A Weekend Temptation Read online

  She grabbed her sister and gave her a massive bear hug. “Oh, thank you. You won’t regret this.”

  “I better not. I hate the thought of wasting my time, or worse yet, you breaking some poor guy’s heart.”

  “The longer I stay away, the easier it’ll be.”

  “Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. Time and commitment does. We’ll find the right guy and get you over Joel Stanfield.”

  That was exactly what Ava wanted.

  Chapter Two

  Bethany stirred her coffee and asked, “How did the dates go?”

  It was only four days later, and already Bethany had sent Ava on three dates. Now they were meeting at the matchmaker’s office to talk about them.

  Ava hadn’t expected so many dates so soon. Bethany was a fast worker. Or maybe it was just because Ava was her sister and she was getting extra attention.

  “The dates were dismal,” Ava said, not touching the coffee Bethany’s assistant had delivered.

  “Really? I hand picked all three.” Bethany sipped. “Let’s go over them and see what made them dismal. Start with Charles Lancaster.”

  “He lives with his mother.”

  “So, she’s eighty-three, and he doesn’t want to put her in a home. That shows real character.”

  “You’d think.” Ava leaned back. “The man is a successful criminal attorney. I was expecting some interesting dinner conversation. Instead, all he talked about was bunions, and doctor’s appointments, and funeral plots.”

  Bethany scrunched her nose. “Yuck. Okay, what about Doug Danfield?”

  “Doug is also obsessed with another woman. At least it’s not his mother this time.”

  “Who then?”

  “His ex, Lorna.”

  “Did he talk about her all night?”

  “Nope, not a word. In fact, he paid extra attention to me. Always touching me and smiling. Acting oh-so-interested.”

  “That sounds like the perfect date. I don’t get it.” Her sister tilted her head.

  “Lorna was our waitress. He made it a point that we sit in her section so he could use me to make her jealous.”

  “What a boob. I’m dropping him, and I’m not refunding his fee either.” Her sister rubbed her forehead then said, “Edward Simms—what happened with him?”

  Ava didn’t respond right away. What was wrong with Edward? He was nice, attractive, well educated, had a great job, and he hadn’t acted like a jerk.

  “No chemistry,” she finally said.

  “He’s gorgeous, how can you not be attracted to him?”

  “Rob’s gorgeous, too.” Rob was their brother.

  “Is Edwards’s hair not dark enough for you?” Bethany asked. Edward was blond with blue eyes.

  “What?”

  “He doesn’t look enough like Joel, does he?”

  “I don’t need a man to look like Joel to be attracted to him.” No, Edward wasn’t as hot as Joel, not many men were. But that wasn’t the point. Chemistry was either there or it wasn’t between two people.

  Bethany sighed. “Are you sure you’re ready for me to find you Mr. Right? That you don’t need more time to get over a certain smoldering boss?”

  “No. I need you to keep trying, Beth. If anyone can find me someone, it’s you.”

  ****

  Joel sat in the back of his airplane, a parachute strapped on his back, watching Lance Landry turn the color of fireplace ashes. Lance was the head of Landry Security and Intelligence Firm. His company tracked Joel’s competitors to make sure Stanfield Corporation remained on top. Normally Lance was as tough as Joel, but not today.

  “You don’t have to do this, you know,” Joel said. He didn’t allow many people close, but Lance had been a life-long friend who would never leave, no matter how cold Joel was.

  “I’m going to get over my fear of heights, or die trying.” Lance’s voice came out shaky and crumbly.

  Even so, Joel admired his friend’s courage in the face of his extreme phobia. It said a lot that Lance had braved the take-off.

  “You won’t die. Trust me, this is my thousandth jump. The parachute never fails, you always land safely. If it wasn’t so beautiful up here, I’d almost say it’s getting boring.”

  “I hate you. You’re not afraid of anything, and you’re richer than sin.” Lance frowned.

  “What do I have to be afraid of?”

