“And don’t you even think about trying to get out of coming now that you know he’s going to be there,” Danette said seconds after Angelo exited their work area.
“I told you I don’t want to end up with another Baron Randall.”
“Good gosh, Tara! Are you blind, or something? Not only is Angelo a good ten years younger than that swine, but the two men are so different they could be opposite species.”
“Oh really? How are they so different?”
“First of all, it’s no secret Baron Randall built his empire using other people.”
A piece of information Tara wished she’d been privy to before meeting him.
“Angelo buys and salvages struggling companies. He’s gotten where he is through the sweat of his own brow.”
“Please.”
“You know what I mean. He worked to build those companies up, just like he worked on this one. He’s earned his tycoon status, not stolen it. And he’s also not a womanizer.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really. Ray did some checking for me at his newspaper. Angelo hasn’t had a steady girlfriend in more than two years and he doesn’t sleep with other men’s wives.”
“Like Ray could know that for certain.”
“Angelo’s newsworthy enough that if he had been caught with the same woman more than once it would have made at least one headline.”
“The operative word being caught and one of the great benefits of being filthy rich is the ability to buy a newspaper’s silence.”
“Baron Randall is rich too, but there are still stories about his womanizing ways in more than a few scandal sheets.”
“Maybe he didn’t care enough to have them squelched.”
“What makes you think Angelo would?”
“Okay, so you’ve got a point. He’s probably not a womanizer. Happy?”
“If you’ll cut the guy some slack, yes.”
She wasn’t going there. “Is Ray going to be at the barbecue?”
“Sure. He’s bringing his camera and taking pictures for my scrapbook.” Danette smiled dreamily. “It isn’t every day you get such a hunk of a multimillionaire in your backyard eating grilled steak.”
Tara couldn’t help laughing. “You are incorrigible.”
Her friend grinned, her eyes filled with infectious laughter. “That’s why you like me so much.”
“So, are things serious between you and Ray?”
It had been her experience that when her friends started making cooing noises about settling down, they went into matchmaker mode with a vengeance and this barbecue invitation couldn’t be seen as anything but.
Danette chewed on her bottom lip. “I think so. At least for me. He hasn’t said anything about love, but he spends all his free time with me.”
“That’s a very good sign.”
“I hope so.”
And if it were true…what did that say about her and Angelo? They weren’t dating, but he certainly managed to fill up most of her free time.
Thursday dawned bright and clear, the Oregon sunshine for once unclouded by threats of rain. Tara walked to work from the light rail terminal with a smile on her face. It was a good day to be alive.
A strong masculine hand gripped her shoulder before she walked into the building. “You look happy.”
She smiled up at Angelo, for once allowing herself to enjoy her body’s reaction to the devastating man’s presence. It wasn’t as if anything could happen in front of the building in plain view of the parking lot and the rest of Primo Tech’s employees. “I love the sunshine.”
“It’s a great day for your friend’s barbecue.”
“Yes, it is. Danette will be pleased.”
“Speaking of, would you like me to pick you up on my way?”
“I don’t…”
“I’d feel more comfortable arriving with someone.”
“I don’t see you as the shrinking violet type.”
“I’m not.” His expression said he couldn’t imagine such a thing, either. “But I would still like to bring you with me.”
They were both going and a car ride there and back could hardly do any damage. After all, she’d been in the car with him twice now and come away unscathed. “Sure, why not?”
His hand slid up her shoulder and cupped her nape, sending her thoughts skittering to the four winds. “I’ll look forward to it.”
She watched him walk away thinking maybe unscathed was too strong a term to describe her living on the edge of going for another tycoon.