4

He put down the pen, straightened to his full six feet and looked down at her. “I never hated you. That’s your department.” He knew it was a lie, and he knew she knew it too. He'd felt some hate at first, and then anger, but it'd been directed mostly at himself. He was definitely still holding on to some of it. 

A moment passed and Tessa pressed her lips together to keep from crying out that she missed him. Instead she said, “Why are you here, David? I mean, in the city.”

“I’m quoting on a project here in Solmere. A grand old structure that’s been a home, a warehouse and a boardinghouse, to name a few.” Enthusiasm lit up his eyes. “She’s a tired old girl, but with amazing bone structure. The best of the original architectural features are intact and the client wants to work with them, while bringing the building up to date. It’s going to be a boutique hotel and retail combination.”

“Sounds amazing, and right up your alley.”

“It is. I really want this one. And if it works out, you’ll be seeing a lot of me.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Helping Sophie and Stewart plan their wedding.”

David almost told her that it'd be more than just planning Sophie and Stewart's wedding. He was accompanying his favorite Aunt Flo to a soirée that weekend and he knew she was going to be there, seeing as she was the event planner, but he decided not to. It wasn't really her business, plus the thought of surprising her made the whole thing even more interesting.

Tessa stared at him. He looked so sincere, so good, so sexy that for a moment she forgot the reason she’d left him. Somewhere along the line in their relationship which had started off with him being her sugar daddy, they'd both caught feelings for each other. 

Three years ago, one of her clients invited Tessa to a party after her wedding, and there she met David Warren. A thirty seven year old billionaire from a wealthy family with lots of money to spend and wanting no commitment. Tessa was twenty seven, and she didn't mind the ten year age gap between them or the fact that he wanted a purely sexual relationship. He had money, and she wanted his money, which he was way too generous with. 

He was really good at being her sugar daddy, even after everything that happened between them she couldn't deny that fact. He spoiled her silly, and the fact that he was incredibly good looking was just icing on the cake. They enjoyed each other's company and had so much fun together. She spent so much time with him that her best friends Olivia and Isabella often teased her about it. 

The sex had been great too. Amazing in fact. No one touched her like David. After the breakup, she'd tried to delude herself into believing that the sex hadn’t been as good as she remembered, but who was she kidding? Eventually they'd fallen in love, and entered into a full blown relationship, until David, who although his parents lived in Solmere, and had only been in the city until his contract ended, had suggested she move to another state with him, and Tessa had said no. Her life was here, and so was her still growing business. He'd proposed marriage afterwards, believing that she just needed the right motivation to make the decision to come with him, but Tessa had once again turned him down. She just wasn't ready for the commitment of marriage, and the fact that his family didn't really approve of her didn't help matters. 

A huge fight had followed, and so had the end of their relationship. Tessa left, but she'd missed him too much to stay away for too long, and when she went to talk to him, to see if they could work things out, she'd been too late. She still remembered that evening. She still remembered the five-foot-ten goddess she’d found half dressed and wrapped around David. The saddest aspect of that fiasco was that on some level she’d noted that David and the woman had looked natural together, two tall, glamorous super-people.

Now, Tessa shook her head at the memory and frowned. “You’re good at planning weddings, not so good at staying faithful once you’re in a relationship.” Her venom seemed to curdle the air.

He scoffed, “Like I said, hate was always your department.” he said, hoping to anger her even more. 

“Well, I got over it.” With a lot of tearful sessions with her best friends. “Now I’ve accepted that our relationship was a mistake.”

“You sure didn’t fight for it.” he retorted, “You wanted it to end,” 

The old, familiar anger began to surge inside her but she bit her tongue and counted to ten. Then eleven. Finally twelve before she felt calm enough to speak. “Why would I fight to keep an unfaithful man?”

David shook his head. “You call me unfaithful when you already broke up with me at the time of that unfortunate incident, and I don’t know why I bother, but I am telling you again that I never had sex with that woman. She was drunk and crazy.”

“Didn’t look like you were trying very hard to peel her off you.”

“Believe me, I was, and I could have used your help that night instead of having you turn tail and abandon me. Again!”

Oh, how she wished she could believe him, could have believed him two years ago when it had happened. But she didn’t believe him, and she couldn’t imagine being with a man who thought so little of her that he’d move on so quickly and then lie to her like that.

“I guess maybe we were wrong about each other.” she said instead. 

“I guess so.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, leaned against her desk, looking ridiculously masculine against the feminine lines of the furniture;

it appeared as though the wood might snap from the weight of him leaning on it. But like her, the piece was stronger than it looked.

“You’re still the sexiest woman I’ve ever known,” he said stiffly. 

Again, Tessa couldn't help but notice that he said the words as if he regretted saying them. Almost as if they were being forced out of him. She snorted. “Oh, please.”

“Or maybe it was us together. I admit I miss a lot of things about you, but mostly I miss you in my bed.” 

That was the thing with David. He was way too blunt, and always said exactly what he thought without hesitation, no matter how uncomfortable it was. He looked at her with such intensity that she felt her blood begin to pound.