“I definitely have to get home tonight,” she said quickly, wondering if seduction was in his planned schedule. He grinned, an infectious, disarming grin that caused the temperature in the limo to climb.
“I’ll get you home whenever you’re ready to leave. Both flights are short. Sometime we can do something more spectacular and take a little longer.”
“You’re so certain we’ll be friends despite having a life-changing disagreement between us.”
“We’ll see about that ‘disagreement,’ but not tonight. Tonight is your special night to get away from the demands of caring for a baby. No matter how adorable he is, a night out is long overdue.”
She watched as they took the road for the airport. In minutes they drove past hangars across the tarmac and stopped. Nick went ahead, turning to offer his hand, holding hers as she stepped down.
Another cold wind struck her. Nick held her coat while she slipped her arms into it and pulled it close. He took her arm and they hurried to the waiting jet. Even through her coat, his firm touch stirred electricity.
She boarded another luxurious conveyance. Nick sat in a chair only a few feet from her. His raven hair, ruffled by wind, tumbled over his forehead. Watching him rake his fingers through his hair, she had visions of running her own fingers through the thick, wavy strands. The more tousled he looked, the more his appeal heightened. How easily he evoked a lusty reaction in her. Annoyed with herself, she couldn’t resist watching as dark hairs sprang away from his hand.
In seconds she was buckled into the comfortable seat, facing Nick, her coat taken by an attendant who had also asked for her drink order.
Offered various cocktails and wine, she had chosen a glass of Pinot Grigio when she would have preferred a cup of steaming coffee, but that had not been in the offering. True to what Nick had predicted, she warmed rapidly and by the time they were airborne and the myriad lights of Dallas twinkled below, her chill had vanished.
“You were telling me about your life until our conversation was interrupted,” he reminded her.
“I’ve told you what my big goals are. What are yours?” she asked, hoping to direct their conversation to his past. “I can’t imagine what you want when you already have everything.”
“No one has everything. I have goals—to increase business, to be a success at it.”
“I’d guess there’s something in your life that you want that’s far more specific. What drives you, Nick?” she asked, aware that when she said his name it seemed more personal than with anyone else she ever talked to.
She caught a fleeting expression of something she couldn’t define—surprise? Amusement? “Perhaps you don’t want to tell me,” she added quickly, unaccustomed to prying into people’s lives.
“I’ll answer any question you ask,” he said. The words couldn’t hold a double entendre, but they achieved that result with her anyway.
“I want to become a billionaire,” he answered with a flat tone that made her realize this was important and a goal that surprised her. “Actually, I’d like to make more than my dad has. Maybe that’s competitive. If so, it’s the way he raised me to be.”
They paused in the conversation as the attendant returned with a bottle of wine, uncorked it and let Nick give his approval before pouring the pale wine and serving it. As soon as they were alone, Nick leaned closer and lifted his glass.
“Here’s to a fabulous escape for you.”
“I’ll toast that one,” she replied, touching his glass lightly with her own. Her gaze was captured again by Nick’s as they both raised their glasses for a sip. In midnight depths she detected a look that conveyed unmistakably that before this evening ended, he would kiss her. Her pulse jumped. The prospect heated her and she wanted him to. If he reached for her this moment, she would go into his embrace eagerly.
As if he discerned her thoughts, his gaze became heavy lidded, erotic.
Realizing where they were heading, she made an effort to end the spell, sipping her wine and looking away. Mentally, she searched for the broken threads of their conversation to pick up where they stopped. “You were telling me your goal, which I cannot fathom.”
“It seems simple to me,” he replied, leaning back again.
“You’re already a multimillionaire. It boggles my mind to have so much wealth and strive to obtain more.”
“Actually the money is not the exciting part. The battle to acquire riches, as well as manage a fortune so what you have makes more, feeds my ambition.”
“You need a challenge,” she said, realizing what motivated him. Fear emerged from the discovery, because Eli’s goal concerning Michael and her rejection pitted Nick against her in an unmistakable contest.
“Life’s more interesting when fighting for something and infinitely more satisfying when I win.”
“Perhaps that’s the main part. You plan to win.”
“Absolutely. Who plans to fail?” he asked, stretching out long legs that were only inches from touching her.
“Now you worry me. That drive definitely applies to your mission for your father,” she stated solemnly.
Instantly Nick straightened and placed his hands on the arms of her chair, hemming her in and commanding her total attention. His face was only inches away and she could barely breathe.
