The Running Series Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 4

  “No, my family is in Chicago. I just have Cooper here with me. Speaking of Chicago, are you really a Bears fan, or were you just helping the new person feel welcome?” If so, that just scored him double points in my book.

  “Yes, I spent a few years in Chicago, so I became a big Bears fan. We’ll have to catch a game sometime,” he said with a cocky grin.

  Wait, had he just asked me on a date?

  Pausing to study my face, he asked, “How old are you, Alexandra?”

  I wondered why he wanted to know, maybe for the same reason I wanted to know about him. “I’m twenty-six, and you?”

  “I’ve got ten years on you,” he said rather abruptly, all the while just looking at me with an unreadable expression.

  Suddenly, we both seemed overcome by the silence between us. It was as if the room had stopped all activity, the rest of the restaurant a blur. The air was thick with tension.

  He twisted the wine bottle. After a few minutes more, he looked up, “Alexandra, do you live around here?”

  “I do, actually. Cooper and I share an apartment at the Manchester’s. And you?”

  “You’re kidding me. That’s where I live!” he said with a laugh.

  Our silence returned, but it wasn’t uncomfortable this time. His eyes were on me, moving up and down my body, giving me goose bumps everywhere they trailed. His eyes glowed in the low light of the club as if they were filled with deep blue glitter, full of intensity and catching me in his trance. Several times, he smiled at me, lighting up the room. It was mesmerizing. I didn’t even notice the noise of our surroundings or the music of the band. I was lost in him and found it difficult to breathe.

  Before I could settle into my thoughts, Grayson apparently noticed my reaction. “Alexandra, I have a full clinic day tomorrow, so I’ll walk you out. If it’s all right with you, could we have the dinner meeting here on Thursday, or is the venue already set up?” His behavior was abrupt and almost dismissing.

  I chalked it up to the sense of professionalism that both of us needed to maintain.

  “Of course, Grayson. I’m supposed to pick the restaurant for the meeting, and this place is perfect. We should probably verify the accommodations with the maître d’ on the way out.” I stood, and Grayson offered me his arm, walking me to the front, so we could finalize the dinner meeting for Thursday.

  In the restaurant lobby, he acted almost like he wanted to kiss me. I waited, but instead, he seemed to hesitate as he reached his hand toward me, only to stop and awkwardly give my arm a gentle squeeze before taking his hand away.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Back at home, Cooper wanted to know every little detail of my evening out. He kept me up way too late, dissecting every tiny facial expression and comment either Grayson or I had made.

  By the time I got into bed, all I could think about was that Thursday couldn’t get here quickly enough. My body stirred, my mind adrift in sensual fantasies about him. I wanted to kiss those full, red lips and feel his arms wrapped around me. I could picture myself happy with him. It was way off base to think those thoughts and that scared me, but I could not get the chemistry between us off of my mind.

  I decided to start my morning with an early run to beat the heat, hoping to clear my head of any thoughts about hot-but-off-limits doctors. I also needed to process last night’s information.

  Taking a left turn out of the apartment complex gate, I noticed shoulders ahead of me that looked vaguely familiar. My suspicions were correct; the delicious Dr. Brooks was out for a morning run, too.

  God, he was sexy from the back. I could stare at that view of him all day. But the last thing I needed was to be seen in my running attire that clearly showed off my lack of boobs. I decide to go a different route, ending my glorious view of Dr. Brooks.

  At the end of my run, I wound my way back to the front gate. Still blocking out the rest of the world thanks to the music playing through my iPod, I was shocked when a hand grabbed my arm from out of nowhere. I went into full defense training mode and gave a hard kick to my would-be attacker.

  Oh, crap.

  I turned to see Grayson doubled over, his hands gently shielding the area where my foot had just connected.

  “Oh, no! Grayson, I am so sorry! I was not expecting—” I began, but he cut me off with a grunt.