  “Marriage?” Lance raised his brows. “After what happened to you. I’d say fear of marriage is the natural reaction. It makes you human.”

  “Then I’m not human.”

  “You’re not afraid, and yet you broke off the engagement with Claudia.”

  “So what? It doesn’t mean I’m afraid of getting married.”

  “What does it mean then? I thought you said Claudia was the one?”

  He’d thought she was. Claudia would have been a prize at his dinner table, working her silver tongue and flashing her stunning smile, helping him land million dollar deals. Plus he liked the fact that deep down, Claudia was colder than Antarctica’s winter. She was so self centered it would take a pope to love her.

  On paper, they were perfect for each other. He was a billionaire, who wanted a wife to share his bed and his social calendar. He didn’t want children, or to fall in love. She would have been there when he wanted her and made no demands on him when he didn’t.

  “I’m not afraid to fall in love. I’m just not going to do it again.” Not even possible.

  “Is that why you aren’t seeing Ava?” Lance grinned.

  To Joel’s surprise, an instant dagger sank into his heart. Ava had somehow reached inside him and found the place that still had the ability to hurt. It had been two weeks, and she still wasn’t back. Why? He wished he knew what she was up to and that he didn’t think about her, all the time. Hell, he even missed her.

  God, he wanted his emotion-free life back, the peaceful one he’d been living before he’d kissed Ava, and she’d left.

  “Speaking of Ava,” Joel said avoiding the question. “I need you to find her, run surveillance on her.”

  “You can’t handle being away from her, can you?” Lance smiled an annoying smile.

  Instead of answering Lance’s question Joel stood, signaling their discussion was over.

  Then Joel gazed through the open airplane door, drank in the gridded landscape below and the vast ocean in the distance. As expected, his heart didn’t speed, his hands didn’t go clammy, his body didn’t tremble.

  Fear wasn’t something Joel felt anymore, and he was glad. Now if he could just get rid of unwanted lust, then life would be perfect.

  Joel raised his arms like an eagle ready to take flight and dove into free fall.

  ****

  Joel was in the middle of a Stanfield Corp shareholder meeting when his cell phone vibrated at his waist. He checked the caller ID and ordered his team to take a break. Then he rushed to his private office and called Lance.

  “What did you find out?” Joel stood watching a tugboat drift by on the river below his window.

  “She’s at Trump Hotel eating in the restaurant, right now.”

  “Alone?”

  “No, she’s out with the newest up-and-comer, a stockbroker for Morgan Stanley. His name is Grant Sherman. He’s a Harvard grad who made over 200 grand last year.”

  Is that all?

  “What’s going on with you and Ava?” Lance asked. “Why am I tailing her? Is she the reason you cancelled your engagement?”

  “Keep your men watching Ava. My meeting should last another hour. Call me if she moves locations.”

  “Yes, sir, El Capitan.”

  Joel clicked his phone closed and rubbed his knotted neck muscles as he headed back into the boardroom. Then he sank into the head chair and waited for his key employees and board members to rush back, following his lead, like they always did.

  He heard voices and laughter just outside. They were the same team of brilliant people he’d hired at the start of Sta
nfield Corp, together now for over ten years. Without them he’d never have been able to build his company to the level he had, which as of yesterday, was the largest acquisition company worldwide.

  He knew their names and their skills. That was enough for him. He didn’t want to be one of them. He didn’t choose to get close or care that he wasn’t. He was the boss, and he didn’t want to be anything but the man in charge.

  Ava had been just an employee too. He should have felt the same way about her as he did the rest of his team. But somehow he didn’t. That kiss had pierced through his wall of indifference. He had to find a way to fix that, so he could go back to normal.

  Ava had been gone two-and-half torturing weeks now and still he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Frustration pounded through him, tensed his muscles.

  Time and space should have made a difference and dulled the blistering want. But they didn’t. He was still consumed with thoughts of her soft, brown eyes, her full lips, her lilting voice. The memory of her made his skin hot.

