Love's Ultimatum - Chapter Five
Chuck loved a good plan and thus far hi was coming together nicely. Blair was home. She wasn't in his bed yet. But she would be. Soon.
He laced his fingers through hers as they strolled to the restaurant they way they had done so many times before. She startled and tried to pull away, stumbling over an expansion joint in the sidewalk in the process. He tightened his grip, halting her fall and pulling her closer to his side.
Her wide, dark eyes found his. "What are you doing?"
"Holding your hand. You can tolerate that for appearances' sake, can't you?" Having her close felt good.
"I guess so."
He inhaled, letting her familiar perfume wash over him. He wanted to tangle his hands in her long, chocolate curls and kiss her until she melted against him like she used to, but that would have to wait until she was more receptive. The initial kiss had answered his primary question. The chemistry between them hadn't faded, and as long as they had chemistry to work with, he had a good chance of fixing what he'd broken.
He could feel Blair's tension through her fingers and sought a way to distract her. "I've got an idea of what to do with the basement"
Her beautiful, dark gaze flickered his way. "And?"
"There are a few prospects, but everything depends on what you think."
Genuine interest brightened her face. "What did you decide to do with it?"
"That will have to wait until we get home."
"Tease," she said with a smile that faded almost instantly.
She no doubt remembered the occasions when she'd used the same word in the past - times when he'd aroused the hell out of her but delayed her pleasure repeatedly until she'd begged for mercy.
His skin flushed with heat and his groin grew heavy. He focused on what he planned to show her after dinner.
Having the plans drawn up for her new home workspace had filled him with energy and excitement he hadn't experienced in a ling time. He'd wanted to share them with her earlier. But first he needed to ply her with good food, good wine and good memories to make her more receptive.
He opened the restaurant's heavy wooden door, and lead them in. The women behind the hostess stand nodded in greeting. "Mr. and Mrs. Bass, I have your table right this way."
He followed the women to the back corner, taking the time to admire his wife's petite shape from behind Blair had gained a little weight since their split, but it had landed in all the right places, and her white wrap around sweater and grey trousers that accentuated her figure awakened his libido in a way no other women had been able to do since Blair had left him.
The hostess departed and Blair opened her menu. He didn't know why she was wasting her time unless hiding behind the menu was her way of avoiding him. She'd ordered the same dish each time they'd eaten here in the past, claiming that no one made spinach manicotti as well.
"Aren't you ordering your usual?"
"I want to try the chicken romano. She replied without looking at him.
"That's a change."
She peered at him over the menu, her gaze serious. "I've changed, Chuck. I'm not the same person anymore."
Was there a warning in her tone? "Everybody changes, Blair, but fundamentals that make us who we are remain the same."
The waitress arrived to take their order. After she left, Chuck lifted his water glass. "To us and our future family."
Blair hesitated, then raised hers. "To the baby we might make."
He noted the way she stressed 'might,' but let it pass, and reached across the table to capture her free hand. She stiffened. "Is this really necessary?"
'We always held hands while we waited for our food in the past."
Her fingers remind stiff in his. "Why is it so important that everyone believe we're a happy couple?"
Not the relaxing conversation he'd planned, but she needed to know the facts. He stroked his thumb across her palm. "The tight economy is pinching even the largest real estate companies. Our closest rival, Goldbloom Industrie, is encroaching on our turf and not above using underhanded methods to steal our accounts."
"For example?"
"Reed Dreasher, the CEO, will do anything to make us look unstable, immoral or untrustworthy."
"How can he do that?"
"Gossip. Innuendo. We don't know where he's getting his information, but it's almost as if he has an inside source. Some of our biggest clients are ultraconservative. They'll go elsewhere at the first hint of scandal because they can't afford to have their names attached to anyone who might cause them to lose business and revenue. That's why the truth behind our personal project needs to be kept confidential."
"That's like living in a glass house, Chuck. You Can't keep it up indefinitely."
"Dreasher is seventy. He won't live forever. But enough about my work."
"I like hearing about your work. You never used to discuss it…well, not after you became CEO."
"I had enough of work during the day. I didn't want to rehash it at night." But she had a point. When he'd bought Victrola he'd been so excited about his work that he'd often recounted the highlights of his day as they lay in bed a night.
He'd had a lot of time to think about the demise of their marriage, and he'd concluded his first mistake had been asking Blair to focus full time on their marriage. Blair was a planner and was no stranger to the business world he worked in. She'd practically been raised at cocktail parties. At fourteen when other children were shopping at the mall, Blair had been working the room, making contacts and building her social graces.
He'd asked himself a million time if they would still be married if he'd let her in to his business world. But he'd refused, brushed her aside. The past couldn't be undone. The only thing he could do was learn from his mistakes and move on. And this time, he didn't intend to let her go.