Forbidden Bride

“Please,” Jill begs, “will you at least meet the guy before you shut him down?”

“If I know that I’m going to shut him down then why would I meet him and give him any kind of hope? That seems unnecessarily cruel.”

“Because,” she says, matter-of-fact, “I think that once you meet him you’ll see how fantastically hot he is and experience his brilliant mind and change your mind.”

I won’t. “It sounds like maybe he should be your date to the gala.”

Jill waves a hand. “I already have a date.”

We turn the corner and the door to the focus room is open. My father is inside, and someone is standing with him. My stomach drops through the floor and adrenaline fizzles through my veins because I would know that man anywhere. But it can’t be, right? Tristan can’t actually be here in the flesh.

My friend comes around to face me. “If you won’t even think about a date then at the very least we need to talk about the final decorations. And the seating chart. And about a million other things, and if I can talk you into a double date with me, I’m damn well going to.”

I’m trying to listen to her and focus on her words because that’s what a good friend would do, but I can’t take my eyes off the person behind my dad. I can almost see him, but not quite. He turns, and our eyes lock. I swear I can see they’re green from here. Oh fuck.

It’s him. It really is him, and I’m being consumed by fire and heat. I haven’t seen him in person since he left, and he only got hotter. And now when he’s looking at me I don’t feel any of that hesitation that I felt when I told him what I wanted. Instead he’s staring at me with singular purpose. What is going on?

“Earth to Nicola. Are you there?”

“Yeah,” I say, not looking away from Tristan. My heart is pounding in my chest and my palms—and other things—are suddenly slick with moisture. “We’ll set up a time to finalize prep this week, okay?”

“Okay,” she says, but she doesn’t look convinced when I glance at her. “You all right?”

“Fine,” I squeak out, even though I’m anything but fine in this moment. “I’m just going to be late for this focus group.” The blush climbing up my cheeks reveals I’m a liar, but I’m hoping she won’t call me on it. Tristan is still staring at me.

Jill gives me a smile, though her eyes are suspicious. “Well, good. Go kick Orange and Basil’s ass.”

I laugh. “I’ll do my best.”

As I turn away from her, I can feel his gaze on me like a physical touch, reminding me viscerally of the one and only time that he’s ever touched me. The only man who’s ever touched me like that, and I’ve sworn to keep it that way. I did not lie to him when I said that I would wait as long as it takes.

Is he working here now? Just visiting? God, if he’s going to be in this focus group than I am never going to be able to focus.

I walk into the room, and I feel like I can’t breathe. Sharing a physical space with Tristan is like all the oxygen has been sucked out of the room. Or maybe it’s just the way that he’s staring at me. He looks like he wants to talk to me, and of course I want to talk to him. But my father sees me first. “Nicola, perfect timing. We’re ready to get started, but I want a quick word with you first.” He turns to the assembled group of testers. “We’ll be with you in just a moment.”

Tristan’s eyes are still on me as my dad takes my elbow and pulls me to the side of the room. “What’s going on?”

“Tristan just came back to town, and I’m bringing him in to replace Cynthia. He’s perfect for the position.”

My heart leaps and my stomach drops at the same time, leaving me dizzy. It’s true, Tristan works in marketing. But here? Every day? Cynthia and I used to work side by side. There wasn’t a day that she and I didn’t work closely together. If that’s going to be Tristan’s position, then we’re going to work closely, and I’m not sure I’ll survive. I’ll spontaneously combust, first. “Oh.”

My dad suddenly looks concerned. “Is everything okay? I thought it would be fine since you know him.”

“No, of course,” I say. “Just sudden, that’s all.”

He smiles. “I know, but we need someone if we’re going to get some of these lines going and the expansion launched before the busy season. So I’m throwing him in the deep end. I was hoping you’d show him the ropes and help him get settled?”