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he was asking because the last time they'd seen each other,
she was headed to New York City to design school. "I've been
here for a while. Have you been here since leaving college?"
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"N...o...o." His thumb caressed her elbow.
That simple touch caused a flame to radiate up her arm
and to her nipples, and they tightened in response. The urge
to cross her arm over her chest and hide them or to press her
hands against them to quell the sensation was overpowering.
In all her fantasies of seeing him again, she had always
imagined that her attraction to him would be the same as
when they were teenagers, but it wasn't. This. Whatever this
was, it was more powerful. Way more powerful.
"Look I'd like to catch up. Maybe have dinner?" His hand
slipped down from her elbow to her hand, holding it.
Oh, God. Did she really want to "catch up"? Discover how
he was doing? Maybe find out that he had a wife and
children? Her chest tightened, causing her fingertips to tingle.
All of a sudden she felt cold standing outside in the summer
heat.
"Mr. Poindexter, we really need to leave now, or you'll miss
your flight." A man spoke from a distance behind them.
Chelsi looked around Vincent's broad shoulders and
discovered just how oblivious she became to everything else
around her when he was near. Behind him, closer to the other
door of the grocery store, but still within sight, was a pearl
white stretch limo.
"One minute, Thomas." Vincent called out without even
looking at the man. "How about that dinner, Chelsi?"
She stared at him again. What kind of man was he to ride
in a limo to the store? Oh, God. This was a pity request. If he
was rolling around the world with a driver and a vehicle that
ten people could fit in comfortably, there was nothing he
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could want from her. Especially dressed as she was in her
current ensemble. Shaking her head, Chelsi reminded herself
that she was on deadline. She did not have time to play catch
up. She was trying for what could possibly be the contract of
the year.
At that moment, her alarm on her cell phone rang. Pulling
her hand out of his, she dug into the back pocket of her worn
cut-offs and looked at it.
Conference Call in 15 mins, flashed on the screen of her
handheld. She pushed the button to turn the obnoxious
beeping off.
"I'm sorry; I need to go." She stepped back.
Vincent followed her step, keeping them close. "Chelsi,
when can "
"This isn't a good time." Holding one hand up to ward off
his advancement, she clenched her fist around her two
recycle bags in her other hand and shuffled back. "Nice to see
you again."
"Chelsi!"
Giving him one last look, she turned and rushed to her car,
praying that he wasn't watching her backend. It was a long
way from the shape it was in when she was on the drill and
dance team in high school.
Getting to her car, she activated the automatic unlock,
slipped in behind the wheel, and started the engine in one
motion. Driving away, she allowed herself one last look at him
through her rearview mirror. He still stood at the tail end of
his limo, staring in her retreating direction.
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"Just focus on the contract, Chelsi," she chided herself.
"This is no time to try to reclaim a lost relationship." She and
Vincent were history. In the past.
Things had really switched between them. Not that she
wasn't doing well for herself. She was second designer for a
man who was moving to the top of fashion with a steady
pace, and she was fastened to his coat tails. Yup, things were
different now. Vincent dressed and rode like a man who had
people reaching for his coat tails. He'd become a sexy,
successful business man. Long gone was the poor geeky
teenage boy.
She chuckled to herself. The chance to have gone to their
class reunion and seen how all the jocks, cheerleaders, and
wannabes talked about him now would have been priceless.
But that opportunity was two years ago, and she'd missed it.
Apparently, Vincent hadn't shown up either, because her best
friend Becky would have told her that.
Hell, why would he have to go and try to get false approval
from people who wanted to make his life miserable for four
years? The only reason he'd escaped their ribbing in the last
year was because he was dating her.
Then it had all ended. Brief images of a beautiful summer
filled with laughter and love flashed in her mind as she drove.
At eighteen, they spent their final summer of youth by her
pool, at amusement parks, museums, and on Lake Norman.
The two of them had discovered physical love in each other's
arms. Then the days of freedom had ended. They both had
known it would.
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They were headed off to college in two different directions,
him to the University of Iowa and her to New York University.
It was over. They had ended as friends, making no promises
to each other. Together they had decided it would be best to
end it, focus on school and their chosen careers.
And he hadn't called.
For the first two years, she hadn't changed the number to
the cell phone her parents had gotten her as a graduation
present. Not expecting him to call but hoping he would.
And he hadn't called. Feeling wet heat rolling down her
face, Chelsi realized she was crying. She hadn't cried since
her second week in college when she'd been rushed to the
emergency room with severe stomach pains. She'd miscarried
a baby she didn't even know she'd been pregnant with.
She waved to the guard as he opened the gates of the
community where she lived. Pulling up into her designated
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