RECLAIM MY HEART(6)

“Six. Two need immediate attention. Three can wait.” Her tone lowered. “One can be tossed into the circular file.”
Lucas accepted the slips of paper. “You know I appreciate your skillful memorandum triage.”
Martha flushed to the roots of her bleach-blond hair. “Larry and Nate are waiting for you in Larry’s office. You’ve got an appointment in twenty minutes with the parents of the Reeves girl. They wanted to personally thank you for helping Shannon. I’ll call the minute they arrive.” Without batting an eye, Martha continued her list. “You’ve got a court appearance at eleven-thirty. Lunch with the Jamisons at twelve-forty-five. And you’re booked solid until seven, but we can go over your afternoon appointments later.”
Not only was she an extraordinary office manager, Martha made a great mother hen. She juggled the schedules of the entire ‘minor league,’ as the two senior partners referred to the group of attorneys in their employ. Lucas didn’t know how Martha accomplished the copious tasks that would have surely overwhelmed anyone else, but he was glad she did. He’d be lost without the woman.
“Thanks, Martha. I’ve got to stop by my office; then I’ll go talk to—”
“Oh, wait. There’s someone here to see you.”
He frowned. “I don’t have time today.”
“I know, I know.” Martha looked apologetic. “I tried to explain that your schedule is packed, but she insisted on waiting—”
“She?”
Martha glanced down at a pad on her desktop. “A Ms. Whitlock. Tyne Whitlock.”
Lucas stared. Blinked. Then he reached up and tugged at his tie, wondering who the hell shut off the room’s air supply.
“She’s waiting in your office. I tried to tell her your schedule was full, but…” Concern sharpened Martha’s tone. “Are you all right? She said she knew you. That you were old friends. That she’d only take a minute of your time. Should I not have let her in?”
Martha droned on and he watched her lips move, but he didn’t hear a word of what she said. A blind-sided punch wouldn’t have stunned him more than hearing that name. He lifted his hand and nodded at Martha to let her know everything was okay even though he had no idea if it was or not, then he turned and headed down the corridor.
“Don’t forget Larry and Nate. They’re waiting!”
Martha’s warning sounded like a distant echo.
Tyne. Here. In this building. In his office.
What had it been? Twelve, thirteen…?no. Sixteen years. He scrubbed his fingers across his jaw.
He turned the corner and came to an abrupt halt. At the end of the corridor, the door of his office stood ajar. He saw Tyne’s perfect profile as she sat in a straight-backed chair staring at something out of his line of view.
In an instant, Lucas was catapulted into the past.
Darkness surrounded them like a cloak. Tyne’s soft sobs tore at his heart. Of all the girls he’d dated—and there had been more than a few—only she brought out in him a fierce compulsion to protect.
He swiped away her tears, the dark color of his thumb a stark contrast against her creamy white skin.
“I don’t understand them, Lucas. I never will.”
“Don’t worry,” he crooned. “It’s going to be all right. Trust me, babe. They can’t keep us apart. You’ll be eighteen soon too. We can do what we want then. Go wherever we want.”
He cradled her, his back supported by the massive pin oak. And when she stopped crying, she pulled away from him and gazed into his eyes. Her sweet face wrenched his heart and caused heat to spark his desire. Never had he wanted a girl the way he wanted Tyne. tooanted TRaw need coursed through him.
She cradled his face between her palms and drew him to her. Her lips were hot against his. The kiss grew hungry, their breathing labored.
“Our love will last forever,” she whispered against his mouth.
He heard the question in her quavery tone, responded to her need for reassurance.
“Forever,” he groaned, tugging her down onto the mossy ground.
Lucas tilted his head to stare at the carpet in front of his shoes and gulped in the artificially-cooled air as he dragged his way out of the past. The grip he had on his attaché case made his hand throb almost as much as the memory had caused his groin to go all achy and needful.
Of course, their love hadn’t lasted forever.
He was within steps of the door when Tyne glanced in his direction. Nuances of various emotions passed across her face. And it was a striking face, Lucas couldn’t deny it. The years had refined her features—
She stood, smoothing her palms across the fabric of her skirt.
—and ripened her body. Her eyes were the same vivid blue he remembered, and her white-blond hair was still long and straight. He could easily recall the silky feel of it brushing against his bare chest. As teens, he’d thought of them as the perfect juxtaposition: she, all sunshine and light, he, dark like the night.
He forced his gaze back onto her face.
“Tyne.” He entered his office, puzzled by the strain in his voice. What really confused him was the fact that he couldn’t seem to get his tongue to form anything more.
“Hi, Lucas. It’s been a long time.” Her lush mouth pressed into a nervous smile, and his gut tensed.
He wanted to smile back. He truly did. With every fiber of his being. To let her know that he’d survived the sprawling interim since they’d parted just as well as she obviously had. But he couldn’t smile. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think.