Second Chance With The Ceo. Anna DePalo

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ forward.”

      “Their only foot. I’m the head of fund-raising.”

      He narrowed his eyes. “Congratulations and good luck.”

      He stepped around her, and she turned with him.

      “If you’ll just listen—”

      “To your pitch?” He shot her a sideways look. “I’m not as big a sucker for the doe-eyed look as I was fifteen years ago.”

      She filed away doe-eyed for later examination. “Pershing needs a new gym. I’m sure that as a professional hockey player, you can appreciate—”

      “Former NHL player. Check the yearbook for athletics. You’ll come up with other names.”

      “Yours was at the top of the list.” She picked her way over broken sidewalk, trying to keep up with his stride. Her espadrilles had seemed like a good choice for a school day. Now she wished she’d worn something else.

      Cole stopped and swung toward her, causing her to nearly run into him. “Still at the top of your list?” He lifted his mouth in a sardonic smile. “I should be flattered.”

      Marisa felt the heat sting her cheeks. He made it sound as if she was throwing herself at him all over again—and he was rejecting her.

      She had an abysmal record with men—wasn’t her recent broken engagement further proof?—and her streak had started with Cole in high school. Humiliation burned like fire.

      A long time ago she and Cole would have had their heads bent together over a book. She could have shifted in her seat and brushed his leg. In fact, she had brushed his leg, more than once, and he’d touched his lips to hers...

      She plunged ahead. “Pershing needs your help. We need a headliner for our fund-raiser in a couple of months to raise money for the new gym.”

      He looked implacable, except that twin flames danced in his eyes. “You mean you need a headliner. Try your pitch on someone else.”

      “The fund-raiser would be good for Serenghetti Construction, too,” she tried, having rehearsed her bullet points. “It’s an excellent opportunity to further community relations.”

      He turned away again, and she placed a staying hand on his arm.

      Immediately, she realized her mistake.

      They both looked down at his biceps, and she yanked her hand back.

      She’d felt him, strong and vital, his arm flexing. Once, fifteen years ago, she’d run her hands over his arms and moaned his name, and he’d taken her breast in his mouth. Would she ever stop having a heated response to his every touch, every look and every word?

      She stared into his eyes, which were now hard and indecipherable—as tough as the rocks he blasted for a living.

      “You need something from me,” he stated flatly.

      She nodded, her throat dry, feeling hot despite the weather.

      “Too bad I don’t forgive or forget a deliberate betrayal easily. Consider it a character flaw that I can’t forget the facts.”

      She flushed. She’d always wondered whether he’d known for certain who’d ratted out his prank to the school administration, earning him a suspension and likely costing Pershing the hockey championship that year. Now it seemed she had her answer.

      She’d had her reasons for doing what she’d done, but she doubted they’d have satisfied him—then or now.

      “High school was a long time ago, Cole,” she said, her voice thin.

      “Right, and in the past is where the two of us are going to stay.”

      His words hurt even though it had been fifteen years. Her chest felt tight, and it was difficult to breathe.

      He nodded at the curb. “Yours?”

      She hadn’t realized it, but they were near her car. “Yes.”

      He pulled open her door, and she stepped off the curb.

      A swimming sensation came over her, and she swayed.

      Still, she tried for a dignified exit. A few more steps and she’d put an end to this uncomfortable reunion...

      As the edges of her vision faded to black, she had one last thought. I should have eaten lunch.

      She heard Cole curse and his hard hat hit the ground. He caught her in his arms as she slumped against him.

      When she floated to consciousness again, Cole was saying her name.

      For a moment she thought she was fantasizing about their sexual encounter in high school...until the smells of the construction site penetrated her brain, and she realized what had happened.

      She was cradled against a warm, solid body. Her trench coat was bunched around her like a cocoon.

      She opened her eyes, and her gaze connected with Cole’s. His golden-green eyes were intense.

      She was also up close and personal with the new scar traversing his cheek. It looked painful but not jagged. Had he taken a skate blade to the face? She wanted to reach up and trace it.

      He frowned. “Are you okay?”

      Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Yes, let me down.”

      “May be a bad idea. Are you sure you can stand?”

      Whatever the effects were of his career-ending injury, he seemed to have no problem holding a curvy woman of medium height in his arms. He was all hard muscle and restrained power.

      “I’m fine! Really.”

      Looking as if he still had misgivings, Cole lowered his arm. When her feet hit the ground, he stepped back.

      Her humiliation was complete. So total, she couldn’t bear to face it right now.

      “Just like old times,” Cole remarked, his tone tinged with irony.

      As if she needed the reminder. She’d fainted during one of their study sessions in high school. It was how she’d first wound up in his arms...

      “How long was I out?” she asked, not meeting his eyes.

      “Less than a minute.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Are you all right?”

      “Perfectly fine. I haven’t been to an emergency room since I was a kid.”

      “You still have a tendency to faint.”

      She shook her head, looking anywhere but at him. Talk about being overwhelmed by seeing him again. Anticipating and yet dreading this meeting, she’d been too nervous to eat. “No, I haven’t fainted in years. The medical term is vasovagal syncope, but my episodes are very infrequent.”

      Except she СКАЧАТЬ