Just To Be With You (The Sullivans #12)(18)

The thought shouldn’t have been so arousing, damn it, but fifteen minutes alone in his town car with Tatiana after five hours of breathing in her seductive scent in conference rooms had made it difficult for him to string a straight thought together, let alone put the brakes on his attraction to her.

“Ian, my boy, what a pleasure it is to see you.”

Ian shook George’s hand, glad that the man’s grip was just as hearty as ever. “Professor, it’s been too long.”

Ian had been looking forward to this meeting since they’d arranged it a couple of weeks ago. George Collingsworth had not only been his favorite professor at the University of Washington, he was also an expert on fuel chemistry and synthesis. When the opportunity had arisen for Sullivan Investments to become a major partner in a company that specialized in new fuel-replacement technologies, he’d asked George if he could meet to give him some advice.

His old professor looked just as he always had, his shock of white hair in complete disarray, the pieces of his suit put together in a seemingly random and color-blind way. There was one big difference today, however: His normally preoccupied expression had been replaced by a huge smile.

Tatiana had that effect on everyone, from young tech geniuses to professors who were usually lost in the wilds of their brilliant minds. Even, Ian had to admit, normally laser-focused businessmen like himself.

He was just about to introduce them when George declared, “You’ve brought your beautiful wife with you!” Clearly, Ian thought, they’d just come across the one person on the planet who had no idea who she was, which was further brought home when George said, “Tell me your name, my dear.”

“Tatiana.”

“I’m George, and I must say it is positively wonderful to meet you. What a beauty you are, and with such intelligence in your eyes. Truly, you remind me of my own late wife. It’s been fifteen years since she passed away, and I still miss her every single day.”

Her face had lit up the moment she set eyes on George. But now empathy moved across her features. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“That’s very sweet of you.” George’s eyes twinkled as he looked back at Ian. “You’re a very lucky man, Ian.”

From the moment he’d found Tatiana in his office on Friday, Ian’s world had shifted farther and farther off its axis due to his inability to stop wanting her. Now, George’s honest mistake threatened to shove it all the way off.

Of course, the way Tatiana turned to him with her own grin and twinkling eyes didn’t help one damn bit. Especially considering that he had to not only struggle to drag his gaze from hers...but also to keep from pulling her against him for a kiss that wouldn’t do a damn thing to disprove George’s incorrect assumption.

“We aren’t—” A breeze from the open door of the restaurant blew the vanilla scent of Tatiana’s hair to him, temporarily making him lose his train of thought.

In the end, she was the one who finally clarified things. “I’m really flattered that you think I could be Ian’s wife, George, but I’m just a friend.”

His old professor frowned, looking between them. “I know chemistry when I see it, and not just in the lab. If the two of you aren’t a couple, it’s a damned shame.” He looked between them again before seeming to make up his mind. He muttered something Ian couldn’t quite make out, but that sounded a heck of a lot like Just a matter of time.

Ian had never been a man pulled forward by fate, luck, or coincidence. He’d always made his own choices, forged his own deliberate path. But even as he silently denied that what his professor had just stated could ever be true, he suddenly couldn’t stop wondering if he really was as in control of his life—or his heart—as he wanted to think he was.

George pulled out a chair for Tatiana and after they were all seated and had placed their orders, he said, “Tell me about yourself, my dear.”

“I don’t want to take up too much of your time with Ian. I know he’s really been looking forward to speaking with you.”

“My wife wasn’t one to draw attention to herself, either, but just like you, she was too beautiful to hide in the shadows.” He gestured to the glass of wine the waiter had just poured. “Now drink up and start talking.”

Tatiana laughed, clearly delighted. “Okay, but I really am going to make it quick so that the two of you can get down to business.” She took a sip of the excellent dry white wine and made a small sound of pleasure that reverberated all the way through Ian’s system. “I’m an actress and Ian is helping me do some research for a new role I’ve taken on.”

“I once had dreams of the stage,” George admitted. “And I would have been perfect for the role of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Captain Corcoran...if only I could dance or hold a tune.”

Laughing again, Tatiana said, “HMS Pinafore is one of my favorites, too.” All it took was Tatiana softly humming a tune, and soon both of them were spontaneously singing a funny back-and-forth about monarchs of the sea and rulers of the Queen’s Navy and sisters and cousins and aunts.

At the end of their impromptu performance, Tatiana gave George a hug. “Thank you for making my day with a Gilbert and Sullivan sing-along. And now, since I know the two of you have important business to take care of, I’m going to excuse myself for a minute so that you can get started without my further distracting you.”