  “Alexandra, you just shortened my lifespan and put an end to my dream of ever having children. Good grief, are you trying to kill me?” He actually put one knee on the ground and dropped his head to his chest, breathing in shallow gasps that caused his shoulders to shake.

  “Grayson, I’m so sorry! Is there anything I can do?” I pleaded.

  “I think asking you to…apply pressure to the injury…would be inappropriate at this stage in the relationship,” he joked, still gasping for air through his clenched teeth while blowing out a long breath of air he’d been holding.

  After I processed what he had just said, I was stunned into silence, my arm paused in midair as I reached for his shoulder. Had he really just said…?

  “I was only going to…say hello and ask you…whew…if you would like to join me for dinner tonight,” he managed to mutter. “Now, I think I might need a doctor myself. I’m pretty sure I’m dying!” By this point, he was literally rolling on the ground.

  “Grayson, I am so sorry!” I apologized once again, patting his shoulder supportively. Like that was going to help. But it was all I could think of to make him feel better, apart from his previous inappropriate suggestion. “You caught me by surprise. I was in my own little world!”

  “I called your name, but you didn’t respond, I guess the volume was up too high in your ears.” He took a few more minutes to recover, doing Lamaze-like deep breathing. Finally, he was able to stand up, carefully leaning on me for support. He tried speaking one more time, but his breathing was still raspy. “This week is the last week for Creya, that jazz group, to play at Sambuca’s, and I wanted you to join me for dinner and dancing if you, and now me, are up to it.”

  He didn’t wait until I responded with a yes before catching his breath and continuing, “What is your apartment number? Our reservations are for seven thirty tonight.”

  Reservations, what reservation? They weren’t open yet, and we almost closed them down last night. He must have gone back in after we’d left or phoned them after I’d walked away. I am so loving this charming man!

  “Alexandra, hello? Earth to Alexandra. Your apartment number? I will be there by seven, if that’s okay?”

  I gave him my apartment number and quickly headed home, after one last apology. I was so keenly aware my running clothes didn’t enhance my non-enhanced breasts in a good way.

  I could give myself a little credit, though. Cooper always said I had the tallest tight ass, and nothing showed it off better than my workout gear. He should know, since he picked them out. Leave it to Coop to point out perfection rather than flaws, an outlook you didn’t see often with models.

  I spent the rest of the morning trying to wrap up some reports and paperwork. Later, I received a text from Grayson that destroyed any hope of being productive and catching up on my work.

  Looking forward to dinner. Can’t wait to see u, GB

  My response was, Me too, c’ya soon!

  As the day went on, though, I couldn’t focus on what I was doing. My brain kept constantly grabbing at stars in my daydreams, thinking of my date with Grayson.

  Music always got me motivated, so I put on my iPod. I found a favorite song, “World Stand Still” by The Tenors. Listening to it, I realized my world felt idle when I was thinking about Grayson. A noise brought me out of my thoughts, and I could hear Coop headed my way.

  “Hey, daydreamer. I think you have a really bad case of ADD today: Attractive Doctor Disease! What do you say, let’s go shopping for your date. And lunch will be on me. Oh, and just so you know, that hair is coming down again tonight!”

  While my roomie and I hit the thrift store again—which really sounded like a
pathetic way to shop, until you considered half the stuff in there was donated by ultra-rich, stylish women who needed to clear out their closets to make room for their next monthly shopping spree—I couldn’t help but build up a horrible nagging feeling.

  What was I doing? I was out shopping for something sexy to impress a hot man, a man who just happened to stand between me and making my sales quota. Drew had never been really specific about what constituted acceptable behavior between reps and the doctors, but I thought it was because it was kind of implied. Keep it professional, as in, hands to yourself.

  I wasn’t just going to use my hands, my darker side chided in my brain. Whoa. How long had it been since I’d let that part of Alex have any fun? If my poor starved libido didn’t keep herself under control, I was going to end up embarrassing myself.

  I picked at my lunch at the organic fresh foods restaurant Cooper selected. Leave it to the model to suggest a grazing pasture, instead of a restaurant.

