Fighting For You (Danvers #4)(30)
“Good morning, Declan,” Claire smiled warmly, “How are you?” He was so busy trying to piece together where he knew the woman at her side, that he barely uttered a reply. From the look on the blonde’s face, he knew he wasn’t imaging things. He knew her from somewhere and she damn sure seemed to know him. “Let me introduce you to my good friend. Declan Stone, this is Julie Nelson, Julie this is Declan.”
Julie continued to stare at him as if in shock before finally uttering, “Declan?” He was still wracking his brain trying to make the connection that Julie had obviously already made. The only thing he was sure of was that he had had sex with her. He wasn’t proud of it, but one-night stands had been the norm for him when he was in the military. Pretty much anytime he had returned home, he had found a hotel room and a willing body to share it with, at least for a few hours. Even though she didn’t look like the type to indulge in quick hook-ups, he had to figure that was how they knew each other.
He finally just decided to throw a general reply out there and hope it was enough to save her feelings. Asking how they knew each other was probably not a great thing. “It’s nice to see you,” he said.
When Claire gave them both a confused look and asked if they knew each other, he stayed silent, hoping Julie would answer. “Yeah,” she murmured quietly, “we met briefly several years ago.” Well, that answered that question. She had pretty much admitted what he thought to be true. Giving him a nervous look that made him start to sweat, she asked, “Do you have time for cup or coffee or something?” Oh f**k. There’s no way we’re taking a trip down memory lane, lady, no matter how attractive you are. As he started to decline, she stepped forward and grasped his arm. “Please Declan, it’s important.”
Well hell, despite himself, he was intrigued. He had no interest in her sexually, but he was damned curious about the desperation he saw in her eyes. Just what was going on here? Was he wrong about how they knew each other? She wasn’t acting like a woman trying to entice him, she just looked scared. Claire’s head was going back and forth between them with her mouth hung open as if in shock. She seemed to be at a loss for words and he knew just how that felt. “I’ve got some conference calls that I can’t miss this morning, but if you’re free around noon, I can meet you at Meg’s Sandwich Shoppe around the corner.”
Julie nodded eagerly looking strangely relieved. “Thank you, that would be great. I’ll be there.” Declan was relieved when Claire turned toward Jason’s office and Julie followed along with her. What. In. The. Hell! He walked toward his own office determined to remember just who she was. Something was off there and he planned to find out what it was exactly.
***
Ella felt the dreamy glow that she had lost to her hectic morning of work return when Declan came striding toward her desk with her promised cup of coffee. He was so sexy. Just looking at him made her want to start panting. “Good morning again, Ellie,” he rasped in that deep voice that sent shivers down her spine.
Looking around to make sure they were alone for the moment, she whispered, “Good morning yourself, handsome. How is your day going?”
“Strange,” he replied, but waved away her concern when she started to ask why.
Giving him a smile of encouragement, she asked, “Rough morning?”
“Just the usual. How about you?”
She was pretty sure by his distracted manner that there was something he wasn’t saying, but she decided to leave it for now. All of the magazines said that once she had a man, she shouldn’t nag him or try to change him. She was determined to adhere to that advice. She liked him just the way he was, and things were too new between them for her to push when he so obviously didn’t want to talk about whatever had thrown his day off. “Do you want to grab some lunch today?” she offered.
Was it her imagination or was he actually fidgeting? “Ur . . . no, I can’t today, Ellie. I’ve got a lunch meeting. How about dinner this evening though?” Why did she feel like he had just thrown her a consolation prize with his dinner offer? She didn’t know what had gotten into him since she left his place this morning, but he was acting weird. Surely he wasn’t already regretting sleeping with her?
She gave him a smile of apology when her phone started ringing. With a light brush against her arm and another distracted smile, he was gone.
***
Jason Danvers looked up as his office door burst open and his wife walked in. Even though she no longer worked as his assistant, she had agreed to relieve Jean for the week so that she could visit her daughter in Ohio. He looked forward to having her here, but he also knew his concentration would be out the window. Whenever Claire was near, she had his complete attention. He looked longingly at the plush sofa in the corner of his office and wished he didn’t have a meeting scheduled in ten minutes. “Hey, baby, has Julie gone?” Claire had met Julie Nelson when she was working for Partiez Plus. He still couldn’t believe his somewhat shy wife used to jump out of cakes at bachelor parties. He only liked to see those moves in private now. Julie had worked there part-time as a bartender while putting herself through nursing school. She had quit a few months after Claire had left, saying it wasn’t the same without her friend.
Not bothering with the chair in front of his desk, she walked straight to him and settled in his lap. Formality was a thing of the past with them. “Yeah, she just left. I witnessed the strangest encounter in the hallway on the way here though and I can’t figure out what’s going on.”