  What did that mean? And what the hell was he going to do about it?

  ****

  Ava liked the soft, romantic song playing in the background of the five-star restaurant. She sat at an intimate table for two watching a single white candle flicker. The waitress delivered her piping hot steak in record time, and it smelled like heaven.

  Everything about the evening was great.

  Except her date.

  “I’m on the fast track, baby.”

  Grant chewed while he spoke. That didn’t annoy her half as much as being called “baby.” She was nobody’s “baby.” Ava traced the top of her wine glass and wished for longer fingernails. “Good for you.”

  “I had my performance review yesterday. My boss said I should be making 250 by the end of the year. If I keep my numbers up, I’ll be partner in the next five years.”

  “Great.” She let go of her glass and decided she was being hard on Grant. Before she’d quit Stanfield, she’d never had time to date. For all she knew, Grant was being typical. This was their first date. Of course, he was trying to wow her.

  She should be impressed. Grant wasn’t a man with secrets. He spewed private information like a water fountain. And he’d certainly dressed to make an impact in his sleek charcoal jacket.

  “So, Grant, what are your personal goals?” She almost cringed at the cold interview question. She sounded like Joel, driven and uncaring.

  “God, I don’t have time for personal goals. If you weren’t so smokin’ hot, I wouldn’t have made time for this date.”

  “So it’s safe to say you don’t want to get married and have children?” She knew this was the wrong question for a first date, but she decided to dive right in. She was twenty-seven. She didn’t have the luxury of time. Besides, if Grant was Mr. Right, the question wouldn’t send him scampering.

  “Why do women always want the same thing?” He pointed the tines of his fork at her. “Can’t we get through the main course before you start ragging me for offspring?”

  “Of course we can.” She wanted to say, “Eat fast. Really fast.” But she was too polite.

  He took another bite of his meat and slid the food to the side of his mouth. “Do you think about your financial future? Do you have an investment plan? I can make you a bundle.”

  “I can’t afford you. I’m on a fixed income.” She didn’t tell him that not having a social life had allowed her to save quite a nest egg. She could afford to take off three years. That should be enough time to find Mr. Right, shouldn’t it?

  “Where did you say you worked?”

  She frowned and rubbed her forehead. “I quit my job a couple weeks ago. I used to work for Stanfield Corporation.”

  He dropped his fork. “Really? I read in last month’s Wall Street Journal that Stanfield Corporation is the biggest acquisition company in the world now.”

  She nodded and watched as Grant lathered butter on his roll, as if frosting a cake.

  “Joel Stanfield is a legend in the business world. He’s Fortune Magazine’s top billionaire to watch this year. Can you ask him to meet with me?”

  “Ask him yourself.” Joel’s deep voice boomed from behind her.

  She whipped her head around. He towered above her in a midnight black suit, black shirt, and striped tie. Power exuded from his very skin the way cologne did from some men.

  Grant couldn’t stand fast enough. He thrust his hand out, ready to do his businessman handshake. With the two men standing side by side, it was hard not to do a visual comparison. Grant wasn’t as tall or as broad, and he didn’t have a tenth of Joel’s sexual charge.

  “The only way I will meet with you, is if you leave this table, and my Ava,” Joel said.

  Her heart didn’t have a brain and fluttered at his, “my Ava.” Her name sounded too good on his lips.

  Grant shrugged, pulled out his business card, and passed it to Joel. Joel didn’t look at it, just slid it into his pants pocket.

  “Call me Monday, whatever I have on my calendar can be rescheduled for you, Mr. Stanfield,” Grant said.

  Joel nodded but didn’t move his dark, melting eyes from her. Honestly, he was the only man she knew who could make her feel heated with just the power of his gaze. Joel might not do other emotions, but he did seduction like a master.

  She shifted her attention, watching in shock as her date left her behind. All the while, she tried to ignore the way her body responded to Joel.