  “I’m going to be starving later,” I whined while sorting the tofu chunks out of my field greens salad. “I’m going to end up eating like a linebacker, and it will be all your fault! Grayson will be so impressed.”

  “This was for you, honey. You have no idea how ‘in the mood’ the spices in this salad dressing can get you,” he shot back at me.

  “Great. I’ll alternate between stuffing my face and attacking him. That’s going to look really good on my resume when I have to find another job.” Of course, I was kidding. Hottie or not, I had worked my rear end off to make it through school and to impress the people at PMC. I wasn’t about to jeopardize that for a man who happened to look stunning in anything he put on, whether it was scrubs or running clothes. Running clothes that were pressed tightly against his chest, the sweat drenching his hair into neat, grabbable little curls, sweat that made me think of what he must look like when he…

  “Helloooooo? Alex? It’s just a salad. There’s no need to lick your lips,” Cooper teased, snapping his fingers near my ear to get my attention.

  Okay, so that was the opposite of keeping it under control and not letting my darker side take over.

  Once again, Cooper came to the rescue and styled me and fixed my hair that evening. He even persuaded me to let him cut a few sexy layers throughout. Surprisingly, he gave an excellent trim. He had the layers flowing softly to the tiny curves of my breast and the volume pumped up. I was going to offer to pay him to take total control of my appearance on a daily basis, but I thought he was secretly enjoying not letting me out of the house without sexing me up somewhat.

  While we sorted through clothes, he caught me up on what was happening in his own surprisingly drama-free life. He told me he’d had a great time hanging out with the guy he’d met, Mark, and he had about a dozen go-sees this week for upcoming modeling jobs. One of them was a great opportunity with a campaign for a new menswear line I just knew he’d be perfect for. He also gossiped a little about several of the stylists he had been meeting at the preview shoots, letting it slip where he was learning about all the fashion trends he kept experimenting with on me.

  I didn’t realize all of his talk was a ploy to distract me from the outfit at hand. I screeched when I saw myself in the mirror.

  “Oh, no! I can’t wear this out to dinner with Grayson! It’s way too tight, and I’m pretty sure I can see my underwear…without bending over! There’s no way. I can’t wear this.”

  Cooper must have known the battle I was fighting with my own sex drive because it was a glamour cream skirt that he matched with a tan sleeveless top, and heels, of course. Even I could admit I looked sexy for once, but it was not appropriate for a could-be-business-could-be-a-date dinner.

  “You can and you must. He needs to see that tall, tight ass, darling! Quit hiding it under stuffy work clothes!”

  “Trust me, he saw it. He was watching us dance Friday night at Sambuca’s. He also saw it in scrubs, and he saw it again this morning when I was running!”

  “Well, he’s never seen it like this!” Cooper laughed, popping me on the butt with the washcloth from the counter top. “Besides, now you don’t have time to change. He’s going to be here any minute, so wear the damn skirt!”

  I had just a few seconds to finish my makeup and slip on the dangerously high heels Cooper insisted I buy today before I heard the bell.

  Opening the door for Grayson, I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was so sexy in dark-washed jeans and a blue Robert Graham dress shirt, without the tie. His hair had that glossy, messy curl to it, the same scruffy look I had been picturing at lunch when my mind went to completely inappropriate places. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my hands out of it during the car ride to the restaurant, let alone for the entire night.

  “Come in, Grayson. I want you to meet Cooper,” I said, turning away quickly and leading him inside as an excuse to let myself recover from the view in my doorway.

  As I walked toward the bar, I heard Grayson take in a deep breath, but not speak. Could it be the skirt? Sneaking a quick look at Cooper, he winked at me. I guess I had my answer.

  “Grayson, this is my best friend I told you about, Cooper.”

  The two of them shook hands. Then Coop kissed my cheek and was out the door, saying a quick goodbye to Grayson and calling out that he had plans with Mark and some of the other stylists he’d met at work. He didn’t go quite so far as to throw out the clichéd, “Don’t wait up,” but it was kind of implied, whether for my benefit or Grayson’s. That sneak.

