The Seduction Game

“Erm…sure.”

Traffic was kind to them and in actual fact they made it in just shy of seven minutes. Kate knew this because her eyes were fixed on the clock on Will’s dashboard. It seemed way easier than looking out the window or looking at him. It also gave her a chance to think about his words. He liked her tee because it was small. Did that mean he liked seeing her belly? Did he like how tight it was? What was he thinking when he looked at her?

He thinks I’m pretty.

“Do you know the area?” Will asked as they parked and left the truck.

“Vaguely,” Kate said, looking everywhere but at him; she was so not ready to meet his gaze yet. “It certainly is close to my store.”

“Closest I could get,” he said. “Come on, we’re the fifth one in.”

The building he took her into was one of several laid out in a pattern Kate couldn’t quite work out. They all held various stores and were all very, very busy. Foot traffic was high, though Kate wasn’t sure if that was because she was used to just the odd straggler, lately. Regardless, there certainly seemed to be a lot of customers flowing in from the large public parking lot, and when Will ushered her to the building he had in mind, frazzled thoughts aside, she couldn’t help the little bubble of optimism that was settling in her chest.

Two stories high, made of metal and glass, the building was distinctly modern. Kate suspected it was a recent development and couldn’t deny that it was very attractive. There were several stores housed in the building and Will led her into one that was currently home to a travel agent. The woman behind the reception desk stood the moment they entered and to Kate’s mind at least, practically flew out from behind it to get to them.

“Mr. Thornton,” she said, breathing deeply. “How nice to see you again.”

No, not them. Him.

Will gave the eager woman a smile and despite feeling like a complete douche, Kate analyzed the smile to see if it was anything like the ones he gave her. It wasn’t and she couldn’t even begin to explain the relief that gave her. But then she began to wonder how Will even knew the woman, how long he’d known her for, how often he came here and so on and so on….

“You, too,” Will said, his tone nothing but friendly. “I called to let Jane know we were coming.”

The woman whose name tag read Cherie gave a tinkling little laugh. Kate had no idea what was so funny. “She told me. She’s not here right now but she said to be as helpful as you need. Can I do anything for you?”

“We’re fine, thanks. Just going to look around. You can pretend we’re not here.”

“Of course. Absolutely.”

Cherie certainly was sweet, and Kate imagined exactly what Meg would say were she here, and yet—she glanced up at Will—was it any wonder the woman was still sending longing little glances in his direction? And Cherie wasn’t the only one. Kate’s heart sank as she noticed the three travel agents and two customers, all female, staring at Will. Hair was patted down, clothing adjusted, smiles widened, and Kate watched it all with a sort of mute, and unexpected, horror. She’d known Will was attractive, heck, even Meg fancied him. There was no doubt he was a hottie. And maybe it should have made her feel better to know she wasn’t the only one who lost her voice and her reason when he was around. Only it didn’t. It made her feel something else entirely. Something that Kate was in no way giving a name to.

“What do you think? First impression?” Will asked, pulling her attention away from the women.

Kate crossed her arms, feeling scratchy and defensive. “It’s huge.”

“Take a look at the view from the back window.”

Kate did, walking over in quick movements, but the view of the river was ruined ever so slightly by the fact that she could feel the women’s eyes boring into their back.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Will said.

Kate could feel his breath feathering across her neck and she started, not realizing he’d followed her across. She turned and their gazes locked. A small smile played around his lips and his eyes were twinkling. Abruptly, Kate realized that he knew exactly what the women were thinking. He knew and didn’t much care.

He thinks I’m pretty. Not them.

Cheered slightly, Kate turned back to the river. The water was glinting, picking up the sunlight and shining it right back. It was beautiful and inspiring and she imagined being able to sit in front of such a view every day.

“Wow.”

Her desk could go here and in her mind she marked out a space. Meg could have one right opposite her, and they could even have a counter—one they could take turns at. There was also room for several display racks, and—Kate got quite excited—there’d be room for them to expand their sales lines quite a bit. Kate had always wanted to offer cut-price laptops, basics for the students in the area, and then customized ones for all the young kids who were just starting out. Plus there were the new Raspberry Pis. They’d talked about setting up programming spots with those nifty little circuit devices. They’d never been able to do that before because there hadn’t been room, but if they were here? Well it was a no-brainer.

“There’s a kitchen space through here.”

Will placed a hand under her elbow and led her through one of the two doors leading off the main room. Kate’s elbow tingled from the contact and she let out a little gasp as she took in the size of the “kitchen space.” It was bigger than her current store. There was a small fridge, a table and three chairs, a hot plate, and a coffee machine.

“It’s huge.”

Will laughed softly. Kate liked the sound. “You already said that.”

“But it is.”

“The bathroom’s right there,” Will said, pointing out the other door. “There’s also storage space upstairs, or maybe you could turn it into a consulting room.” He indicated the stairs running up the other side of the room.

“There’s no way I can afford this,” Kate whispered, aware that all conversation in the other room had practically stopped, or more likely hushed to a whisper. Despite her mental cheerleading session of just a moment ago, Kate couldn’t help but imagine the women all talking about Will, wondering if he was single, what he was doing with her, what he would be like to date…

“And besides,” she added, ignoring the thought of what Will would be like to date. “What about them?”

He tilted his head at the women in the next room and Kate nodded. With a grin, he shut the kitchen door and turned to look at her. Just like that they were alone, and just like in the car the atmosphere in the room changed in an instant. As much as she wanted to, Kate couldn’t tear her gaze away from Will’s. Moments passed, they both stared, moments more and then, eyes still locked on her, Will began to move forward. Kate’s stomach lurched and she grabbed one of the chairs. Quickly, she sat herself down in it, and pushed her glasses up her nose.

Will gave her a long, slow smile, and Kate got the impression that, as he had with the women, he knew exactly what she was thinking. She waited, breath held, to see what he was going to do. When he picked up one of the chairs and dropped it next to hers she was almost disappointed.

“They’re moving to a bigger store across the way,” he said as he sat down. “Don’t worry, you aren’t kicking them out.”