  Maybe she could ignore the attraction by focusing on what she hoped would be the stronger emotion—anger.

  “That royal jerk.” Ava clanked her fork on her plate. “I should have been more important than a stupid meeting with you. Look at me. I’m pretty right? Look at my come-get-me dress.” She lifted her hands and traced the air around her curves. Her ivory, silk wrap-dress clung to her body like a second skin. It had cost her an arm and two legs, but it made her feel like Marilyn Monroe.

  “The dress works for me.” Joel gave her a wolf’s smile and slid into the chair Grant had vacated. He signaled the waitress to remove Grant’s plate. The waitress stood holding the dish while Joel ordered Ava another glass of red wine and himself a mineral water with a lime slice.

  “If tonight is any indication of what I’m going to have to go through to find a husband, I—”

  “To find a what?” Joel leaned forward.

  “Why are you here, Joel?” And why do you have to be so damn attractive?

  “Isn’t it obvious? To get you back.”

  “I don’t want to be back,” she lied.

  He nodded to the waitress who delivered their drinks. When the woman was out of earshot, he asked, “Why the hell not?”

  “With the long hours you make me work, I’ll never find a man.” More like I’ll never want to find a man while I’m lusting over you.

  “You don’t want to find a man.”

  “You know when I took that Friday off?” She paused, and he nodded. “I went to my brother’s house in California.”

  “So?” He took a sip.

  “I want what he has.” She picked up her spoon.

  “What? A beach house? That’s easy. I’ll buy you one in the Hamptons. See ya Monday.” He started to stand.

  What did he just say? He’d buy her a beach house? Focus, Ava. “Wait, this isn’t over,” she snapped.

  He sat back down with a shrug and grabbed his drink.

  “No, it’s not about his Malibu house…” She took a deep breath. “Robbie just had a new baby. He has a wife, Megan, who loves him, and a precious little girl.” She sighed.

  Joel set his drink down and lifted a brow. “You want to be married?”

  “Yes.” Was it really so hard to believe?

  He shook his head. “You do not.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” She bit her lower lip, and with her spoon, made circles in her cheddar potatoes. “I want children. I always have. And I want a husband to help me raise them.” Her father’s death had left her mot
her alone to care for her, her sister, and her brother. She saw first hand the stresses that went along with being a single parent and wanted to avoid them.

  “I agree with you, a child should have two parents but…” He tapped his glass with one finger. “You want a husband?”

  She nodded and glared. He didn’t deserve an answer.

  “So you’re not coming back to work?”

  “Have you been listening? Did you, or did you not see me dining with the handsome suck-up?”

  He laughed. “I did.” His smile sent her pulse sky-rocketing, like it always did.

  “When Grant asked me out, he seemed like a good catch. I wish I could have seen what a jerk he was before I invested all afternoon with him. I don’t want to have hundreds of dates with losers. I’d rather get a root canal. I want to skip ahead and date Mr. Perfect, now.”

  “You’re going to quit and devote all of your time for husband hunting? Most women work and date at the same time. Most dates are at night.”

  “Most women don’t work for a man who dominates their every waking hour, filling their evening and weekend hours with work.”

  “But you love the job. You’ve never complained before.”

  “I’ve always had a plan. Devote a certain amount of time to my career then, when the time’s right, focus on my family life.”

  “What if I cut you back to forty-hours a week?”

  “Even if I believed you’d actually do that, it’s still not good enough.”

  “Why?” He tilted his dark head. “Why don’t you want to work for me? Do you think about me, about that night when I kissed you?”

  Could he read her thoughts? Her mouth opened then closed.

  “You and I want the same things. Both of us want to be married and are having a problem finding the right mate.” His expression turned serious. All hint of warm seduction left his face.

  “You are not asking me to marry you, are you?”

  Chapter Three

  Ava blinked. Joel wanted to be her husband? It didn’t seem possible.

  “No. Of course I’m not proposing. We don’t belong together,” he said.