  And so we were alone. I turned to Grayson and tried to think of something appropriate to say. I already knew this outfit might have pushed the boundary from work-related to socializing, and I was terrified he might get the impression I was reading more into this invitation than I should have been.

  What if he walked out right now, pissed that I thought he was actually interested in me? Or worse, what if he called PMC and told them not to bother coming for the meeting since their reps obviously didn’t know how to do their jobs?

  I got my answer soon enough.

  Grayson stepped forward, closing the distance between us. Taking my hand in his and tentatively playing with my fingers, he touched my face with his free hand and lifted my chin. He brought his lips to mine and gave me a lingering kiss that caught me off guard, but still managed to leave me wanting more. His mouth tasted so good, and when he pulled away, he stepped back a tiny bit to look me in the eyes.

  “I have wanted to do that since Friday. You have the most kissable lips,” he said, as he traced his thumb across my lower lip. “This is my apology for acting like such an asshole to you in my office. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about doing this since I first laid eyes on you. Thoughts of you keep filling my head and driving me crazy. God, you are beautiful!”

  He kissed me again as gently as before, still clinging to my hand. When he spoke again, he seemed to be at war with himself, wanting to tell me more but unsure of what to say.

  “I saw you last Friday walking with Cooper to Sambuca’s, and I was so afraid that maybe he was your boyfriend or worse, your husband. It kind of shocked me how jealous I felt about someone I had only met that day. And even then, I thought you were a man when I saw your business card!”

  I laughed, remembering the look on his face when he realized his mistake.

  “I need to know if you’re available, Alexandra, and if you’re even interested.”

  Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. I went from struggling with him possibly calling for my head on a platter from PMC only a few minutes ago, to being asked if I was seeing anyone. Never let it be said that a great outfit couldn’t make or break a situation.

  “Yes, I’m available, Grayson,” I barely whispered, still trying to catch my breath and calm my out-of-control heartbeat. I could only hope that I wasn’t blushing, too. “And yes, I’m definitely interested.”

  He kissed me again, only much less gently this time, knowing for sure this was what we both wanted. Between the headiness of his c
onfession and the thrill of his hands moving against my bare arms in a heated trail of touch, I was doing my best to stay standing upright.

  “By the way,” he said, still close to me, “that is now my favorite skirt.”

  “Oh, this old thing?” I asked playfully, almost giving away the fact I had bought it at a second-hand store only that morning. I pretended to wave aside his compliment, but he caught my hand in the air and brought it to his lips, kissing my fingertips.

  We both started giggling. He pulled me into another deep kiss, pressing my whole body tightly to him. It was perfect. We felt perfect together. I didn’t want to leave. I just wanted to be here with him.

  He pulled back, muttering something about leaving before he couldn’t stop himself. We held hands as we made our way to his car. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a CL63. A very beautiful, distinguished black Mercedes sat in front of my apartment, and I couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous he looked next to it as he opened the door for me. His genuine smile made my stomach turn flips. It was all I could do not to grin like a complete idiot all the way to the restaurant.

  We left the car with the valet, and Grayson kept his hand on my lower back as we walked in. I wasn’t used to men doing those wonderful little things like pulling out the chair for me. It was so new, but he made it seem so natural, like I should have had doors and chairs held for me everywhere I went. He kissed my cheek as he helped me take my seat close to the dance floor. Creya’s band was already playing.

  We enjoyed a glass of wine while listening to the music, and he reached over and took my hand in his as though it were the most normal thing in the world.

  After we finished our wine, Grayson stood and held out his hand. “Please dance with me,” he asked with a cute grin on his face.

  “You don’t want to do that, really! I’ll embarrass you. I am a horrible dancer.”

  He only smiled even more before pulling me to my feet and leading me out onto the small dance floor. Of course, it would have to be just us, and it felt as if every eye in the room was watching to see if I made a fool of myself. But soon, I didn’t care.