Page 2
With a slight narrowing of her eyes, she replied, “Only when I know the person I’m sitting down with as well as I know you and your ever-shifting standards, Jackson.”
I didn’t know what was worse.
Her sour attitude.
Or how my body warmed when my name came tumbling from her glossy lips. It wasn’t until this moment I understood how much I’d missed hearing her say it.
“You know me?” I countered. “Are you sure about that? Because four years is a long time, Frosty… sorry, Winter.” Her name fit her. She was wintry and frigid, almost bringing down the temperature in the room. I was surprised I couldn’t see my breath hanging in front of my face, especially when she hit me with a sharp, cold look. What the hell did I do to deserve this? She was the one who ran off on me. As much as I wanted to remind her of that, to maybe throw it in her face, it would be petty and small. I was also trying to start us off on the right foot and be the bigger person, not exactly something I excelled at.
“I know exactly how long it’s been, believe me.” While she spoke, she opened a slim bag and dug around inside. “Damn. I forgot to bring in the presentation I put together.”
“We have plenty of time for that.” Too late. She’d already pulled out her phone.
“Just one second, please.” Holding it to her ear, she murmured, “I left the papers in the car. Can you bring them in, please?” When she caught my curious look, she explained, “My assistant, Audra. She’s waiting outside.”
“She doesn’t have to. She could come in and join us.” Sitting with a third person to break the tension might have made things less uncomfortable. Anything had to be better than dining with a woman frozen in a block of ice.
All my suggestion did was make Winter narrow her eyes. “So you can flirt with her while we’re supposed to be working? Or has the leopard changed his spots?”
I sucked in a surprised breath. “That was unnecessary.” She only arched an eyebrow, silently challenging the limits of my self-control. My biggest fear had been fighting back the memories of so many hours spent going crazy on each other. Now, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to leave the restaurant without her blood on my hands.
It was time to stop fucking around, obviously, so I dropped the professional attitude, folding my arms, eyeing her as she eyed me. “Let’s get something straight. This is business. This is important to both of us, or at least I would imagine. Now, I have no problem admitting the Bennett brand has grown a little stale, essentially putting on the same shows with different casts and backdrops for much too long. I’m looking to change that, and what you did across the Atlantic is what I’m looking for.”
Some of the ice melted, softening her eyes and expression. “Thank you for that. I suppose my comment was a little out of line and unprofessional.”
Good for her, but I wasn’t finished. “However, I’m not going to sit here and grovel. I won’t accept this icy attitude without pushing back. And I can push hard,” I added.
“Point taken.” Something close to humor danced in those dark blue orbs and reminded me of what first drew us together—the chemistry that made it possible for us to go from bickering to laughing to fucking in the blink of an eye. It flared to life without us trying, like a third entity that lived between us.
That train of thought came slamming to a stop when a cute girl with bronze skin and a worried expression reached the table. I was prepared to introduce myself, but the most she did was offer a brief smile before leaning down and murmuring in Winter’s ear while placing a small binder on the table. “I didn’t want to call you and interrupt. It’s about Liam,” she said.
“I see. Thank you.” Winter tapped something out on her phone while her assistant scurried off. “I’m sorry, but I might have to cut this short,” she explained without looking at me, too busy texting Liam, whoever the hell he was.
My chest went hot and tight all at once. So she had a man in her life, after all. Water had flowed under the bridge for both of us. I had no right to harbor a sudden flash of irritation as I watched her attention shift entirely to this guy.
“I cleared the time for this meeting,” I reminded her as my frustration built. “You, of all people, should know how hectic things will get once we start rolling.”
Was that a frustrated sigh she released before pulling her gaze from the phone so she could give me the respect of looking me in the eye? “Didn’t you just say we have plenty of time for that?” she countered. Right. I forgot how much she loved twisting my words around on me.
Without waiting for a response, she stood, dropping her phone into her bag. For the first time since entering the restaurant, she looked frazzled. “I’m sorry, this can’t wait. Why don’t we meet in your office tomorrow? Without all of this?” she added, waving her hand to indicate the highly respected and popular restaurant I’d pulled strings to score a last-minute lunch reservation in. “That way, we can focus on the work ahead. I’ll have Audra reach out to you to work out at a time,” she concluded before almost rushing from the table.
She left me sitting on my own with only the sight of her firm ass to console me as she retreated. For the second time, she was running away, and this time it was because some guy snapped his fingers.
Once again, I was gripped by a sense of frustration bordering on jealousy that made me damn uncomfortable since I had no right to feel it and didn’t quite understand where it came from. The woman was history, a blip in my past.
A blip that left me wondering once again where the hell things went wrong and why she had a massive chip on her shoulder the second she sat down.
We had three months to get this show up and running.
Something told me they would be the longest three months of my life.
2
WINTER
“I’m telling you, it’s all right,” I insisted with a sigh while fighting the urge to honk at a guy practically crawling across the middle of the street instead of crossing at the corner. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“You didn’t have to leave your meeting,” Mom fretted over the phone. I could almost see her now, the way she would be chewing her lip, worried. “I don’t want to see anything go wrong with this. I just got you back.”
