was different. The threatening letters he'd received before the seminar, Ian's disruption and the king of all disruptions—or should he say Queen of all disruptions—Karina.
An event that both delighted and unnerved him.
He didn't like surprises. And her presence was a huge surprise. One he knew would have a long-reaching impact on his life—if he let it.
Listen to him. He hardly knew the woman. And what he did know…he shuddered. God, she'd been the hottest thing he could have imagined. He wanted that again. And those memories. Damn. Now he didn't think he'd ever be able to look at her again and not want her. Her upturned nose, those luscious, smiling lips combined with her brilliant blue eyes… Hell, they set him off every time. Her curls—they never lay properly, always crying out to be stroked. Bedroom hair is what he'd call it, always looking like she'd just been made love to.
That memory had been both a delight and a torment. An unforgettable night and his very unforgiveable behavior.
He had much to make up for.
"Goodbye Brian. Thanks so much for an informative weekend."
He turned to see who spoke, but calls were coming from all around him as people headed back to their own lives.
Good, soon he could leave, too. He wanted to go and walk his restlessness out on the beach. Hug Chelsea and listen to her squeals of joy. Return to his normal life and think.
A staff member crossed his line of vision and disturbed his musing. The young man walked up to him, carrying a large florist's box. "Sir, this just arrived for you."
Reading the nametag on the man's shirt, Brian said, "Thanks, John. Does it say who it's from?"
"No. There's probably a card on the inside. Do you want to open it here or take it with you?"
"I'll take it home. Would you mind putting it over there, with the cartons stacked up by the double doors?" He nodded at the spot. Even from here, he could smell the heavy scent wafting towards him. Roses.
He swiveled quickly, searching for Karina. Would she have sent him flowers? No, that wasn't her style. She'd have handed them to him, wouldn't she? He spotted her in the crowd, chewing on her bottom lip again. Damn it. Brian grinned as he realized Karina's eyes were following the path of the box. She was also frowning. Good, let her wonder.
Why should he be the only one tormented?
Their eyes met. She said something to the group she'd been standing with and walked toward him. A smile was trying to poke through, but didn't quite succeed.
"A gift from an admirer, Brian?" Her gaze swiveled to the florist's box again. "As long as it isn't from Ian."
Again, part of her bottom lip disappeared into her mouth. Damn it, she had to quit doing that.
"No, that would be the last thing he'd send me," he joked. He reached over and firmly turned her around so her back was to the box. "I'll take them home to my daughter. She'll enjoy opening them."
"How old is she?" Her gaze widened in surprise. "Does she live with her mom? How often do you see her?"
He answered patiently, having forgotten the universal reaction women had to finding out about Chelsea. "She's almost three, going on twelve. Chelsea lives with her mom, but comes over regularly. Some weekends she stays with me." Love swept through his voice. He adored his delightful tyrant. "You needn't sound so surprised, children are normal in a marriage."
"Sorry." She laughed, backing up a step. "I'm glad you're so close to her. Too many children are growing up without their fathers today. I didn't mean to get personal."
He barely resisted tugging her closer. They'd caused enough gossip this weekend as it were.
"Are you ready to go?" Karina's question brought him back to their surroundings.
"Is it that time already?" He looked around, surprised. When had it gotten so late?
The lobby had the depressing look of the morning after a party. It was deserted, with coffee cups and dirty plates littering the space. Papers and boxes were stacked against one wall. Lonely piles of luggage dotted the lobby. A few stragglers were still saying their goodbyes. It even smelled old and stale, empty.
Susan and Paul were making their way over to them. Paul held out his hand. "Thank you for taking such good care of my wife. She plans to attend your evening lectures, so we'll see you again." He turned to face Karina. "I understand that you and Susan have some big plans that she wants to talk to me about. Presumably, we'll also be seeing you again."
"Most likely. We'll definitely be staying in touch."
The women winked conspiratorially at each other and hugged once more in farewell.
"I'll miss Susan," Karina said, her gaze locked on the couple as they left. "Hopefully we can make our idea work. But there's lots of research to do first," she admitted, a hint of anxiety in her voice.
"What idea?"
"We're thinking about going into business together."
After that, she'd volunteer no more. No matter what question he asked. She'd only say that until the research was complete, she didn't want to do anything that might jinx it. Now that was a woman for you. Worrying about jinxing something still in the idea stage.
Frowning, Brian turned his attention back to the room, only to catch Mark grinning at him. He glared back. Mark's grin only widened.
Walking over to join them, Mark smirked. "A beautiful woman beside you and apparently another one sending you flowers. Tell me Brian, what am I doing wrong?" He smiled down at Karina. "Honey, you don't want to spend any time with this guy. You want to spend it with me," he teased. "When are you going to come and visit us?"
She smiled up at him. "You're such a sweetie. And watch what you say—you'll never know if I might just move here."
"You're looking at moving here. Why?" Mark asked. Linking arms with her, he added, "It's a wonderful idea and yes, we want you to move closer. What I mean is, what's making you think of changing cities like this?" Peering down at her closely, he added, "This has something to do with Susan, doesn't it?"
Brian stared down at her, thrown off-balance—again. She was looking at moving to Victoria as well? Another new tidbit of information.
She nodded happily at the men but refused to elaborate.
"Well, keep us posted." Mark dug into his shirt pocket. "Here's one of my cards. Let me know when you're coming and I'll scout out something new and different in the coffee world." Mark reached out and pulled Karina into a warm hug. "I'd love to have you closer."
Brian watched as his best friend connected with Karina on an easy, comfortable level. A level he wanted to reach but couldn't get to, yet. They had some personal stuff to deal with first.
"Take care and email me that you got home safely. Okay?" With that, Mark kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Brian, I'm loading up the car now. I'll give you a call tomorrow. See you." With a jaunty wave at them both, he headed out.
"Now I'm really going to be sad. I'm going to miss everyone." Tears were already starting to well up in the corners of her eyes.
"You'll just have to come and visit us." He slid an arm around her shoulder, nudging her toward his stack of boxes. "Come on, let's get your stuff."
After he made arrangements with hotel staff for the courier pickup of his workshop materials, they waited at the entrance doors until Brian's car was pulled around.
"Wow! Here I had you pegged as a BMW man. But a Porsche, now that shows a completely new side to you."
Brian held open her door, giving him an excuse to stand close. He was able to catch her dark, sexy fragrance as she moved past him and he closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to back away from temptation.
"This is a relatively new purchase. I felt a little more splash in my life wouldn't hurt." Sheepishly he added, "My last car was a BMW."
They both laughed.
"Do you ever get hate mail or nasty phone calls, or things like that? This thing with Ian just seems a little too easy, as if there might be more to it than that."
"Yes, I've received a couple. Why? Is Ian's intrusion still bothering you?" He asked in surprise. He handled the purring car, with quiet confidence. Efficiently pulling in and out of traffic, he brought the sports car onto the freeway. He stole a glance at her, wondering just how her legs would look below the hem of a dress or short skirt. On the other hand, he wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing those thighs hugged by very touchable suede slacks, either. The dashboard glowed, giving him just enough light to keep his imagination alive, but not enough to satisfy it.
"Do you think they could've been from Ian?"
Startled, he took his eyes off the road to look at her. "It's possible but I doubt it. His actions tonight appeared to be more of the spur-of-the–moment kind. Besides the police already have all the letters. If they are from Ian, they'll find out."
"Glad to hear it." She stretched out her legs, crossing them at the ankles. Damn, she looked good. Forcibly he brought his attention back to the road. The rain had stopped and traffic was calm, making for an easy drive. "Do you remember him from university?"
"What? No. I don't." Ian had been so upset in his rant, it'd been difficult to look directly at him, let alone try to figure out if he knew him from somewhere. "You do?"
"Yes, he asked me out several times. But he always gave me the creeps and I tried to avoid him whenever I could." She hesitated, then added, "He was in the same pub as we were that last night."
"Really? I don’t remember much about that night. Honestly."
An uncomfortable silence filled the car and he bit back a groan. That wasn't at all what he meant. "Let me clarify. I barely remember the pub, but what happened afterward…yeah, I remember every single minute of that."
He gave her a warm smile, relief flowing over him as she returned it.
As for the Ian mess… "I really don't think we'll ever hear from Ian again."
She slipped off her shoes and turned towards him, tucking her folded legs underneath her. The dusky interior just barely gave form to the dainty feet resting on the edge of the seat. Her knees were inches from his thighs. Her perfume surrounded him in the tiny space. Heavy and aromatic, it hinted at sultry nights of passion. Memories flooded his thoughts. Damn.
"I understand you're getting ready to start another book."
He forced his attention back to the conversation, hoping that would slow his pulse and reduce the painful tightness in his pants.
"I'd like to, yes."
"Is it hard for you?"
"Not really. I start to crave writing if I'm away from it for too long." In the back of his mind, already half defined, was an outline for his next book. He loved writing. There was a sense of accomplishment in knowing that he'd actually created something that could help others. It made his work come alive.
Ever since he was a young boy, he'd known he belonged in the world of words. He'd completed his Journalism degree and had even worked for a couple of papers, editing and writing for various dailies. It hadn't taken him long before he'd struck out on his own.
He pulled up to the airport drop off. "We're here." He smiled at her in the shadowy interior. "I'll grab your bag."
"Thanks." She smiled back.
Outside, the sky was clear and full of stars. He removed her bag from the trunk and placed it on the sidewalk. She walked to the end of the car and stilled.
He followed her gaze. That damn florist box was in the car.
"Brian, would you mind opening up it up? You don't have to tell me who it's from, just tell me that it's not from him."
He leaned on the black roof and peered at her. "You actually think Ian is going to send me flowers? Really?"
She shrugged, the gesture tinged with helplessness and anxiety.
Silently, he reached into the backseat and pulled out the long box. He laid it gently on the shiny hood. He might as well do as she asked. Besides, he was more than a little curious, himself.
He looked up at the duskiness of early evening that had started to lower itself onto the city. There was an alien feel to the world. The airport was normally unbelievably busy, but right now, everything was quiet—too quiet. Silence reigned, out of sync with the rest of the world.
"Okay, just for you." Without looking away from her, he removed the lid. The heavy aroma of the flowers wafted freely into the night.
"Oh my God," she gasped in shock.
That got his attention.
A dozen black roses nestled inside the florist box. A card rested on top. Scrawled on it in bold black writing, were the words, 'I'll be back.'